Other Forms of Pollution
Air and water pollution are the most obvious forms of pollution. There
are, however, many other more subtle forms of pollution. Some of these
have been brought about as a result of energy, power, and transportation
industries.
Energy, Power, Transportation, and the Environment 617
• All fully laden tankers are now satellite monitored by the U.S. Coast Guard from
departure at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline terminal until they exit Prince William Sound.
• Two escort vessels now accompany each tanker through the entire sound.
• Special marine pilots with specific knowledge of Prince William Sound board tankers
and work with the tanker crew to navigate the 25 most difficult miles of the 70-mile
journey through the sound.
• Weather criteria for safe navigation have been established so ships cannot leave the ter-
minal unless weather conditions are favorable.
• Congress has enacted legislation that will require all tankers operating in Prince
William Sound to be double hulled by 2015. A double-hulled vessel is much more likely
to contain a spill, in the unlikely event of an accident.
• Emergency crews practice and plan for oil spills in Prince William Sound on an annual
basis. The spill scenario they train for is 12.6 million gallons.
• Skimming equipment is now in place that can skim 10 times the amount of oil from the
water as the equipment available at the time of the Exxon Valdez spill.
The worst oil spill worldwide occurred in 1991. It was not accidental at all. During the
Persian Gulf War of 1991, Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq, ordered 250 million gallons of
crude oil dumped into the waters of the Persian Gulf. This deliberate oil spill was the magni-
tude of 20 times greater than the Exxon Valdez disaster. Hussein’s army also set fire to
approximately 600 oil wells in Kuwait, creating an environmental disaster of epic propor-
tion. See Figure 26-C. Using private contractors, the well fires were extinguished in about
one year.
Figure 26-C. Oil well fires in Kuwait during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. (National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration)