Q4Exxonvaldez,Q5Exxonvaldez


 * How did it happen? Who or what caused the disaster? Why did it happen? **The tanker, Exxon Valdez, encountered icebergs in the shipping lanes. The captain of the vessel, Joe Hazelwood, ordered them to steer out of the shipping lanes and around the icebergs, he left and put the third mate in charge with orders to turn back to the lanes (their original route) as soon as it was safe. They did not turn back, however, and the ship continued to head straight for Bligh Reef, the ship ruptured and leaked nearly 11 million gallons of oil into the sound. The captain and a number of the crew were thought to have been under the influence of alcohol and the third mate had an excessive workload and was greatly fatigued or tired at the time. The U.S coast guard also failed to provide or change the traffic system, which should have been done due to the icebergs.

**What was done at the time to fix the problem? Was this the best solution to the problem? **Billions of dollars were spent on the Exxon Valdez cleanup but the effects of the oil can still be seen today. Some of the clean up efforts even made the situation worse.Workers sprayed hot water through high pressure hoses to get rid of oil that had collected in rocky coves. This however killed tiny organisms that could have accelerated the biodegradation of the oil and were key components in the food chain. The Prince William Sound is in a remote location which made it very difficult to respond to the disaster as it was only accessible by helicopter plane and boat.On March 24th a private company applied dispersant by helicopter, there were not enough wave or current movements to mix it into the oil, so the idea was abandoned. Explosions took place to try to burn off the oil which were relatively successful, reducing the amount of oil greatly. By the time they began to use mechanical equipment to clean up it was too late and the oil and kelp kept clogging the equipment. Over 11,00 Alaska residents tried to restore the environment by themselves and were outraged at Exxon Valdez and their lack of response to the disaster, less than 10% of the total oil was recovered.



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