Ocean Pollution Alaska

Eighteen months ago when they selected Newport Beach for their conference, three University of Massachusetts scientists had no idea how appropriate the choice would become. Today, while workers sweep spilled crude oil from Newport's beaches, the conference will discuss the latest in oil pollution cleanup technology and policies. And the featured speaker, signed up for more than a year, will be Peter Leathard, president of the company in charge of the cleanup in Newport and Huntington Beach.

A fishing boat loaded with 12,000 gallons of diesel fuel burst into flames off Cold Bay, Alaska, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to monitor the waters for spillage. Five crew members were hoisted off the 140-foot American Star, which burned throughout the day. The cause was unknown.

A defense request to sequester the jury in the Anchorage trial of the captain of the Exxon Valdez to shield them from publicity of the approaching anniversary of the nation's worst oil spill was rejected by state Superior Court Judge Karl Johnstone. But Johnstone granted the defense what it called a "major victory" in ruling that Joseph Hazelwood could not be considered guilty of acting recklessly for attempting to dislodge the grounded tanker from Bligh Reef.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed fining Exxon Corp., British Petroleum and Alyeska Pipeline Service a total of $20,000 for two incidents last spring in which oil tankers allegedly violated an EPA permit by discharging dirty ballast into a treatment plant at the Alyeska terminal in Valdez, Alaska.

The troubles faced by the fish and birds in Alaska's Prince William Sound because of the March 24 oil spill have intensified a debate on the future of about 180,000 caribou that wander the tundra about 800 miles to the north. That is where the oil industry wants to extend its search for oil--and where environmentalists have planted a stake in the ground. Both sides say that the issue has been catapulted to the top of the environmental agenda in Congress by the recent oil disaster.

Exxon on Tuesday finished pumping out the last of the nearly 1 million barrels of recoverable oil from the stricken tanker Exxon Valdez, clearing the way for a salvage crew to try to refloat the 987-foot vessel at high tide today. Completion of the most ambitious remote oil-transfer effort of its kind ever attempted--an effort that prevented the worst oil spill in the nation's history from being four times as bad--is the first tangible progress made by the oil company in managing the disaster.

At last, the enormous National Guard helicopter, its invaluable cargo of oil-containing booms slung under its belly, came in low from the north. The request for the booms had been made to Exxon two days ago. But like much that has gone wrong since the Exxon Valdez spilled more oil in U.S. waters than any other ship or rig or well, no booms appeared.

The big Alaska oil spill has become a rallying point for environmentalists across the nation and shapes up as a major setback for the oil industry's long-running effort to persuade the public that oil and the environment are compatible.

If dish-washing liquid cuts grease in the kitchen sink, why not use it to disperse the oil in Prince William Sound? A California woman used that reasoning when she called Gov. Steve Cowper's office last week to suggest using her favorite brand of dish-washing liquid to disperse the worst oil spill in U.S. history. "Her comment was that she uses this stuff every day and it worked just great," said Stacey Seitz, a secretary in Cowper's office.

Every day, seven days a week, about 100 day laborers descend on the Prince William Sound area of Alaska, trying to clean up the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Among them are the workers shown in these photos from Naked Island. Using their hands and absorbent pads that they call "diapers," the crews painfully and slowly clean off rocks, scrub boulders and rake the muck from beaches.

More than a year after the Exxon Valdez spilled about 11 million gallons of oil off the coast of Alaska, experts are debating whether a French fertilizer that helped clean up the spill should be used at other toxic-waste sites. A panel of microbiologists convened to discuss the fertilizer at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology at the Anaheim Convention Center on Monday.

Exxon through its lawyers is due to appear in federal court this afternoon for arraignment on criminal charges in connection with last year's disastrous Exxon Valdez oil spill. "We plan to defend ourselves vigorously," Exxon Shipping Co. attorney James Neal said from his Nashville law office before flying to Anchorage for the U.S. District Court arraignment. Exxon Corp., which is being represented by O'Melveny & Myers of Los Angeles, and Exxon Shipping Co.

A defense request to sequester the jury in the Anchorage trial of the captain of the Exxon Valdez to shield them from publicity of the approaching anniversary of the nation's worst oil spill was rejected by state Superior Court Judge Karl Johnstone. But Johnstone granted the defense what it called a "major victory" in ruling that Joseph Hazelwood could not be considered guilty of acting recklessly for attempting to dislodge the grounded tanker from Bligh Reef.

Eighteen months ago when they selected Newport Beach for their conference, three University of Massachusetts scientists had no idea how appropriate the choice would become. Today, while workers sweep spilled crude oil from Newport's beaches, the conference will discuss the latest in oil pollution cleanup technology and policies. And the featured speaker, signed up for more than a year, will be Peter Leathard, president of the company in charge of the cleanup in Newport and Huntington Beach.

Top Exxon executives contradicted government witnesses Monday, insisting they repeatedly urged the quick use of chemicals to disperse the nation's largest oil spill but that federal authorities turned them down. Their testimony before a five-member subcommittee of the House Interior Committee went against earlier statements by both the Coast Guard and the state's top environmental official, who said the oil company did not seek widespread use of dispersant chemicals to break down the oil. Exxon executives also disclosed for the first time that the cleanup has cost the oil giant $95 million to date.

Exxon salvage crews successfully refloated the stricken tanker Exxon Valdez on Wednesday as the former captain of the vessel surrendered to authorities in New York to face criminal charges in the massive oil spill. Joseph Hazelwood, 42, surrendered to police in a Long Island suburb of New York City and hours later Judge Kenneth Rohl set bail at $500,000--10 times what Alaskan authorities had sought.

A fishing boat loaded with 12,000 gallons of diesel fuel burst into flames off Cold Bay, Alaska, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to monitor the waters for spillage. Five crew members were hoisted off the 140-foot American Star, which burned throughout the day. The cause was unknown.

Exxon salvage crews successfully refloated the stricken tanker Exxon Valdez on Wednesday as the former captain of the vessel surrendered to authorities in New York to face criminal charges in the massive oil spill. Joseph Hazelwood, 42, surrendered to police in a Long Island suburb of New York City and hours later Judge Kenneth Rohl set bail at $500,000--10 times what Alaskan authorities had sought.

Exxon on Tuesday finished pumping out the last of the nearly 1 million barrels of recoverable oil from the stricken tanker Exxon Valdez, clearing the way for a salvage crew to try to refloat the 987-foot vessel at high tide today. Completion of the most ambitious remote oil-transfer effort of its kind ever attempted--an effort that prevented the worst oil spill in the nation's history from being four times as bad--is the first tangible progress made by the oil company in managing the disaster.

Every day, seven days a week, about 100 day laborers descend on the Prince William Sound area of Alaska, trying to clean up the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Among them are the workers shown in these photos from Naked Island. Using their hands and absorbent pads that they call "diapers," the crews painfully and slowly clean off rocks, scrub boulders and rake the muck from beaches.