BIOREMEDIATION TREATABILITY TRIALS USING NUTRIENT APPLICATION TO ENHANCE CLEANUP OF OIL-CONTAMINATED SHORELINE

• Main Authors: A. Venosa, J. Haines, J. Glaser, Ed Opatken, P.H. Pritchard, C. Costa
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Prudhoe Bay; Alaska
• Online Access: http://oaspub.epa.gov/eims/eimsapi.dispdetail?deid=46845

On March 24, 1989, the supertanker Exxon Valdez went aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, releasing approximately 11 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. he spilled oil spread over, an estimated 350 miles of shoreline. he oil settled into the beach gravel and on rock surfaces and the faces of vertical cliffs. ontamination occurred primarily in the intertidal zone. nitial weathering of the oil resulted in a loss of approximately 15 to 20% of the oil by volatilization. omponents lost through volatilization included normal aliphatic hydrocarbons of 12 carbon atoms and less and low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylene, and some naphthalenes). he residual oil consisted of approximately 40 to 50% high molecular weight waxes and asphaltens. iodegradation of oil as een xtensively studied over the result, the fate and microbial decomposition of oil in aquatic understood. tudies have shown that oil degradation can occur environments. n response to the spill, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assembled a panel of experts to determine what could be done to accelerate the natural biodegradation process in Prince William Sound.