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State of AlaskaState of Alaska

Site of Exxon Site of Exxon Valdex oil spillValdex oil spill

State of Alaska

Location of the Exxon Valdex oil spill in the state of Alaska

A processed satellite image A processed satellite image

Area of impact of Area of impact of Exxon Valdex oil spillExxon Valdex oil spill

Area of Impact

1. Valdez Oil TerminalLoading piers at the Valdez terminal. Here, oil from the trans-Alaska pipeline is loaded onto tankers for shipment to West Coast states. At this terminal, oil was loaded onto the Exxon Valdez for shipment to Los Angeles/Long Beach.

Valdez Oil Terminal

2. The Exxon Valdez, Grounded on Bligh ReefShortly after leaving the Port of Valdez, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef. The picture below was taken 3 days after the vessel grounded, just before a storm arrived.

The Exxon Valdez, Grounded on Bligh Reef

3. Lightering Remaining CargoOil was lightered (transferred) from the Exxon Valdez (left) to the Exxon Baton Rouge (right), in a successful effort to keep the oil remaining on the Exxon Valdez from spilling into Prince William Sound. About one-fifth of the oil carried by the Exxon Valdez was spilled; the remaining 42 million gallons of oil was safely transferred to the Baton Rouge.

Lightering Remaining Cargo

4. Exxon Valdez Surrounded by BoomAfter the remaining cargo was offloaded and the Exxon Valdez was refloated, the vessel was moved to Outside Bay, southwest of Naked Island, where temporary repairs were made. Here, you can see it at anchor in Outside Bay, surrounded by protective boom.

Exxon Valdez Surrounded by Boom

5. Heavy Sheen on Sea SurfaceDuring the first few days of the spill, heavy sheens of oil, such as the sheen visible in this photograph, covered large areas of the surface of Prince William Sound.

Heavy Sheen on Sea Surface

6. Boom Around Salmon HatcheryAs the spilled oil moved across the waters of Prince William Sound, responders tried to protect especially sensitive locations, such as this salmon hatchery in the eastern Sound, which they surrounded with protective boom. Boom floats on the water surface and is designed to act as a barrier to oil.

Boom Around Salmon Hatchery

7. Oil Pooled Among RocksBeginning 3 days after the vessel grounded, a storm pushed large quantities of fresh oil onto the rocky shores of many of the beaches in the Knight Island chain. In this photograph, pooled oil is shown stranded in the rocks.

Oil Pooled Among Rocks

8. Pools of Oil on Rocky BeachThis photograph shows a heavily impacted rocky beach.

Pools of Oil on Rocky Beach

9. Boom, Barge, and SkimmerCleanup operations included skimming oil from the water surface with towed booms, as shown below. Two boats are towing the boom (only one is visible in this photo). Oil is collecting within the boom, and a small skimmer at the apex of the boom is removing the oil from the water surface. The skimmed oil is being pumped through a hose into the barge that is following the skimmer.

Boom, Barge, and Skimmer

10. Skimming OperationOil being skimmed from the sea surface. Here, two boats are towing a collection boom. Oil concentrated within the boom is being picked up by the skimmer (the vessel at the apex of the boom).

Skimming Operation

11. Scene in the Command CenterNOAA scientists at work in the spill response command center at Valdez. Some of their projects included forecasting the movement and fate of floating oil, identifying sensitive environments, evaluating results of surveys of shoreline oiling, studying the effects of shoreline cleanup methods, and coordinating scientific activities during the response.

Scene in the Command Center

12. Oil High on Beach FrontIn many locations in Prince William Sound, the action of tides and currents distributed oil throughout the entire intertidal zone. In Northwest Bay on Knight Island, tides have deposited oil on this rocky beach face up to the top of the intertidal zone.

Oil High on Beach Front

13. Oiled Beach at Herring BayThe backs of many bays were heavily impacted. This photograph shows a heavily oiled section of beach at the back of Herring Bay.

Oiled Beach at Herring Bay

14. Transport of Oiled WildlifeWorkers transporting captured, oiled wildlife to a rehabilitation center for cleaning. Researchers are actively debating the effectiveness of wildlife rehabilitation. While some studies have found rehabilitation to be ineffective, rehabilitation proponents have pointed out other cases in which rates of survival of rehabilitated wildlife have been substantially higher.

Transport of Oiled Wildlife

15. High-Pressure, Hot-Water WashingWorkers using high-pressure, hot-water washing to clean an oiled shoreline. In this treatment method, used on many Prince William Sound beaches, oil is hosed from beaches, collected within floating boom, then skimmed from the water surface.

Other common treatment methods included cold-water flushing of beaches, manual beach cleaning (by hand or with absorbent pom-poms), bioremediation (application of fertilizers to stimulate growth of local bacteria, which degrade oil), and the mechanical relocation of oiled sediments to places where they could be cleaned by wave and tide action.

High-Pressure, Hot-Water Washing I

15. High-Pressure, Hot-Water Washing

High-Pressure, Hot-Water Washing II

16. Booms Preventing Oil RefloatingWhen crews cleaned a beach with high-pressure, hot-water washing, booms were used, as shown here, to prevent oil refloated by the cleaning operations from escaping back into Prince William Sound.

Booms Preventing Oil Refloating

17. Sediment Plume and SheensA brown sediment plume and sheens of refloated oil drift away from this oiled beach as it is cleaned by a team applying high-pressure, hot-water washing. Refloating of oil and release of sediment are often unavoidable consequences of shoreline cleanup that can cause additional environmental harm.

Sediment Plume and Sheens

18. Block Island Before and During WashingThis photo shows a section of the Block Island coastline before treatment by high-pressure, hot-water washing; the next photo shows the same section during high-pressure, hot-water washing.

Block Island Before and During Washing I

18. Block Island Before and During Washing

Note the small black patch of refloated oil (next to the inner boom, on the righthand side of the photo) ready to be skimmed, and the brown plume of oil and sediment drifting outwards from the beach.

Block Island Before and During Washing II

20. Trenching to Measure Oil PenetrationA researcher digs a trench in an oiled beach in order to determine the depth of oil penetration.

Trenching to Measure Oil Penetration

21. Cleanup DebrisBags of Exxon Valdez cleanup debris await disposal. Much of the debris collected during the Exxon Valdez cleanup was eventually deposited in a landfill in Oregon State, the closest facility certified to properly handle the waste.

Cleanup Debris

References The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/spotlight/spotlight.html Copyright for pictures used National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraton (NOAA)

References