Exxon Valdez disaster

The OPA also set a schedule for the gradual phase-in of a double-hull design providing an additional layer between the oil tanks and the ocean. While a double hull would likely not have prevented the Exxon Valdez disaster (in fact, some of the leaking tanks were already within a double-hull structure), a Coast Guard study estimated that it would have cut the amount of oil spUled by 60 percent. All tankers traveling through the same area are scheduled to be double-huUed by 2015. 

Sleep deprivation was determined to play a role in the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster, the 1986 decision to launch the Space Shuttle Challenger which exploded shortly after takeoff, and numerous deadly commercial airline crashes. 

The results of sleep deprivation have been linked to motor vehicle accidents, major industrial accidents such as the Exxon Valdez, and Three Mile Island, and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (2). The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 1999 estimated that 56,000 police-reported crashes and 4% of all traffic crash fatalities (1550 cases) involved drowsiness and fatigue as principal causes (3). Sleepiness was a probable cause in about one third of all fatal-to-driver motor vehicle accidents involving commercial truck drivers (4). 

On March 24, 1989, shortly after midnight, an accident involving the supertanker vessel, the Exxon Valdez, resulted in a spill of 11 million gallons (260,000 barrels) of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound, Alaska. The spill was the largest in U.S. history and tested the abilities of local, national, and industrial organizations to respond to a disaster of such magnitude. Many factors complicated the cleanup efforts following... 

Worldwide, the introduction of a wide variety of anthropogenic chemicals into waters and soils has caused a growing concern about the consequences of such practices. Public awareness concerning the vulnerability of the environment to pollution has only been heightened by major incidents such as the Union Carbide (DOW) Bhopal and the Seveso disasters, the Three Mile Island and the Chernobyl accidents, and the Amoco Cadiz and the Exxon Valdez oil spills. 

The shipment of oil by tanker and the recovery of oil from offshore deposits have resulted in many spills in the ocean. The ocean oil spills near shore have ruined beaches, killed birds, and aquatic mammals. The spills poison the shallow ecosystems along the shoreline where many sea creatures breed and their young mature. The EXXON Valdez spill is estimated to have killed 500,000 birds. Virtually everyone agrees that oil spills hear shores are environmental disasters. 

Palinkas LA, Petterson JS, Russell J, et al Community patterns of psychiatric disorders after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Am J Psychiatry 150 1517-1523, 1993 Robins LN, Fischbach RL, Smith EM, et al Impact of disaster on previously assessed mental health, in Disaster Stress Studies New Methods and Findings. Edited by Shore JH. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press, 1986, pp 21-48 Sethi BB, Sharma M, Trivedi JK, et al Psychiatric morbidity in patients attending clinics in gas affected areas in Bhopal. Indian J Med Res 86 (suppl) 45-50, 1987 Smith EM, Robins LN, Przybeck TR, et al Psychosocial consequences of a disaster, in Disaster Stress Studies New Methods and Findings. Edited by Shore JH. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press, 1986, pp 49-76 Soloman SD, Canino GJ Appropriateness of DSM-III-R criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder. Compr Psychiatry 31 227-237, 1990... 

The tanker Baia Paraiso with one thousand tons of diesel oil on board sank at the coast of the Antarctic continent in January of 1989. Another tragedy happened in the Arctic waters of Alaska two months later. The tanker Exxon Valdez sank at the reef because of the fault of the captain. More than 40 thousand tons of petroleum flowed out from the hole into the waters. A petroleum slick covering an area up to 800 km2 was formed. The area in the Strait of Prince William was declared "a zone of disaster". The US Navy was involved with the cleanup. Nevertheless, there was the "potential for ecological disaster" with consequences that are difficult to foresee, according to the Washington Post. 

The grounding of the tanker Exxon Valdez near the Alaskan coast in 1989 revealed once again the need for responding immediately to oil spills. One result of the disaster was the... 

As far as the marine industry is concerned, tragic accidents such as the Herald of Free Enterprise and Derbyshire, together with environmental disasters such as Exxon Valdez and Amoco Cadiz, have focused world opinion on ship safety and operation (Wang (2002)). This demand for improved safety requires comprehensive safety analyses to be developed. Such safety analyses will ensure efficient, economic and safe ship design and operation. 

Ever since the inception of the petroleum industry the level of fires, explosions and environmental pollution that have precipitated from it, has generally paralleled its growth. As the industry has grown so has the magnitude of its accidental events. Relatively recent events such as the Flixborough incident (1974), Occidental s Piper Alpha disaster (1988), and Exxon s Valdez oil spill (1989) have all amply demonstrated the extreme financial impact these accidents can produce. 

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