What We Can Learn from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Even though the cap on the Deepwater Horizon oil well has been permanently secured, and the relief well is just days away from being complete, the uncertainty of the long-term effects on the rich Gulf wildlife is unknown and worrisome.

“This whole notion that that stuff is weathering away is really questionable,” said Jim Cowan, a professor in Louisiana State University’s department of oceanography and coastal sciences.

“What dispersed oil does is eventually dissolves into sea water and the ultimate fate of that is ultimately undetermined,” claimed Cowan.

Experts warn that the devastation will come not now, but years from now, similar to the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill where the damaging effects in the regions’ waters was not experienced and evaluated until two or three years following the 1989 disaster.

And according to the BBC News, otters and other animals are still suffering nearly 12 years after the Alaskan oil spill.

The news bureau also estimates that the spill killed 250,000 sea birds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbour seals, 250 bald eagles, up to 22 killer whales, and billions of salmon and herring eggs. And according to some scientists and researchers, the affected aquatic and land population has still not recovered.

The tanker went aground in Prince William Sound in March 1989, and spilled 42 million litres of crude oil.

Tags: deepwater horizon oil spill, exxon valdez oil spill