A Quantitative Comparison of Oil Sources on Shorelines of Prince William Sound, Alaska, 17 Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.

ABSTRACT: Environmental damage caused by accidental discharges of pollutants depends in part on the degree of prior contamination, in that increased pollution of an already heavily contaminated region will usually be considered less detrimental than equivalent pollution of a pristine region. Quantitative comparisons of specific pollution events with the extent and severity of prior contamination are rare, owing to difficulties in identifying and assessing contaminants remaining from prior pollution events, and in some cases contaminants from natural sources. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) presents an unusual opportunity to quantitatively evaluate residual contaminants from petroleum sources on shorelines of Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska. Here, we evaluate surface oil contamination from

SUBMITTER: Short JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10447268 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature