http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/us/06alaska.html?

_r=0
Published: May 5, 2010

"Fishing here is far from what it was. Suicides and bankruptcies and bitterness surged. Many
people left even as a few became spillionaires, getting paid to clean up."
(...)
A new industry took hold: environmental groups, scientific organizations, experts in the
psychological trauma of oil spills. A network of fishermen is now trained and paid by the oil
industry to respond if another disaster strikes.
Lawyers, fishermen and environmentalists in the gulf are now calling, looking for guidance in
areas like how to harness political anger over the spill and the most effective ecological triage.
National news crews are chartering planes to nearby islands to see how oil still coats rocks just
below the surface all these years later.
Fishermen recount once again their complicated journeys from the spill to the payments they
received just last year from a punitive damages judgment of about $500 million against Exxon
in 1994.
People here say they want to move on.
Youve got one jaded group of people in this town, Sylvia Lange, who worked her first fishing
boat at 14 and now runs a hotel overlooking the water. First it was the 10th anniversary, then
the 20th and now this.
Cordova is a reluctant touchstone, still trying to figure out how to respond to the event that
defines it for much of the outside world. This year, officials hope to break ground on an
ambitious new museum that will replace the frayed scrapbooks of news clippings that now rest
on a table near dugout canoes and tools used for gold mining in a room connected to the local
library.
We dont even have an exhibit about the spill, and yet its the most-asked question we get,
said Cathy Sherman, who runs the current museum and library. Nobody even wanted to be
reminded of it here.
Ms. Sherman said the new museum, which has secured about $18 million in financing from the
state and other sources, will tell the story of the spill through objects, including a piece of the
Valdez hull. But it will also try to show what we learned, she added.
The lessons continue, even after books and dissertations have been written, documentaries
made, songs composed and case studies completed. The mountain views are still stunning but
the herring fishery is gone, the king and Dungeness crabs, too. Prawns are coming back, but
just barely. The loss of the herring industry over the years since the spill has cost the region
about $400 million, said R. J. Kopchak of the Prince William Sound Science Center, although
some blame cyclical patterns or other factors for the change, not the spill.

Much of a generation chose paths other than fishing, though some younger people have
decided to take their chances.
Makena OToole, 24, said his earliest memory from childhood was of the paralyzing moment
his father, a fisherman, heard that the Valdez tanker had crashed into Bligh Reef. Now, even
with the famed Copper River sockeye that spawn here, Mr. OToole said, This is still not a
place to be a fisherman.
Mr. OToole said he plans to move south in September, to fish out of Sitka, where he said the
fishery was more abundant because there wasnt an oil spill there.
Ms. Lange said her family dropped out of the suit and moved to western Alaska to work in the
fishing industry there for several years after the spill.
We made the conscious decision that we were no longer going to be victims, she said. I
could see my whole life going into the spill.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/23/opinion/holleman-exxon-valdez-anniversary/
March 25, 2014 -- Updated 1803 GMT (0203 HKT)

The government considers, as of 2010, only 13 of the 32monitored wildlife populations,

habitats and resource services that were injured in the spill as fully "recovered" or "very likely
recovered." Some are still listed today as "not recovering." This includes a pod of orcas, which
lost 15 of its 22 members after the spill, and has not produced a calf since. Given only one
older female is left, scientists appear certain that this unique pod of orcas will go extinct -- it's
just a matter of time. The government conclusion is that "there appears to be no hope for
recovery."
The "not recovering" list also includes Pacific herring, one of the sound's keystone species.
Once the source of a vibrant commercial fishery, herring declined so precipitously that a
fishery closed, and has not reopened.
Eight inches long, herring once swam in schools of a million or more, a sudden flash of their
silver undersides confusing predators. In April, their spawning turned the bays and lagoons
milky white. More than 40 species -- bald eagles, brown bears, seals, humpback whales, tufted
puffins, murres -- depend on these small fish.
2010 Injured Resources and Services
http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/static/PDFs/2010IRSUpdate.pdf
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/e/exxon_valdez_oil_spill_1989
/index.html?inline
Updated: Aug. 3, 2010
The damage to the fishing industry and to native subsistence hunting has lasted for years.
Exxon originally was ordered by a federal court to pay $5 billion in punitive damages in 1994. A
federal appeal in 2006 reduced it to $2.5 billion. In 2008 the United States Supreme Court

further reduced the damages to just over $500 million. More than $2 billion has been spent on
cleanup and recovery. Exxon has paid at least $1 billion in damages.
The accident helped to create a new industry around environmental groups, scientific
organizations, experts in the psychological trauma of oil spills. A network of fishermen is now
trained and paid by the oil industry to respond to future disasters.
___________________________________________________________
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/03/the-exxon-valdez-oil-spill-25-years-agotoday/100703/
Fotos do desastre.

