Preview

Exxon Oil Spill

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
738 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Exxon Oil Spill
Alex Bordeau
P.6
3/27/16
Ms.Whittaker
Exxon Oil Spill The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker headed for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef at 12:04 am local time and spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil. Exxon Shipping Company failed to properly maintain the Raytheon Collision Avoidance System radar which, if functional would have identified that the ship was off course an heading for collision with the Bligh Reef. The "radar reflector", placed on the next rock inland from Bligh Reef for the purpose of keeping ships on course would have saved this from happening. This cause has only been identified by Greg Palast and is not present in the official accident report. A rescue boat also missed its target hitting the tanker itself, a Coast Guard vessel and its crew. One trial explosion was also conducted during the early stages of the spill to burn the oil in a region of the spill isolated from the rest. This attempt is believed to have lead to many health problems for a neighboring native village due to the fumes caused by the explosion. The test was relatively successful, reducing 113,400 liters of oil to 1,134 liters of removable residue, but because of the health consequences, no additional burning was …show more content…
Mechanical cleanup was started shortly afterwards using booms and skimmers, but the skimmers were not readily available during the first 24 hours following the spill, thick oil and kelp tended to clog the equipment. Despite civilian insistence for a complete clean, only 10% of total oil was actually completely
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Types Of Mixtures Lab
    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Types Of Mixtures Lab

    In the middle of the night of March 24, 1989, the giant oil tanker Exxon Valdez veered out of the shipping lanes in Alaska’s Prince William Sound and struck a reef. The side of the tanker was ripped open, and 11 million gallons of crude oil flowed out into Alaska’s clear blue waters. Because petroleum oil is insoluble (does not dissolve) in water and less dense, it quickly spread across the surface. The oil slick eventually covered 10,000 square miles, contaminating 1500 miles of shoreline, and causing substantial damage to wildlife, the fishing industry, and the marine environment.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Gulf Refinery Fire
    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Gulf Refinery Fire

    In the early hours of August 17, 1975, a tragic disaster occurred on the Gulf Oil refinery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This horrific disaster took the lives of eight firefighters, and potentially could have taken more lives if it wasn’t for the help of many surrounding fire stations. The cause of the fire was the overfilling of Tank 231. While no crude oil escaped from the tank as a result of being overfilled, large quantities of hydrocarbon vapors were trapped above the surface of the tank’s crude oil. As the quantity of crude oil increased, these hydrocarbon vapors were forced out of the tank’s vents and into the area of the No.4 Boiler House where the initial flash occurred. The overfilling of the tank resulted from a failure of the tanker’s personnel to properly monitor the quantity of crude oil being pumped to the tank. This whole disaster could have been avoided by just double checking the amount of crude oil in Tank 231.…

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Exxon Valdez: A Thic Tragedy In American History
    • 97 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Exxon Valdez: A Thic Tragedy In American History

    The Exxon Valdez spill is one of the most catastrophic disasters in American History. On March 24, 1989 Exxon Valdez freighter was on its way to its destination point in Valdez when the oil freighter struck a reef. When hitting the reef the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into the very well-known waters called Prince William Sound. The spill has affected well over a thousand miles of the Southwest Alaskan short lines. The spill killed many different types of species of birds. The spill killed many species of fish and other sea animals.…

    • 97 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    David Dinkins Tragedy
    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    David Dinkins Tragedy

    On March 24, 1990 a 987 foot oil liner named the Exxon Valdez ran aground spewing 11 million gallons of crude oil into the Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez gutted herself on the Bligh Reef. No lives were lost were lost in the accident but four lives were lost in the cleanup. Because of the remote location people can only get to by air or sea made response to the accident difficult. This also had an impact on the economy. About $2,673,000 worth of oil was spilt and an Anchorage Judge allotted $287 million dollars to the cleanup. So nearly $5,962,000 was lost/spent. The oil also destroyed the ecosystem. Large amounts of herring, salmon, and halibut were killed.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Exxon Valdez
    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Exxon Valdez

    On March 24, 1989 at 12:04am the super tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in the Prince William Sound on the Bligh Reef. Eight out of eleven cargo tanks were punctured releasing 5.8 million gallons of crude oils into the surrounding sea. According to reports from Exxon and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) there were only nineteen crew members and the captain aboard the ship. On the day before the ship arrived at the Alyeska Pipeline Terminal to be loaded for a trip to Long Beach, California. As loading began and was underway the captain and two other senior officers left the port to visit the town of Valdez. On the trip it was testified that the captain and officers took part in the consumption of alcoholic drinks while away from the port. Upon arrival back to port the ship’s departure time had been moved from 11pm to 9pm giving the captain and crew about thirty six minutes to prepare for departure. The Third Mate Cousins had already preformed the required tests on the safety, navigational, and mechanical gear earlier that evening. The Exxon Valdez left port at 9:12pm with the assistance of tugboats. At 10:49pm it was reported to the ship had cleared the Valdez Narrows and was under way, until the grounding at 12:04am.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How Did The Bp Oil Spill
    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page

