Asked by: Emigdia Ataide
business and finance gasoline prices

What were the monetary damages of the Exxon Valdez oil spill?

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After nearly 20 years, Exxon Mobil Corp. will have to pay punitive damages for the massive Valdez oil spill that devastated Alaska's Prince William Sound. But in its ruling Wednesday, the Supreme Court slashed those damages to about $500 million.


Accordingly, what were the consequences of the Exxon Valdez oil spill?

When oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in 1989 into Alaska's pristine waters, animals and birds felt the immediate effects. For example, shortly after the spill, one quarter of a million seabirds, 2,800 otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles, and 22 orcas were killed.

Additionally, how much money did it cost to clean up the Exxon Valdez oil spill? Exxon Valdez oil spill costs exceeded $7 billion Cleanup alone cost in the region of US $2.5 billion and total costs (including fines, penalties and claims settlements) have, at times been estimated at as much as US $7 billion.”

Besides, who was affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill?

Both the long-term and short-term effects of the oil spill have been studied. Immediate effects included the deaths of 100,000 to as many as 250,000 seabirds, at least 2,800 sea otters, approximately 12 river otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles, and 22 orcas, and an unknown number of salmon and herring.

What was the cause of the Exxon Valdez oil spill?

On This Day: Exxon Valdez Wreck Causes Massive Oil Spill. On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound, causing 11 million gallons of oil to spill into the water. It is one of the most environmentally damaging oil spills in world history.

Related Question Answers

Godwin Falip

Professional

How many animals died in the Exxon Valdez oil spill?

Photos of oiled seabirds and otters have become spill clichés but animals were indeed hurt by the Exxon Valdez disaster. An estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters and 300 harbor seals were killed in the immediate aftermath, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Candid Alice

Professional

Is there still oil from the Exxon Valdez?

A small portion of the oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill still lingers in patches beneath Prince William Sound, Alaska, beaches. However, this and other studies suggests the remaining oil is sequestered, or buried, and currently is not posing a risk to the coastal and marine ecosystem.

Dalva Ibarbia

Professional

Is the Exxon Valdez cleaned up?

In the months after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Exxon employees, federal responders and more than 11,000 Alaska residents worked to clean up the oil spill. Exxon payed about $2 billion in cleanup costs and $1.8 billion for habitat restoration and personal damages related to the spill.

Nazira Villarino

Explainer

How did the Exxon Valdez affect humans?

It contaminated 1,300 miles of coastline with 250,000 barrels or 11 million gallons of oil. Direct contact with the oil slick killed at least 140 bald eagles, 302 harbor seals, 2,800 sea otters, and 250,00 seabirds within a few days. Four people died as part of the clean-up efforts.

Krasimir Lindenkreuz

Explainer

What happened to Exxon Valdez?

After the Big Spill, What Happened to the Ship Exxon Valdez? On July 30, 1989, four months after it ran aground in Alaska's Prince William Sound and caused the then-largest oil spill in U.S. waters, the crippled Exxon Valdez entered dry dock at National Steel and Shipbuilding in San Diego—its original birthplace.

Haroon Boubeta

Explainer

How much oil was released by the Deepwater Horizon spill?

Over the course of 87 days, the damaged Macondo wellhead, located around 5,000 feet beneath the ocean's surface, leaked an estimated 3.19 million barrels (over 130 million gallons) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico—making the spill the largest accidental ocean spill in history.

Oristila Zhivov

Pundit

Has Prince William Sound recovered from the oil spill?

It took a quarter century, but the northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) living in Alaska's Prince William Sound have finally recovered from the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, according to a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Naufel Parapar

Pundit

Why was the Exxon Valdez cleanup delayed?

The chairman of the Exxon Corporation said yesterday that a lack of authorization from Alaskan and Coast Guard officials contributed to the delay in efforts to clean up the oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound. Admiral William Nelson of the Coast Guard declined to comment on the Exxon chairman's statement.

Kacie Gadea

Pundit

How much oil was the Exxon Valdez carrying?

The Exxon Valdez oil spill. March 24, 1989 The Exxon Valdez oil tanker was carrying more than 50 million gallons of crude oil when it left Valdez, Alaska, on March 23, 1989. Around midnight, the vessel struck a reef, releasing roughly 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound over several days.

Palmira Szucs

Pundit

Why do birds die in oil spills?

When oil sticks to a bird's feathers, it causes them to mat and separate, impairing waterproofing and exposing the animal's sensitive skin to extremes in temperature. This can result in hypothermia, meaning the bird becomes cold, or hyperthermia, which results in overheating.

Detelin Hendschel

Pundit

Who was driving the Exxon Valdez when it crashed?

Hazelwood was convicted of a lesser charge, negligent discharge of oil (a misdemeanor), fined $50,000, and sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service.

Joseph Hazelwood
Nationality United States
Occupation Maritime consultant
Known for Master of Exxon Valdez during the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Mariasol Dobberose

Teacher

What does the Oil Pollution Act do?

The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 streamlined and strengthened EPA's ability to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills. A trust fund financed by a tax on oil is available to clean up spills when the responsible party is incapable or unwilling to do so.

Hugues Codeco

Teacher

Why is the Exxon Valdez significant?

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound, rupturing its hull and spilling nearly 11 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil into a remote, scenic, and biologically productive body of water.

Vernia Islakaev

Teacher

How much does it cost to clean up an oil spill?

Cleanup costs for an oil spill could be between $2.4 billion and $9.4 billion dollars. While it is impossible to know exactly how much an oil spill would cost, experts are able to estimate the financial risks by examining historic major spills.

Resham Ruhlicke

Teacher

How many oil spills have there been in Alaska?

In recent years, about 500 oil spills have occurred in the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and along the 800-mile pipeline each year, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, even though the daily "throughput" of oil has declined from about 2 million barrels a day in 1987 to less than half that today.

Tereza Yakimovsky

Reviewer

Where did the Exxon Valdez environmental disaster occur?

Exxon Valdez oil spill, massive oil spill that occurred on March 24, 1989, in Prince William Sound, an inlet in the Gulf of Alaska, Alaska, U.S. The incident happened after an Exxon Corporation tanker, the Exxon Valdez, ran aground on Bligh Reef during a voyage from Valdez, Alaska, to California.

Yassmine Randlkofer

Reviewer

How do you remove oil from the surface of water?

One of the easiest ways to remove hydrocarbons from water or coolant is by using a belt oil skimmer. It is a low maintenance, easy to use tool for removing oil from water or coolant. Belt oil skimmers, such as the Model 8, work because of the differences in specific gravity between oil and water.

Mouloudi Billich

Reviewer

How are oil tankers loaded?

Crude oil can be loaded into a tanker from a variety of offshore facilities or from a conventional oil terminal through the midship manifold . Modern oil tankers may equipped with the most advanced loading systems, combining a Bow Loading (BL) system and the ship's part of the Submerged Turret Loading (STL) system.

Eleanora Schapermeyer

Reviewer

What laws was passed after the Exxon Valdez oil spill?

In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez incident, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which required the Coast Guard to strengthen its regulations on oil tank vessels and oil tank owners and operators.