EXXON VALDEZ’ revisited..?

[Anuki Profile]

Between 41 million and 132 million liters of crude oil into the sea, which came less than about 1900 km coastline of Alaska became contaminated, of which 300 km "very heavily polluted.

It would be the second largest ecological disaster in U.S. history and estimated cost of the disaster life to 580,000 seabirds and 5500 otters, seals and sea lions but also several died. Also heavily threatened bald eagle had to endure: 250 of these birds and many whales killed by the pollution. The fishing was also tremendous damage and the fishing economy of the bay came to a standstill.

The court ruled that Exxon was guilty of the disaster, and had a mega-damages of U.S. $ 5 billion. It is and was a pittance compared to the profits of Exxon, which annually as between U.S. $ 125 suits and 175 billion, but found the damages EXXON insane.

After years of finishing procedures, the story still not finished. EXXON has fully litigated and damn silly to still have a few dollars to pay! EXXON find it, after paying fines for pollution and damage amounting to U.S. $ 2.2 billion, are enough.
It was February 2008, 20 years after the disaster (!) And the first session of the Supreme Court in the United States takes place, which by EXXON explained why the oil company also allocated U.S. $ 1.700.000.000 personal damages, not the victims would have to pay.

Among the original 33,000 plaintiffs are residents of Alaska, herring and salmon fishermen and workers of the former fish factories. We are now talking about a halved amount of compensation for at least 6000 victims of the spill that were entitled to benefits, all deceased ...

Until then, the only "winners" in this case lawyers EXXON, estimated about € 500 million fee to have pocketed!

Or the people in Alaska still fighting for compensation for their poor health, destroyed their lives and their years of unemployment ever get a cent, will eventually depend on further wrangling over an unknown difficult maritime law from 1818 ..!

In another similar case the court decided that the shipowner was not responsible for criminal conduct of its crew and that crew was at sea, miles from the coast. The court should now decide whether Exxon Mobil should take responsibility for Joseph Hazelwood, the captain of the ship, according to witnesses five double vodkas skipping behind bars in the port, March 23, 1989 he went to sea.

After an extremely difficult journey through the justice system is now working for Exxon Mobil for the Court, Exxon believes that they have already paid enough. But in Alaska is growing by the day the anger that the case, which became a flagship of the environmental movement, now the deliberate delaying tactics of the company and its allies has been sidelined ..
"After 19 years, there is no one who counts the money," said Jennifer Gibbins, a leading environmental group called: Prince William Sound Keeper. "This is now only for justice."

The images of oil-covered seabirds, whales and bloated carcasses of once-pristine beaches, where crude oil was sprayed, deeply shocked everyone. But we were always assured that the cleaning would help restore the natural balance and that they had suffered harm than would be compensated.

The environmental damage caused by the disaster remains high and while the PR department of Exxon's claims that the region has recovered quickly, showing hard scientists that oil is still, even after 19 years in the ecosystem has been established, in 2007 to estimated that about 100,000 liters of recovered oil counted.
These scientists have published evidence that the oil is not only the adult herring had been slain, but the eggs and larvae, thus there was a horrible end came to the famous herring fisheries in Prince William.

Exxon is still refusing to assume responsibility for the fact that a captain, whom she knew he was an alcoholic, gave the lead on a ship in such dangerous and environmentally sensitive waters feed. Apart from the damages which the fight goes, the oil company 190 million euros to repair the damage issued, most for cleaning.

Apparently this is the practice of their slogan: "We're Exxon and we do business straight."

Is this what the people of the coastal states on the Gulf of Mexico could expect the impact of the new oil slick from the BP oil platform? Very likely many of the same time as the people on the Gulf of Alaska.

On March 23, 1989, at 9:12 pm the Exxon Valdez oil tanker left the Alyeska Pipeline to cross Prince William Sound carrying approximately 53 million gallons of crude oil. The tanker was headed for Long Beach, California. Three hours later, just after midnight on March 24th, the Exxon Valdez ran into Bligh Reef, spilling 10.8 million gallons of oil into the sound.

- The amount of oil spilled could fill 125 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

- As many as 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 900 bald eagles and 250,000 seabirds died in the days following the disaster.

- 1,300 miles of coastline were hit by the oil spill.

- 1,000 harlequin ducks were killed by the oil spill, in addition to many chronic injuries that occurred as a result of the long term effects of the spill.

- The cleanup required about 10,000 workers, 1,000 boats and roughly 100 airplanes and helicopters.

- Four deaths were directly associated with cleanup efforts.

- The spill caused over $300 million of economic harm to more than 32 thousand people whose livelihoods depended on commercial fishing.

- Tourism spending decreased by eight percent in south central Alaska and by 35 percent in southwest Alaska in the year after the spill.

- There was a loss of 9,400 visitors and $5.5 million in state spending.

- Many fish populations were harmed during the spill. For example, sand lance populations went down in 1989 and 1990, herring returns were significantly fewer in 1992 and 1994 and adult fish had high rates of viral infections.

- Pink salmon embryos continued to be harmed and killed by oil that remained on stones and gravel of stream banks through at least 1993. As a result, the southwestern part of Prince William Sound lost 1.9 million or 28 percent of its potential stock of wild pink salmon. By 1992, this part of the sound still had 6 percent less of the wild pink salmon stock than was estimated to have existed if the spill had not occurred.

- Two years following the Exxon Valdez spill, the economic losses to recreational fishing were estimated to be $31 million.

- Twelve years after the spill, oil could still be found on half of the 91 randomly selected beaches surveyed.

-Three species of cormorant, the common loon, the harbor seal, the harlequin duck, the pacific herring and the pigeon guillemot still have not fully recovered.