Exxon Valdez Oil Persists, 18 Years Later

New Study Shows Massive Oil Spill Off Alaska's Coast Has Resisted Weathering

(AP)  Lingering crude from the largest U.S. oil spill has resisted weathering in some places almost 18 years after the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground and fouled hundreds of miles of Alaska shoreline, a new federal study concludes.

The estimated 85 tons — or more than 26,600 gallons — of oil remaining at Prince William Sound is declining by about 4 percent a year and likely even slower in the Gulf of Alaska, according to research chemist Jeffrey Short of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

At that rate of decline, oil could persist for decades below the surface of some beaches, Short and colleagues said in their report. The study is to be published in the Feb. 15 edition of Environmental Science & Technology, the journal of the American Chemical Society.

"Such persistence can pose a contact hazard to inter-tidally foraging sea otters, sea ducks, and shorebirds, create a chronic source of low-level contamination, discourage subsistence in a region where use is heavy and degrade the wilderness character of protected lands," researchers wrote in their conclusion.

The study was partially funded by the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council, which was formed by federal mandate after the Exxon Valdez spill to monitor industry operations. Researchers, however, said their findings and conclusions were not influenced by that sponsorship.

Exxon Mobil Corp. spokesman Mark Boudreaux said the Irving, Texas-based company's Valdez team planned to closely review the findings.

"Based on our initial review of the report, there is nothing newsworthy or significant in the report that has not already been addressed," he said. "The existence of some small amounts of residual oil in Prince William Sound on about two-tenths of 1 percent of the shore of the sound is not a surprise, is not disputed and was fully anticipated."

Boudreaux said Exxon has supported more than 350 independent studies whose scientists have found no evidence of significant long-term impact from the spill.

The Exxon Valdez ran aground March 24, 1989, emptying 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. The spill contaminated more than 1,200 miles of shoreline and killed hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine animals.

[thefarmer77]

wow ... you guys are blaming Bush for something that happened 18 years ago....

[oleander8]

"Profit for the fourth quarter of 2006 declined to $10.25 billion from $10.71 billion Exxon earned in the 2005 quarter %u2014 a record quarterly profit for any U.S. public company."

One would think they should stop fighting in the courts and get in there and clean this up. Why are they getting away with this????

[bluestardad]

the administrations justice department has cut the damage settlement in half!

[mswolfestock]

Exxon is not a "better industrial citizen" because there are none. The federal government needs to seize Exxon's huge profits and clean up the mess. They should also make sure that the richest, most bloated CEO's and share holders of Exxon's stock take part in the clean-up effort. Now THAT's corporate responsibility. All huge corporations will continue to get away with fouling the planet until some government insists on holding them responsible. (Not likely until 2008, though.)