http://www.coastalfirstnations.ca/about/sound-silence-first-nations-release-oil-spillcommercial-reminding-british-columbians-dangers
http://www.letbcvote.ca/
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/04/13/british-columbia-town-votes-we-dontwant-pipeline-and-tanker-terminal/
http://pipeupagainstenbridge.ca/blog
http://elizabethmaymp.ca/get-involved/oil-free-coast
A populao da provncia canadense, British Columbia, anda realizando fortes campanhas
clamando por um plebiscito sobre o aval para o transporte de petrleo em sua costa. As
manifestaes vm escalonando com o tempo e, em 2013, houve at um comercial nas TVs
locais.
Cerca de 80% da populao da provncia apoiam o banimento de navios tanques em guas
costerias.
Na cidade de Kitimat, um plebiscito decidiu contra a proposta de instalao de um oleoduto
que traria a visita de 220 navios tanque por ano(13/04/2013).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/science/19obspill.html?fta=y (2010)
Grande parte do leo que vazou encontrada numa camada secundria de areia nas praias da
regio. Ela est abaixo da camada superficial e, devido maior presso e falta de oxignio,
demora muito mais tempo para se degradar.
http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/environment/emergency-preparedness/spill-preventionand-response/valdez-oil-spill
Em contrapartida, est estampado no site da Exxon, num artigo sobre o acidente, que, em
1992, a Guarda Costeira declarou o precesso de limpeza completo e ainda proclama:

"The ecosystem in Prince William Sound today is healthy, robust and thriving. While there
were severe short term impacts on many species due to the spilled oil, and they suffered
damages, based on the studies of many scientists who have worked extensively in Prince
William Sound, there has been no long term damage caused by the spilled oil. This level of
recovery conforms to the well established record of recovery documented by the scientific
community following many other oil spills around the world, many of them much larger than
the one that took place in 1989."

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/feb/02/oil.pollution
18 years on, Exxon Valdez oil still pours into Alaskan waters
Study concludes threat to ecology could last decades
Tanker's owner dismisses report as insignificant
_____________________________________________________________________________
http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/environment/emergency-preparedness/spill-preventionand-response/valdez-oil-spill
Changes ExxonMobil has made to prevent another accident like Valdez
In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez accident, ExxonMobil redoubled its long-time
commitment to safeguard the environment, employees and operating communities
worldwide. To improve oil-spill prevention, ExxonMobil has, for example:

Modified tanker routes

Instituted drug and alcohol testing programs for safety sensitive positions
Restricted safety-sensitive positions to employees with no history of substance abuse
Implemented more extensive periodic assessment of ExxonMobil vessels and facilities
Strengthened training programs for vessel captains and pilots and
Applied new technology to improve vessel navigation and ensure the integrity of oil
containment systems In the event a spill occurs, we also have improved our response
capability. For example:
ExxonMobil is a founding member of every major oil spill response center worldwide
There are over 1,000 ExxonMobil employees involved in oil spill response teams
worldwide
We hold frequent, extensive oil spill drills at various ExxonMobil locations around the
world and
We have developed and applied new spill-detecting technology.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/24/newsid_4231000/4231971.stm
Notcias da BBC da poca
http://oceana.org/en/our-work/stop-ocean-pollution/oil-pollution/learn-act/exxon-valdez-oilspill-facts

