Exxon Valdez
Presented By: Delaurean Washington
Rajesh Manandhar
Mary Ngo
FIVE LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
 Be able to identify how the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill occurred.
 Know the chemistry behind an oil spill.
 Be able to identify any laws that were passed after the Exxon
Valdez Oil Spill occurred.
 Identify the clean up measures that were used in this incident.
 Be able to identify some of the effects the oil spill had on
marine and human life.
History/Background Info
 On March 23, 1989 at 9:12 p.m. the oil
tanker boat known as the Exxon Valdez
was scheduled to transport over 60
million gallons of oil from Prince
William Sound to Long Beach,
California to be refined over a 5-day
time span.
 Due to some ice fragments that had
broken off from the Columbia glacier,
Capt. John Hazelwood had decided to
take Exxon Valdez off its normal route
to steer clear of the glacier pieces.
History/Background Info
 During this time of steering off course, John Hazelwood,
decided to leave from the bridge area and leave the Third
mate in charge of the ship.
 Through a lot of unforeseen mistakes and lack of
communication at about 12:04 a.m. on March 24, 1989,
Exxon Valdez ran across the Bligh Reef.
 Within the time span of five hours about 11 million
gallons of oil had spilled from the ruptured hull of the
tanker and into the Prince William Sound
History/Background Info
 Over the next few days, the winds were very mild and
currents were very minimal which gave hope that the oil
spill although large was confined to one area of the
Prince William Sound.
 However, the weather had another plan because on
March 27th, 3 days after the oil was spilled. A storm blew
in with about twenty foot waves through the Western
region of the Prince William Sound and into the Gulf of
Alaska.
History/Background Info
 All in the span of one night,
the already large body of oil
went from spanning over 4
miles to an oil slick that
measured over 40 miles.
 After a couple more days,
the oil slick was now about
700 miles which oiled the
coastline.
History/Background Info
Components of Crude Oil

The major components of
crude oil:


Hydrocarbons

Paraffins

Naphthenes

Aromatics

Asphaltenes
Non hydrocarbon
components
Components of Crude Oil
Paraffins (Alkanes)
Naphthenes (Cycloalkanes)
Components of Crude Oil
Aromatics or PAH
Non hydrocarbon components
Components of Crude Oil
Asphaltene
Fate of Oil Spill in Sea

Advective and spreading
processes


Physical processes

Evaporation

Dissolution

Vertical Dispersion

Emulsification

Sedimentation
Chemical processes

Photooxidation

Autooxidation
 Biological transformation

Metabolism

Storage

Discharge
Fate of Oil Spill in Sea
Fate of Oil Spill in Sea
Fate of Oil Spill
 Shoreline contamination

Insoluble contaminants
will seep thru the sandy
beach and reach the water
table.

Can not easily degrade and
hardest to clean

Study by Michael Boufadel
of Temple University

Results have shown that oil
form 1989 spill still persists
Fate of Oil Spill
 Photooxidation of PAH:
Fate of Oil Spill
 Autooxidation:
Metabolism of PAH
Ways to Clean up an Oil
Spill
 Containment boom: it is a large float that surrounds the
oil slick and as it is pulled into a boat it skims the oil off
of the top until the oil slick shrinks
 Detergent solutions: which can be sprayed onto the oil
slick and cause the oil to break up into clumps and sink
to the bottom on the ocean
 Absorbent sand: can be used by pouring sand on the oil
slick which also drags the oil to the bottom of ocean in
sandy clumps
Ways to Clean up an Oil
spill
 Oil eating bacteria: recently designed to use the oil slick as
food. When the bacteria reproduces, the bacteria eats more of
the oil slick until it vanishes. When the oil slick is gone, the
bacteria die off because the food source is gone so nothing is
left in the water
 Fire: if the oil slick contains highly flammable compounds
and is very small, the oil slick can be set on fire. Although this
is rarely done because most oil slicks do not contain
flammable compounds
 Absorbent Pads: If the slick is small and in a fresh water
setting then the oil slick can be cleaned up by absorbent pads
and when they are full they can be cleaned off the surface of
the water
Exxon Valdez Cleanup
 The initial goal was to remove as much as oil as possible
 The methods that were used in 1989 were the absorbent pads,
low and moderate pressure washing with cold and warm
water coupled with near shore oil skimmers, mechanical
removal of oil sediments and bioremediation.
 In 1989, the removal of oil and natural cleaning of the oiled
shores during the storms of 1989-1990 produced a major
reduction in the oil remaining in the Prince William Sound so
that less intrusive cleanup measures had to be used in the
upcoming years.
Exxon Valdez Cleanup
 The less intrusive cleanup measures were tilling, removal
of tar mats physically, and the spreading of oil-soluble
fertilizer to promote microbial degradation of petroleum
residues (bioremediation).
 These cleanup measures coupled with natural oil
degradation processes were very successful in reducing
the amount of remaining residues of the spill and in
June of 1992, representatives of the federal and state
governments determined that no additional cleanup of
shoreline was warranted, and the cleanup was
terminated.
Exxon Valdez Cleanup
Exxon Valdez Cleanup
Still Remaining
 After 3 decades
 More than 21,000 gallons remain from 11 million
gallons
 Oil decreases at rate of 0-4% a year
 In isolated coves
and underneath
Sand
 Death Marsh
Still remaining
 Intensive cleanup ended in 1994
 Naturally breakdown of oil has slowed
 Oil-coated beaches isolated from
regular water flow
 Inspired 1990 U.S. Oil Pollution
Act
 By 2020, all oil tanks have double
hulls
Still Remaining
 11,000-person crew removed much of oil until 1994
1990 Oil Pollution Act
 George H. Bush signed in 1990
 Oil spill prevention measures
 New requirements for oil transportation, cleanups, and
response capabilities
Section 311
 Section 311 of Clean water Act and Federal Water
Pollution Control Act
 Amendments included:
 Changes to federal response authority
 Penalty increases for oil spills
 Establishment of U.S. Coast Guard response organization
 Mandated tank vessel and facility response plants
 Formulation of area contingency plans for selected areas
Section 311
 Enhancing federal response capability
 Creating new research and development programs
 Increasing potential liabilities
Exxon ordered to pay
interest
 2009, $470 million in interest on the $507.5 million in
punitive damage
 Interest started in 1996, at 5.9%
 $70 million in court fee left!
 Originally was $5 billion settlement for victims
 $15,000 per victim, 33,000 plaintiffs
Exxon ordered to pay
interest
Animals affected?

