The Exxon
Valdez struck a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling between 11 and 34 MILLION
gallons of crude oil, ranking as the largest oil spill in U.S. history. More
marine mammals and seabirds were killed directly by the oil than in any
man-made disaster ever.
The incident prompted the 1990 Oil Pollution Act which
called for tankers to be double-hulled, so that if the outer hull was damaged
the inner hull would prevent oil from spilling out. Major spills dropped by 2/3’s since this law
was passed.
The photo shows a portion of the oil-covered rock shoreline.
No comments:
Post a Comment