March 24, 1989: One of the worst oil spills in U.S. history began
when the supertanker Exxon Valdez, owned and operated by the
Exxon Corporation, runs aground on a reef in Prince William
Sound in southern Alaska.
An estimated 11 million gallons of oil eventually spilled into the
water. Attempts to contain the massive spill were unsuccessful,
and wind and currents spread the oil more than 100 miles from
its source, eventually polluting more than 700 miles of coastline.
Hundreds of thousands of birds and animals were adversely
affected by the environmental disaster.
It was later revealed that Joseph Hazelwood, the captain of the
Valdez, was drinking at the time of the accident and allowed an uncertified officer to steer the massive vessel.
