Word: exxon
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...this case, the worst possible is an unprecedented ecological disaster. Though Exxon insists it will persist in cleanup efforts for months if necessary and promises to leave the highly scenic area "the way it was before," that is close to a physical impossibility. Earlier mishaps suggest that only about 10% of the oil from such a massive spill (this one totaled at least 10.1 million gal., perhaps 12.6 million) will ever be recovered. Some of the rest evaporates. But as the lighter components escape into the air, most of the oil turns into a thick black gunk that eventually sinks...
What happens next is a matter of theorizing. Nearly all previous massive spills have occurred in areas of moderate climate, where the waves, currents and winds of the open ocean dispersed them; the hemorrhage from the tanker Exxon Valdez is the first big spill to foul an enclosed body of cold water. Clifton Curtis, executive director of the Oceanic Society, predicts that the oil deposits on the bottom will act "as lethal time-release capsules," turning loose "harmful petroleum hydrocarbons for months and even years." Birds, fish and marine animals such as seals and otters that are not killed quickly...
...wider perspective, the disaster points up the unresolved conflict between American desires for an unspoiled environment and demands for more energy that has long bedeviled national policy. Immediately the crack-up of the Exxon Valdez gives powerful new ammunition to environmentalists fighting against a proposal to allow oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last large tracts of U.S. wilderness virtually untouched by man. The proposal, which has the support of President Bush, has passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but it may be delayed by the Prince William Sound disaster. Says Senator...
...five-year span, his automobile driver's license was revoked three times. Hazelwood is still not permitted to steer a car, but he retained his license to command a ship -- why, no one can satisfactorily explain. In 1985, after Hazelwood informed the company about his drinking problem, Exxon sent him to an alcohol rehabilitation program. The company says it was not aware that the problem persisted after his treatment...
Hazelwood appeared to be in control of himself when he boarded the Exxon Valdez Thursday night, March 23. But when his blood was tested fully nine hours after the ship ran aground, he had a blood-alcohol level of .06, higher than the .04 the Coast Guard considers acceptable for ship captains. Assuming he drank nothing after the accident and his body metabolized at the normal rate, Hazelwood's level at the time of the accident was about .19, almost double the amount that causes a motorist to be judged drunk in many states. Exxon fired Hazelwood after...