3.7.2.12 Prince William Sound, Alaska, U.S., 1989
Crude oil from the North Slope oilfields in Alaska is carried by pipeline to the
port of Valdez and then shipped by tanker to the west coast of the U.S. On
March 24, 1989, a huge tanker, named Exxon Valdez, went off course in a
16 km-wide channel in Prince William Sound, near Valdez, a harbor town of
4200. The tanker struck a reef, causing the worst ever oil spill in U.S. waters.
Eleven million gallons of crude oil escaped, and coated more than 2000 km of
shoreline and killing an estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2800 seaotters, 300 harbor
seals, 250 bald eagles, as many as 22 killer whales,
10 and countless other marine
mammals and fish. The spill also injured an unknown number of salmon and
herring eggs and larvae.
While many scientists believed that affected areas had recovered within a
decade after the disaster, a new study by Short et al.
11 at the Alaska Fisheries
Science Center, NOAA, made an alarming observation. According to the
study, oil was found on 78 of 91 beaches randomly selected. The cumulative
area of beach contaminated by surface or subsurface oil was estimated at 11.3
ha, and the mass of remaining subsurface oil was about 0.2% of the original
oil. The results of their study suggest that the toxicity stemming from the oil,
primarily from polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), continues to affect the
recovery of some sea animals in places where the oil is most persistent.
11
3.7.2.13 Gas Well Accident, Gaoqiao, China, 2003
On December 23, 2003, a leak occurred from a well in a natural-gas field at
Gaoqiao, a town in southwest China. The leak spewed out toxic fumes,
containing H 2 S, which killed at least 191 people and forced 31,000 people living
Occurrence of Toxicants
41
[16:54 26/8/04 P:/CRC PRESS/4365 MING-HO.751 (1670)/4365-003.3d]
Ref: 4365 MING-HO YU Chap-003 Page: 41 31-44
FIGURE 3.5 Location of Chernobyl, Ukraine.
Crude oil from the North Slope oilfields in Alaska is carried by pipeline to the
port of Valdez and then shipped by tanker to the west coast of the U.S. On
March 24, 1989, a huge tanker, named Exxon Valdez, went off course in a
16 km-wide channel in Prince William Sound, near Valdez, a harbor town of
4200. The tanker struck a reef, causing the worst ever oil spill in U.S. waters.
Eleven million gallons of crude oil escaped, and coated more than 2000 km of
shoreline and killing an estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2800 seaotters, 300 harbor
seals, 250 bald eagles, as many as 22 killer whales,
10 and countless other marine
mammals and fish. The spill also injured an unknown number of salmon and
herring eggs and larvae.
While many scientists believed that affected areas had recovered within a
decade after the disaster, a new study by Short et al.
11 at the Alaska Fisheries
Science Center, NOAA, made an alarming observation. According to the
study, oil was found on 78 of 91 beaches randomly selected. The cumulative
area of beach contaminated by surface or subsurface oil was estimated at 11.3
ha, and the mass of remaining subsurface oil was about 0.2% of the original
oil. The results of their study suggest that the toxicity stemming from the oil,
primarily from polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), continues to affect the
recovery of some sea animals in places where the oil is most persistent.
11
3.7.2.13 Gas Well Accident, Gaoqiao, China, 2003
On December 23, 2003, a leak occurred from a well in a natural-gas field at
Gaoqiao, a town in southwest China. The leak spewed out toxic fumes,
containing H 2 S, which killed at least 191 people and forced 31,000 people living
Occurrence of Toxicants
41
[16:54 26/8/04 P:/CRC PRESS/4365 MING-HO.751 (1670)/4365-003.3d]
Ref: 4365 MING-HO YU Chap-003 Page: 41 31-44
FIGURE 3.5 Location of Chernobyl, Ukraine.