Exxon Oil Spill

One of the biggest Oil spills in Unites States happened on March 24^th , 1989. The Exxon Valdez oil tanker was carrying about 53 million gallons of crude oil and was headed towards Long Beach, California. The Exxon Valdez ran into the Bligh Reef, spilling 10.8 million gallons of oil. As many as 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 900 bald eagles, 250,000 seabirds, and multiple types of fish died because of the because of the spillage. 1,300 miles of coastline were hit by the oil spill. The clean-up process cost over $300 million of economic harm to more than 32 thousand people whose lives depended on commercial fishing.

To clean up the mess, they used bioremediation techniques. They adding fertilizers to enhance the growth of bacteria naturally present in the environment. These bacteria naturally degrade certain of the toxic hydrocarbons in oil.  Adding the fertilizer increased bacterial growth because it has nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which the bacteria use to consume hydrocarbons as a food source.