Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
There is still a considerable amount of oil remaining in sedi-
ments; fifteen years later some fish and wildlife species injured
by the spill had not fully recovered. It is less clear, however,
what role oil played in their inability to bounce back. An eco-
system is dynamic and continues its natural cycles and fluctua-
tions while responding to oil. As time passes, it becomes more
difficult to separate natural changes from oil-spill impacts.
Have there been some resulting policy changes to
prevent future spills?
The US Coast Guard now monitors tankers via satellite as they
pass through Valdez Narrows, cruise by Bligh Island, and exit
Prince William Sound. In 1989, the Coast Guard watched the
tankers only through Valdez Narrows and Valdez Arm. In 1990,
the US Congress enacted legislation requiring that all tankers in
Prince William Sound be double-hulled by the year 2015. It is esti-
mated that if the Exxon Valdez had had a double-hull, the amount
of oil spilled would have been reduced by more than half.
What happened with the well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico?
On April 20, 2010, the Macondo well blowout occurred
approximately five thousand feet below the surface of the
Gulf of Mexico, causing the BP-Transocean drilling platform
Deepwater Horizon to explode, killing eleven workers and
injuring others. About five million barrels of crude oil were
released into the sea—on average, sixty thousand barrels a
day (about 11,350 tons of gas and oil per day) before the gusher
was finally capped on July 15. Over 630 miles of Gulf Coast
shoreline were oiled, mostly in Louisiana.
What responses were taken?
There were over 400 controlled burns, which killed hundreds
of sea turtles and unknown numbers of dolphins and other
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