On March 24, 1989, a little after midnight, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, located in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The oil tanker was carrying over one million barrels of crude oil when disaster struck. More than one fourth of the crude oil escaped through the ripped hull of the tanker contaminating the pristine waters of the Alaskan Paradise. This catastrophe grossly invaded a habitat lavished with an abundance of natural resources and many valuable species of wildlife.
“Silence in the Sound” was written from my experiences while employed during the pretentious cleanup, it blends incredible personal conflicts with emotional distinction, resulting in a real-life adventure story. My position as General Foreman on the berthing Barges, which included a five hundred person Derrick Barge, enabled me to have a working relationship with supervisors, beach crews and the entire cleanup operation. My story sheds light on questionable circumstances that transpired during the working conditions between supervisors and their crews.
The entire summer was a challenge of strength and determination for everyone involved who were in demanding positions. The precarious expectations from some supervisors toward the female workers, who were in their command, were outrageous and offensive. Adding to the dilemma was the death of a man, with questionable details, that occurred on one of the procured small boats.
The public was unaware of the situations that jeopardized the safety of working personnel during the cleanup effort. “Silence in the Sound”, describes in detail many of the human endurances of some of the 10,000 workers employed in the largest oil spill cleanup attempt in American waters.
SHOCKING MEDIA COVERAGE
A stunned and horrified nation watched as the black crude oil continued to flow into the unspoiled territory of the “Last Frontier”. For the first three days after the oil spill, the weather continued to be ideal for oil recovery within the calm seas. However, the lack of equipment on hand to remove the oil from the surface of the Sound and the absence of a plan of recovery, allowed the black crude to continue spreading relentlessly, casting a shadow of impending doom across the span of virgin water.
Valdez, Alaska is where the terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and transporting facilities are, which load the North Slope crude oil onto large tankers. The oil tanker’s journey is through PWS, carrying enormous amounts of oil on board to the refineries outside the state.
In Valdez heated and conflicting debates erupted between federal, state and oil company officials regarding the best possible action to implement concerning the oil recovery. The constant and on going arguments turned the small town into a corporate verbal battlefield. Officials from corporations set up headquarters in the immediate area to survey the damage and hopefully devise a method to recover the oil from the water. The media kept a foothold within the boundaries of Valdez, reporting to the world their views on the progress of every meeting and event concerning oil recovery strategy.
Finally, on day four following the spill, the weather made a drastic change which put the cleanup process in high gear. The weather had been patiently obliging, waiting for man to retrieve his toxic waste from the unspoiled sanctuary; and then the tide turned.
Strong northeasterly winds lashing at 50 mph blasted across open water churning the crude oil into a frothy, sticky, brown mousse. This putrid, brown goop claimed the beaches of the sheltered PWS as its final resting place. After the storm, the oil took on a more dangerous form of toxic globs with the intense, disgusting smell of petroleum and seaweed. Thirty-five miles southwest of Bligh Reef, a smelly sheet of tar and mousse, up to an inch thick, contaminated the beaches and everything within its path of silent destruction.
Officials continued to point fingers and place blame in every direction concerning the spill. They complained of the lack and need for more operative recovery equipment. The constant complaining was all in vain and accomplished nothing. In the deadly silence within PWS, the bureaucrats continued to debate while the consuming brown mass forged ahead to obliterate life and pollute the land. A battalion of governmental and corporate delegates continued disputing environmental issues, and cringed from the awesome responsibility of generating a practical plan to retrieve the oil.
In an attempt to save their precious Alaskan shores, many townspeople and groups of fishermen desperately took matters into their own hands which caused even more conflict on the battle scene in Valdez. Volunteers rallied together making hastily prepared homemade booms to float in the water, and hopefully keep the crude from washing ashore and reaching vulnerable coastal salmon hatcheries.
Finally, on the 13th day, Exxon announced they would assume the responsibility for the oil spill cleanup, and initiated a cleanup plan attached to an unlimited expense account, while concerned government and environmental officials kept close watch over the oil companies’ movements to insure the protection of the environment.
Exxon’s plan was to hire crews to wash over a thousand miles of shoreline, with one third of the miles in PWS. This washing was to be accomplished by flushing the beaches with cold seawater in some areas, while other shores required high-pressure hot water washing with huge fire hoses. This was to be accomplished with beach crews operating the hose procedure and hand washing rocks on the beach.
Exxon contracted Veco, a sub-contractor, for the personnel hiring, a procedure to be implemented in Cordova, Whittier, Valdez, Anchorage and Kodiak Island. During the cleanup, over 4,000 employees were hired to work within Task Forces located in different areas throughout the Sound with a wage of $16.67+ per hour. They were trained and labeled as Oil-spill Recovery Technicians (ORTs), then sent to the battle lines. Beach crews armed with all the recovery gear that money could buy lived on and worked from huge sea vessels that had been turned into berthing Barges (floatels). Veco’s contract included the purchasing of equipment from arm sleeves to Zodiac boats; and leasing private boats for $1,000.00+ per day.
There was an overwhelming need to execute the cleaning process as soon as possible. The consuming oil floating on the water and washing up on the beaches was terminating wildlife. Mammals swimming in the sound were coated with the oily mess, which was unfortunately ingested as they attempted to clean themselves during their grooming efforts. On shore, birds of prey were dining on the oily dead carcasses of marine life and the death toll was escalating at an alarming rate. Various salmon hatcheries were threatened as the oil slick continued to move out of control, in its destructive pattern. To worsen matters, within two weeks the seals were due to migrate to their birthing beaches, and there they would encounter the toxic killer.
Alaskans united with other Americans in the battle to clean the oil from the once tranquil Alaskan coast. Some witnessed the devastating condition and departed with sadness in their heart, that would not allow them to continue the job. The sight of dying wildlife was too great for them to overcome. Others tried to complete their assigned tasks, but were defeated by cold, foul weather, certain family situations or health conditions. It was a dirty, hard, thankless task, completed by a rotating work force who kept the job sites occupied all summer.
Exxon offices broke new ground by communicating with all parts of the world searching for immediate answers concerning oil spill recovery techniques. Beach workers wore unfamiliar, bulky gear, balanced their oily boots on slippery rocks and were up to their necks in crude oil. They draped large hoses across their shoulders and cold water gushed from the ends onto the rocks below. Working 10-16 hours a day; there was only enough time at the end of the day to take a quick shower, eat and sleep until the 4:00 a.m. wake up call, and then they would face another day on the rocks. A deadly enemy never before encountered in this magnitude anywhere in the States had attacked PWS, and somehow an inexperienced army with inadequate weapons, was expected to rectify the inescapable invasion.
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