Cerca de 2800 lontras, 300 focas, 900 guias carecas e 250,000 pssaros martimos
morreram nos dias seguintes ao desastre;
1300 milhas de costa foram atingidas pelo derramamento;
Quatro mortes foram diretamente associadas aos esforos de limpeza;
O vazamento causou mais de US$300 milhes em danos econmicos mais de 32 mil
pessoas, cujo meio de sustento dependiam da pesca comercial;
Os gastos de turismo sofreram uma reduo de 8% na regio centro-sul do Alaska e
queda de 35% na regio sudoeste do Alaska no ano seguinte ao derramamento;
Muitas populaes de peixes foram reduzidas e as que retornavam, apresentava altas
taxas de infeces virais;
A regio perdeu 28% do seu estoque em potencial de salmo;
2 anos aps o vazamento, as perdas econmicas da pesca recreativa na regio foram
estimadas em US$31 milhes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill#Economic_and_personal_impact
Dois anos depois do acidente, uma corporao de investidores nativos do Alaska, teve que
declarar falncia, mas foi reerguida com ajuda estadual (?).
http://www.wholetruth.net/downloads/pressReleases/02272008%20The%20Cordova%20Tim
es.pdf
"The subsistence culture that our Native people have practiced for thousands of years was
totally disrupted," said Travis Vlasoff of the Native Village of Tatitlek, three miles northeast of
Bligh Reef.
"It is very difficult to summarize the damage to the mental health of our communities. I can
tell you how our social structure was tied to the practice of subsistence gathering, how the
traditional foods were part of our identity as a people, or how our cultural values were based
on the sharing of traditional foods and harvesting techniques," Vlasoff said
It will become apparent when the Supreme Court issues a ruling before it adjourns in early
summer whether Webber's shame totem carries enough mojo to preserve the $2.5 billion
punitive damages award levied against Exxon by the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals in December 2006.
That figure would translate to a bit more than $75,000 for each of the 32,667 claimants.
A Exxon, obviamente, entrou com recurso. Nesse recurso, em 2008, ela declarou que:
punitive damages cannot be awarded for violations under the Clean Water Act;
under longstanding maritime law, it is not liable for the actions of a reckless ship captain
acting contrary to company policy;
the $2.5 billion award - the highest in U.S. history - is excessive.

*Obs: Essa reportagem do incio de 2008. Mais a frente, na Suprema Corte, a deciso foi de
cerca de US$500 milhes apenas, resultando em US$15,000 para cada requerente da ao.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/us/26alaska.html?fta=y)
This decision is a giant cold slap in the face, said Garland Blanchard, 59, a third-generation
fisherman who said he lost his marriage along with his two fishing boats, house, cat and dog to
financial pressures caused by the spill. Mr. Blanchard expects to receive less than $100,000
from the settlement, down from the $1.2 million he had previously expected.
Our lives and businesses have been destroyed, and we get basically nothing, he said. Its
pathetic.
Local radio stations were just breaking news of the decision as Alicia Jensen opened the Killer
Whale Caf in Cordova, Alaska, at 6:30 Wednesday morning. Just as it has nearly every day for
two decades, the spill and the legal case dominated customers conversations.
This has been the primary focus of this town for most of my life, said Ms. Jensen, 33, who
owns the cafe. Im glad that its over, and everybody can get on with our lives.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/26/us/26tug.html?fta=y
Tugboat (rebocador) encalha no mesmo recife que o Exxon Valdez e vaza leo diesel no mar.
(2009). Seus tanques de combustvel continham cerca de 33,500 gales, mas no h
estimativas sobre a quantidade derramada, apenas que a mancha se estendeu por 3 milhas.
A tripulao do rebocador utilizou as boias de conteno de 200 ps ao redor da embarcao,
depois de limpar o recife e prosseguir para guas mais profundas.
____________________________________________________________
Outros para ler:
www.sciencedirect.com
http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/washington/25bar.html?fta=y
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/27/us/unlicensed-mate-was-in-charge-of-ship-that-hitreef-exxon-says.html
http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/static/PDFs/2010IRSUpdate.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Newspapers,_Inc.
http://blog.nwf.org/2011/03/the-exxon-valdez-disaster-now-in-its-22nd-year/
__________________________________________________________
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oilspill/index.ssf/2010/05/in_alaska_gulf_oil_spill_bring.html

"Crude oil from the tanker still lingers on some beaches a full 21 years later. Some marine
species never recovered. Families and bank accounts were shattered. Alcoholism, suicide and
domestic violence rates all rose in hard-hit towns." Obs: Checar os ndices de desemprego
antes e depois e os de suicdios tambm.