Thousands of animals died

250,000 -- 350,000 sea birds

2,800 sea otters

300 harbor seals

250 bald eagles

22 orcas

7 whales

Billions of salmon and herring
eggs perished
Impact on Marine Life
 Billions of fish killed
 Eating oil contaminated food
 Starved to death
 Thick layer of oil on surface disrupted marine life
beneath
 No sunlight
Impact on Fishing
 Fishing ban
 4,000 jobs on fishing
industry were affected
 Risk of cancer connected
to consumption of sea
produce
 $286.8 million to 10, 000
Alaskan commercial
fisherman
Impact on Humans
 Psychiatric symptoms and association with level
of exposure to oil spill and clean up operation
 Anxiety
 Post-traumatic stress syndrome
 Depression
Many Workers
Lots of workers
Still more workers……
 Floating booms and skimmers barges
 1,4000 vessels and 85 save animals
Exxon Restoration Plan
 1994 – 5 fold plan of action
 Surveillance of main resources and species affected
 Restoration of sites
 Protection of habitats
 Management of long term reserve fund
 Scientific coordination, administration and
communication
References
1.
http://fiesta.bren.ucsb.edu/~vbroje/images/oilspillab.pdf
2.
http://archive.greenpeace.org/climate/arctic/reports/exxon2.pdf
3.
http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/d/dpage/html/evos10yr.shtml
4.
Speight, J. G. The chemistry and technology of petroleum; Marcel Dekker: New York, 1999.
5.
Simanzhenkov, V.,Idem, R., Crude oil chemistry - Technology and Engineering, 2003
6.
Bluemink, E. Persistence of Exxon Valdez oil may be explained by study. Web article available at http://www.adn.com/2010/01/17/1097964/exxon-spill-oil-persistencemay.html#ixzz0jauol3Re, 2010.
7.
Larson, R. A., Weber, E. J. Reaction mechanisms in environmental organic chemistry. 1994. 221-224
8.
Pictures obtained from:
1.
http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/d/dpage/html/evos10yr.shtml
2.
www.bestsynthetic.com/volatility.shtml
3.
www.princeton.edu/~chm333/2004/Bioremediation...
4.
http://www.oneinchpunch.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/crude-oil-spill-clear-up.jpg
5.
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/388/09032303valdeztankerbig.jpg
6.
http://www.maritimequest.com/freighters/exxon_valdez/exxon_valdez_02.jpg
7.
Video Obtained fro,m: http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/
http://www.sustainabilityninja.com/wp-content/uploa ds/200 9/06/e xxon-oil -spill.jpghttp://www.wired.c om/wir edscie nce/20 09/03/valdezl e
References

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/valdezlegacy/

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-904613.html

http://feww.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/court-caps-damages-in-exxon-valdez/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-chameides/exxon-valdez-20-years-lat_b_176262.html

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/02/eveningnews/main4769329.shtml#comments

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/oil_spills.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPgIfT5mGVc&feature=related

http://www.adn.com/2010/01/17/1097964/exxon-spill-oil-persistence-may.html

http://www.black-tides.com/uk/tools/exxon-valdez-most-expensive-oil-spill.pdf