    How Did The Bp Oil Spill

    The BP Oil Spill is also known as “The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill” occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. Construction on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig commenced in Ulsan, South Korea, by Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard. On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the ridge occurred and fire on the BP-licensed Transocean drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in eleven people being reported missing and approximately 17 injured. Sorrowly on the 23rd of April, the US coast guard suspended the search for the eleven missing workers, and all of them are presumed dead. On the 24th of April oil is discovered leaking from the well. The very next day the US coast guard underwater cameras report that the well is “leaking 1,000 barrels of crude…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Deepwater Horizon Disaster: The BP Oil Spill
    • 149 Words
    • 1 Page

    Deepwater Horizon Disaster: The BP Oil Spill

    The Deepwater Horizon Disaster (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the BP oil disaster, or the Macondo blowout) occurred on April 20th 2010. Methane gas from the Macondo wellhead (that was being closed off) leaked up onto the drill rig and exploded, killing 11 people and starting the largest ocean toxicology experiment in the world.…

    • 149 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gulf Oil Research Paper
    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gulf Oil Research Paper

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is considered to be the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. The spill was the result of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig. When the rig exploded, it created a sea-floor gusher of oil that flowed freely for three months. It resulted in 11 people killed and 17 others injured. In addition to the injuries and loss of human life, there were detrimental impacts to the environment both long and short term. By the time the leak was capped, there had been 4.9 million barrels of crude oil released. The amount…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

    One of the biggest take-aways from the Exxon Valdez oil spill was that prevention techniques and response capability were not effective enough. The large-scale shipment of oil on supertankers during the 1960s made a serious accident almost unavoidable. During the 1980s, safety standards declined dramatically. For example, the crews assigned to tankers were reduced by half to an average of only 20 and the U.S. Coast Guard station at Valdez was cut back. In 1980, the governor of Alaska authorized the creation of the Alaska…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    BP Oil Spill
    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages

    BP Oil Spill

    News broadcasts and radio stations ran rapid on April 20th 2010 releasing emergency news. News of eleven people killed and complete destruction of the oceans from a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, perhaps the largest in history, spread expeditiously. Due to cameras, leaks in the pipe buried on the ocean floor had been discovered. By the time the pipe leaks had been revealed, barrels of oil had secreted into the Gulf ruining reefs, destroying habitats, and killing animals in its path that dispersed throughout the Gulf by the wind and waves. The BP Oil Spill, also known as the Deepwater Horizon Spill, has cost billions of dollars for rejuvenating habits, purifying the water, washing animals, and cleaning up the areas…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gulf Oil Spill
    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Gulf Oil Spill

    The effect on coastal environments such as beaches, marshes, and mud flats was catastrophic. According to the national commission tasked with analyzing the oil spill 650 miles of coastal habitat were affected. About 130 miles of this area was described as being moderately to heavily oiled. Clean up of these areas can be difficult as the oil can seep deep down into sand and silt and remain there for…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Bp Oil Spill
    • 2831 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Bp Oil Spill

    The match that lit the fuse of the gigantic spill was a massive explosion on April 20th, 2010, on the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling platform that killed eleven workers. The spill had already been going on for three months, gushing crude oil into the gulf, before it was finally capped on July 15th, 2010. Even after it had been capped for forty days, the people whose environment was directly affected had not yet been notified of any type of oil spill. An article by World Book confirms how the spill was started: “The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, kills eleven workers and creates the worst environmental disaster in US history. For nearly three months, as BP struggles to cap the leaking well, about 4.9 million barrels of oil gushes into the Gulf.” (World Book 2011) This explosion directly affected at least eleven families who lost loved ones at the beginning of an enormous environmental crisis…

    • 2831 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Legal Issues and Ethical Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and British Petroleum Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010
    • 1526 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Legal Issues and Ethical Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and British Petroleum Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010

    The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was signed into law in August that year. It came about mostly because of the public response and concerns after the Exxon Valdez incident in which an oil tanker heading to port in Long Beach, CA ran aground in Prince Williams Sound, AK spilling up to an estimated 750,000 barrels of crude oil. Although ranking well down the list on the world’s largest oil spills for quantity dumped, the remote location of the spill made response and recovery extremely difficult. One of the key provisions of the OPA - §1002(a) Provides that the responsible party for a vessel or facility from which oil is discharged, or which poses a substantial threat of a discharge, is liable for: (1) certain specified damages resulting from the discharged oil; and (2) removal costs incurred in a…

    • 1526 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Case Analysis for Oil Spills
    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Case Analysis for Oil Spills

    There are several facts issued through the issue that have different levels of importance. The oil spill happened a long time ago in the 1950 and it stayed in a vertical plume and slowly diffused into a deep aquifer. The surface water and 400 feet deep into the groundwater there was zero gasoline concentration. The state law acquires reporting all spills, however the plant manager decided to do nothing. Peter and Jesse agree on the facts but disagree about…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Hebei Spirit Oil Spill Case Study
    • 3542 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Hebei Spirit Oil Spill Case Study

    If they had rapid and effective communication and mutually paid meticulous attention to each other, such tragedy would not have occurred. As such, since accidents occurred due to the negligence of human beings can be mostly prevented in advance, the reinforcement of naval control system is highly demanded to effectively prevent the reoccurrence of such tragic incident in the future.…

    • 3542 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics