Project Information

Title: 2005 Assessment of Lingering Oil and Resource Injuries from EVOS 040776

Project Year and Number: 2004: 040776

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2006: 060783

Principal Investigator (PI): Lucinda Jacobs (Integral Consulting)

Managing Agency: ADOL

Assisting Personnel: None

Research Location: Integral Consulting, Inc.

Restoration Category: Monitoring

Injured Resources Addressed: Clams, Common Loons, Cormorants, Harbor Seals, Harlequin Ducks, Intertidal Organisms, Killer Whales, Marbled Murrelets, Mussels, Pacific Herring, Pigeon Guillemot, Sea Otters

Abstract: An authoritative synthesis of information on the status of injured resources will be produced by an independent panel of scientists. Conclusions with respect to the probable status of injured resources and possible remedies for injured resources will be presented. The natural resources and habitats of Prince William Sound and other Alaskan waters have been studied extensively for the 15 years since the occurrence of the Exxon Valdez Oil spill. The collective data from studies conducted largely by natural resource Trustee scientists suggest that the coastal and marine ecosystems in the oil spill region have not fully recovered; that populations of several species remain impaired; and that continued exposure to persistent, biologically available and toxic Exxon Valdez oil (EVO) might be at least partially responsible. These findings are not without scientific or public controversy. Most recently, for example, Exxon-funded scientists published data suggesting that EVO was neither bioavailable nor toxic, and that the methods used and conclusions reached by NOAA researchers in the lingering oil studies were flawed. A full and complete understanding of the degree to which natural resources are injured and the degree to which that injury is caused by lingering oil is critical to defining the probability and timeframe of resource recovery; the options (if any) for restoration; and the necessity, type, and geographic extent of continued monitoring and research. We propose to conduct a series of evaluations using the available scientific data to provide an independent and comprehensive analysis of recovery status of key resources and define any linkage to residual oil. The overall goal of this work will be to provide information that can be used to better characterize recovery status, better define restoration options, better target future monitoring and research, and more explicitly define when restoration can be considered complete.


Proposal: View (1,160 KB)

Information and/or Products produced by this project:
Title Description Type Document(s)
CONCEPTUAL EXPOSURE MODEL This technical memorandum presents the general conceptual exposure model (CEM) developed to support the evaluation of the nature and extent of lingering oil and present day resource injuries that can be linked to lingering oil from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The CEM serves as the foundation from which more detailed evaluations of the potential link between lingering EVO and present-day resources can ensue. These include evaluations of the weathering, toxic fraction, bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and nature and extent of lingering EVO, as well evaluations of the biological processes of exposure, uptake, and transfer of toxic EVO constituents among resources. The CEM will be used to communicate which resources are clearly associated with lingering oil based upon their degree of spatial and temporal association with lingering EVO. Additional Report View (3,884 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY04: View (47 KB)
Annual Report FY05: View (45 KB)
Final Report: View (11,752 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available