Abstract:
The Exxon Valdez, a California-bound oil tanker, struck a reef and spilled 8.4M gallons of crude in Alaska's Prince William Sound on 24 March. A US Fish and Wildlife Service representative said the 987-foot tanker was spilling oil at the rate of 10,000 barrels an hour. But a Coast Guard spokesman said that the spill had slowed to a trickle by afternoon Friday and did not seem to be moving ashore. Environmentalists feared that wildlife would be threatened, especially if the oil reached shore, and were concerned about the slow pace of the cleanup. Alaskan Governor Cowper arrived in Valdez on Friday to evaluate the spill.
Introduction:
A Long Beach-bound Exxon oil tanker ran aground on a reef Friday and spilled an 
estimated 8.4 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound, 
a pristine Pacific waterway heavily used by kayakers, fishermen and tourists. 
It was the largest Alaskan oil spill ever. 

The Exxon Valdez, a 987-foot tanker owned by Exxon Shipping Co., rammed the 
reef about 25 miles from the city of Valdez, the northernmost ice-free port in 
the United States, at 12:30 a.m. Coast Guard officers speculated that the 
ship's captain may have been trying to avoid icebergs from the nearby Columbia 
Glacier when the accident occurred. 


Leak a Mere Trickle 

A representative of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the tanker had been 
spilling oil at a rate of 10,000 barrels an hour but the Coast Guard said the 
leak had become a mere trickle by 2:30 p.m., Alaska time. 

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer John Gonzales said in a telephone interview from 
Valdez that the spill was staying "in the mid-channel" and did not seem to be 
moving toward the shore. 

"We've had no report of any wildlife hurt at this time," he said. But 
environmentalists feared that if the oil reached the shore, marine birds would 
be threatened. Herring hatch at this time of year and attract up to 20,000 sea 
birds for the feast. Environmentalists also expressed concern about whales, sea 
lions and other wildlife. 

Twenty people were aboard the ship but there were no immediate reports of 
injuries, said Dave Parish, a spokesman for Exxon USA, in a telephone interview 
from Anchorage. He said three planes from British Columbia, California and 
England had been dispatched to the scene for aerial spraying to dilute the oil. 

Gonzales said 200,000 barrels spilled into the sea. Another Exxon tanker was 
attempting to pump the oil out of the crippled vessel, and two Coast Guard 
investigators were on board the Valdez, he said. 

Jon Nelson, a deputy regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 
Anchorage, said the reef ripped a 150-foot gash in the vessel, which was 
carrying 1.2 million barrels of oil, and there was fear that the tanker could 
break apart further. 

"If it breaks up on the rocks, then anything could happen," he said in a 
telephone interview. The seas were calm Friday and the forecast was for 
continued calm until Sunday. 

Infuriated local residents and environmentalists complained about the slow pace 
of the cleanup. 


Critical of Efforts 

"Where was the crackerjack response team that was supposed to be out there? 
They are moving way too slowly," said University of Alaska professor Richard 
Steiner, who flew over the slick Friday. "There (was) no oil (cleanup 
equipment) out there and it's been 14 hours since it happened. 

"It is huge, literally huge," he said in a telephone interview from Cordova. 
"It looks devastating. The slick is probably five miles long by three miles 
wide. Fortunately, there is no wind. . . . We saw six sea lions inside the 
slick, swimming, trying to avoid it, and they had no idea which way to go." 

Cindy Lowry, Alaska regional director for Greenpeace, also complained about the 
pace of the cleanup. "It is more than 12 hours later and there is no (cleanup) 
boom, no sweepers. They are bringing equipment from as far away as England. It 
is just absurd that the equipment is not here already. . . . This will affect 
everything in the food chain, from crab larvae to orca whales." 

Exxon's Parish said everything possible was being done. "It takes time to get 
activated," he said. The immediate response to the spill was handled by crews 
from the terminal at Valdez. 


Floating Oil Booms 

Gonzales, the Coast Guard spokesman, said the terminal has cleanup equipment on 
site for minor spills. He said employees of the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., 
which operates the trans-Alaska oil pipeline for a consortium of oil companies, 
were getting floating oil booms in place by late afternoon. 

Prince William Sound, home to orcas, sea otters and fur seals, is important to 
both the fishing and the recreation industries. 

"It's a gorgeous marine environment and ecosystem, with lots of little islands 
and inlets and bays," said Emily Barneet, Alaska issues specialist for the 
Sierra Club in Anchorage. "It's also a pretty well-established tourist 
attraction, with sailing and glacier viewing trips. Prince William is a gem." 

The spill is expected to add fuel to a campaign by environmentalists to prevent 
further oil development in Alaska, particularly in the Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge. "It's of concern for two reasons: one is the size of the spill and that 
this is such a sensitive, very productive area," said Lisa Speer, senior staff 
scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York. "This is a 
consequence of North Slope oil development that is rarely mentioned." 

Valdez City Manager Doug Griffen told the Associated Press that the 800-mile 
trans-Alaska pipeline, which carries oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez and the 
marine terminal, has a good environmental record. 


Expected Worst 

"But this could be a catastrophic occurrence, so we're concerned," he said. 
"Living in Valdez, we've always worried that sometime something like this could 
happen." 

Alaska Gov. Steve Cowper arrived in Valdez on Friday to evaluate the spill. He 
said that state officials were considering the use of chemicals to disperse and 
sink the oil. 

"The problem is that chemical use can have a bad effect on marine life," he 
said. "It's going to be a tough judgment call." 

Cowper said that conventional responses, such as booms, probably would not work 
because the spill is so large. "You probably couldn't do it (contain the spill) 
with all the equipment available in North America. This is a major spill by any 
reckoning. 

"We've been able to brag for a long time that there's never been a major oil 
spill in Valdez Harbor. Now, we can't do that anymore." 

