D_YORK@unhh.bitnet ("L. Daniel York") (06/15/89)
Hello! Though I am not a subscriber to your list, I wanted to inform you of news about the cleanup of the oil spill created by the tanker EXXON VALDEZ in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. No further updates will be sent to this list, but if you would like to be kept abreast of developments, please subscribe to the list BIOSPH-L@UBVM. Thank you. The following update on cleanup efforts in Valdez,Alaska was received by me on June 9, 1989 from L.J. Evans (VFLJE@ALASKA): ----------------------------------------------------------------------- My husband is working for the Department of Environmental Conservation the unit that is responsible for (among other things) video documentation of the spill. I asked him your question "How many miles of coastline have been cleaned?" His answer is "None." Seven to ten miles have been "treated.", which means that SOME of the surface oil has been removed. These areas still release oil at high tide, and are by no means cleaned. The only thing that will clean any of the shoreline in Prince William Sound is natural wave action and TIME. That is all a direct quote from my husband. To amplify from myself, I will comment that they are not talking about "cleaning" the beaches anymore, only "treating." There have been some bad problems, too, with the oil that has been steam-cleaned off of beaches escaping thje boom and going back out into the Sound. The "treatment" is really only cosmetic, I hear if you dig down only a few inches there is oil; if you dig a hole it will fill in with oil in half an hour or so. There is just no way in heaven or hell that they can CLEAN this up. It should have been prevented. Since it wasn't we all have to make DAMN sure it doesn't happen again, not ANYWHERE. [She states that her husband has created a videotape documenting the damage caused by the oil spill...] Would you like a copy? It is free to environmental groups and/or for educational purposes, make a donation to Cordova District Fisherman's Union (non-profit group who have financed production and duplication of the film) of $20 if it is for an individual. It is certainly not anything you will have seen on TV, I promise. Send me [VFLJE@ALASKA] a hard copy address if you're interested. Here are the grim reaper numbers for Thursday, June 8, as per U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services: Total dead birds: 24,521 Total dead raptors: 61 Total dead otters: 764 Remember this is a slim fraction of the estimated total dead - these are just the ones they've found. Also many other species are impacted; these are the ones impacted most heavily and whose numbers are most readily accessible to me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- On another note, the June 1989 issue of the "Calypso Log", the publication of The Cousteau Society, has an excellant article concerning the oil spill. The address of The Cousteau Society is: 930 West 21st Street, Norfolk, VA 23517 If you wish to send messages of encouragement to the workers cleaning up the oil spill in Valdez, you can send them to THANKS@ALASKA. (Note: The workers have no affiliation with Exxon, so don't send message of complaint or protest!) Please let others know about what is happening in Alaska! _________________________________________________________________ | L. Daniel York /\ | | _ / \ /\ | | Bitnet: D_YORK@UNHH / \/ \/ \__ | | Snail: P.O.Box 1051, Durham,NH 03824 USA / / \ / \ | | Phone: (603)862-4439 or 743-4001 / / \/ \| | Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory / / / | | or New Hampshire Outing Club / / | | University of New Hampshire, Durham,NH 03824 USA / | -----------------------------------------------------------------