I Told You So

Twenty years ago, in 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska dumping 40 million litres of oil into Prince William Sound.  

Today, Prince William Sound looks clean, but it isn't. A study has shown that a great deal of oil still remains.

Back in 1982, I pulled together some data that had been lying around in the lab in which I did my Master's thesis research.  It was dealing with how oil and water mix and the toxicity of this mixture.  I presented that data to a conference in Edmonton, attended by a great many representative of the oil and gas industry.  I was unprepared for the hostility the data and my presentation would receive, unfamiliar with the politics of oil.

One person wearing a suit of some expense--mine would have made Michael Moore proud--, took exception to the data showing the degree of toxicity.  He said something to the effect of, "It's all gone in a few years so who gives a damn!"

I replied that the 'visible' fraction of the oil on beaches would be gone, but the heavy fraction, composed of toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons would remain beneath the surface for a very long time.  This would move through the food chain and while it might not result in oil soaked sea otters washing up on the shore, it would still be causing damage.  This was not greeted well and suggestions of wild speculation rose from the floor.  There were around two hundred people attending, and from my perspective on the podium, no one seemed happy. 

Now we find ourselves twenty years down the road from the Exxon Valdez.  What is the research showing?  According to a recent interview with Jeff Short in Science News, who studied the spill for NOAA (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), about half of the original toxicity of the oil remains,..... mostly in the form of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.  

Photo Credit: Oiled bird: Courtesy of the Exxon Valdex Oil Spill Trustee Council