On 25th Exxon Valdez Anniversary, Oil Still Clings to Beaches
The effects of one of the worst environmental disasters in the U.S. still linger on boulder-strewn beaches in the Gulf of Alaska.
Twenty-five years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill set off one of the most devastating environmental disasters in U.S. history, scientists say that a surprising amount of oil still clings to boulder-strewn beaches in the Gulf of Alaska.
Monday marks the 25th anniversary of the spill, when a tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound (map). The accident wiped out herring and salmon runs. And some of the affected wildlife, like sea otters and pink salmon, are still recovering.
The latest findings on lingering oil came last month, when scientists announced that spilled oil in the Gulf of Alaska still has most of the same chemical compounds as oil sampled 11 days after the accident. (See
