What did we learn from the Exxon Valdez oil spill?
It decimated salmon fisheries. It wiped out hundreds of thousands of sea birds, and billions of salmon and herring eggs. Courtesy the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. The “highly unlikely” devastated 28 types of animals, from mussels and clams to salmon, bald eagles, cormorants, and killer whales.
How did Exxon respond to the oil spill?
Exxon, meanwhile, responded by burning floating oil and dumping toxic oil-based chemicals called “dispersants”. Dispersants break oil apart into smaller droplets, and this was assumed to enhance natural dispersion and degradation of oil, thereby “cleaning up” a spill.
What were the long term effects of the Exxon Valdez?
The oil killed and injured seabirds, sea otters, harbor seals, bald eagles, orcas and other wildlife. Eventually, oil from the spill affected more than 1,000 miles of Alaska’s remote and rugged coastline.
How did the Exxon Valdez affect the economy?
Exxon Valdez devastated local fishing and the tourism economy. And tourism spending decreased by 8 percent in south central Alaska and by 35 percent in southwest Alaska in the year after the spill. Two years following the Exxon Valdez spill, the economic losses to recreational fishing were estimated to be $31 million.
What type of oil was spilled in Exxon Valdez?
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a manmade disaster that occurred when Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker owned by the Exxon Shipping Company, spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. It was the worst oil spill in U.S. history until the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.
How many gallons of oil were spilled by Exxon Valdez?
The oil tanker Exxon Valdez spilled an estimated 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound after striking Bligh Reef at approximately 12:04 a.m. on March 24, 1989. The oil spill eventually covered 11,000 square miles of ocean, extended 470 miles southwest, and coated 1,300 miles of coastline.
What are ethical issues in Exxon’s Valdez oil spill?
Exxon Valdez Case Study. Executive summary. The ethical issues faced by management of corporations, and Exxon in particular, originate from the objective of cost cutting with the purpose of profit maximization . As was seen in Exxon’s case, where the disaster could have been prevented if the proper mechanisms and equipment were put in place.
Who was to blame for the Exxon Valdez oil disaster?
Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska, after running aground March 24, 1989. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) eventually assigned most of the blame for the oil spill to Exxon , citing its incompetent and overworked crew. The board also faulted the U.S. Coast Guard for an inadequate system of traffic regulation.