Word: spill
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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After the tanker Exxon Valdez plowed into a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound, causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history, Exxon Chairman Lawrence Rawl made himself scarce. He waited almost a week before he publicly commented on the disaster, and it was more than two weeks before he ventured to Valdez. Last week, at Exxon's shareholder meeting, Rawl was forced to confront -- personally and directly -- a very angry public...
...speech to some 1,800 stockholders, Rawl accepted Exxon's "responsibility to clean up the spill and meet our obligations to those who were adversely affected by it." A team of independent board members, Rawl announced, would investigate management's possible culpability. He promised that an environmentalist would be named to Exxon's board, but when pressed, he admitted, "I don't know who that would be, and I don't know what the criteria would...
...Rawl fielded questions, the National Transportation Safety Board continued a week of investigative hearings into the spill. The board disclosed new evidence that the tanker's captain, Joseph Hazelwood, had at least two drinks in the hours before the accident. James Kunkel, the ship's chief mate, described the terrifying moments after the ship hit the reef. "I feared for my life," Kunkel said. "I wondered if I would see my wife again...
Despite the efforts of nearly 7,600 workmen, more than 700 miles of coastline remain polluted eight weeks after the spill. Two annual migrations - of economic importance to Alaska have also been damaged. The flocking of tourists to the sound has slowed. And though inspectors who examined fish caught at the start of the salmon season last week pronounced them clean, not everyone was convinced. Alaskan red salmon was selling for $2.50 a lb., down from $3.50 last year. These days, many Americans would rather be safe than sorry...
...same token, the President's response to the Alaska oil spill tarnished his leadership credentials. Bush failed to grasp the symbolic importance of dealing personally with a major environmental disaster. When an Exxon tanker dumped 11 million gal. of oil into Prince William Sound, Bush remained in Washington instead of touring the scene of the accident. Even his old friend John Chafee, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, says, "That was unfortunate, a missed opportunity." Despite the lack of personal involvement, however, Bush has sent ships and personnel from the Navy, Army, Air Force...