Exxon's Scientific Manipulation - Survivors of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

EXXON'S 10-YEAR MANIPULATION
OF VALDEZ OIL SPILL SCIENCE
Compiled by Riki Ott, Ph.D.
Cordova, AK

Date Exxon's Manipulation

12/89 Cordova District Fishermen United (CDFU) fights to block Exxon's proposal to keep secret all the evidence in the lawsuits stemming from the spill. Meanwhile, the state and federal governments keep their studies private during settlement negotiations with Exxon on criminal charges and natural resource damages. Wall Street Journal, 12/29/89.

3/90 People clamor to understand what's happening in Prince Willam Sound. Frustrated scientists leak dribbles of information showing that "damage done to plants and animals near shore was monumentally more serious than [Exxon] contended."Anchorage Daily News, 2/20/90. Confirmation comes that Exxon has tried to keep these findings secret. Anchorage Daily News, 2/17/90.
3/90 Counter to Exxon's public posturing, it's reported that the oil trapped under the surface of the beaches contains toxic hydrocarbons that could damage marine life. Anchorage Daily News, 3/4/90. Another report says the oil has already deformed and killed over 90% of the herring larvae that hatched near oiled beaches, and that the oil had damaged pink salmon to point where biologists are not finding any eggs or fry in oiled streams. Anchorage Daily News, 3/23/90. Note: pink salmon stocks in oiled streams and hatchery runs crashed two years later. Pink salmon are 2-year fish; the even-year class eggs laid in 1990 should have returned as adults in 1992.
Exxon's position continues to be one of "mostly good news. Fish and wildlife are returning to previously oiled areas... Intertidal plants and animals are surviving... Herring and salmon fishing stocks are expected to be healthy and productive." Anchorage Daily News, 3/23/90. To emphasize its point, Exxon imports three British scientists who make numerous public appearances to assure people that "all is not lost. It's okay. The illness is over."
Exxon's Otto Harrison later confides to an audience at the Institute of Petroleum in London that Exxon found that the American public were more likely to believe the message if delivered with a British accent, because accents were thought to add scientific credibility. Lecture to the Institute of Petroleum, London, 3/4/92.
3/91 Then-Governor Walter Hickel announces a "global settlement" of all government criminal and civil claims, including $900 million for natural resource damages. But scientists say the estimate of natural resources damages should be as much as $10 billion. Anchorage Times, 4/17/91.
4/91 Public pressure to release publicly-funded spill science is intense. The federal government relents, releasing an 18-page "Summary of Injury" on 4/8/91.
In response, Exxon unveils twenty company studies and unleashes a media blitz, claiming "the recovery of Prince William Sound is well on the way -- water is clean, fish are abundant and safe to eat, and wildlife is likewise abundant and thriving, and the beaches have been effectively cleaned." Exxon press release, 4/17/91.
Amidst a public outcry, then-Governor Hickel's deal is rejected by the legislature and federal Judge Russell Holland. 4/24/91. Hickel waits until the legislature adjourns and slightly revises the deal by increasing criminal fine from $100 to $125 million, which Judge Holland approved on 12/9/91.
9/93 Exxon releases its "Video for Students" and distributes it to school districts across the U.S. -- except Alaska. The video is a blatant manipulation of the facts and is severely rebuked by scientists. "How Exxon's 'Video for Students' Deals in Distortions," The Textbook Letter, 3(6):8-9, and CBS "60 Minutes," 10/10/93, "Readin', Writin', and Commercials."
4/93 Exxon presents its "findings" in Atlanta, Georgia that conclude wildlife is "thriving" in Prince William Sound; that the recovery of the Sound has been remarkably rapid; and that there will be no long-term effects from spill.
Exxon releases glossy public relations material called "Myth and Fact" with Exxon science as "fact." Exxon attacks NOAA scientists, accusing them of mixing up Exxon Valdez oil with other oil in the Sound. Exxon USA, 4/7/93, Wall Street Journal, 4/12/93, NOAA press release 4/93.
Not only is NOAA able to refute Exxon's manipulation, but as Exxon is presenting its "findings" in Atlanta, the herring population crashes in the Sound -- at a loss of 100,000 of 120,000 tons -- and surviving fish get visible lesions from a virus. Subsequent lab tests find that exposure to even low levels of oil can compromise the immune system of adult fish and lead to viral disease. EVOS TC Update on Injured Resources, 1/99.
8/93 Cordova fishermen blockade Valdez Narrows for three days, holding up tanker traffic while demanding comprehensive ecosystem-wide studies to understand the pervasive sickness in the Sound. Interior Sec. Babbitt pledged $5 million for such studies.
94 Exxon again states the recovery of the Sound has been rapid and complete. Degrees of Disaster report by Jeff Wheelwright, relying heavily on Exxon's data.
90-99 Sociologist Steve Picou of the University of South Alabama at Mobile, along with colleague Duane A. Gill, conducts among the best "longitudinal" (over time) data-based research to document chronic stress from the spill on Prince William Sound. Some of their research is featured on this website. Exxon subpoenas Dr. Picou (10/92) to obtain his confidential list of subjects. The lawsuit drags on nearly a year, but Dr. Picou ultimately prevails.
95 Enraging the Native citizens of Prince William Sound, an Exxon-funded sociology study by Christopher Wooley concludes the Native community is better off after the spill than before. Ask the Native community or Dr. Picou about this outrageous study.
1/99 NOAA scientists release research showing multi-generational effects in pink salmon at oil exposures as low as 1 part per billion. Exxon is currently constructing stories to counter NOAA's 6-year study for Exxon's tenth anniversary public-relations campaign.
The intergovernmental EVOS Trustee Council releases a "Summary of Injury" listing only two species, the bald eagle and the river otter, as recovered from the spill. Ecosystem-wide studies show multiple linkages between loss of herring and lack of recovery birds, fish and mammals in oiled areas of the Sound. Exxon is currently constructing stories to counter the Trustee Council's research.
3/99 Anticipating a renewed focus on the Exxon Valdez disaster as the March 24, 1999 tenth anniversary approaches, Exxon and the American Petroleum Insitute organize and run their own "oil spill conference" in Seattle from March 8-11, 1999. No one from the other side is invited: no victims nor any critical scientists. The conference is clearly designed to deflect journalists away from what we on Prince William Sound know too well: that Exxon has mishandled the Valdez disaster and has refused to make the people and environment of Prince William Sound whole.
Reflections: Summary Points

Exxon's attempts to manipulate scientific information over the past 10 years have contributed to chronic stress in my community and other communities throughout the spill zone. Exxon's manipulation has compounded fear (How badly injured are our natural resources? Is the subsistence food safe to eat?) and uncertainty over our future (For how much longer will the oil continue to affect wildlife? Will the Sound ever recover?).

Exxon's scientific manipulation is a strong argument for stopping the Exxon-Mobil merger that would make Exxon even more unaccountable to the public.

To bring closure in our lives, we need closure of the outstanding lawsuit, an end to Exxon's litany of lies, and understanding by the people of America of what truly happened to us.

This list is not exhaustive. I invite you to share with me other examples of Exxon's scientific manipulation that you may know about or find. Thank you.

-- Riki Ott, Ph.D., Cordova, Alaska

Full Article: The Sound Truth, by Riki Ott, Ph. D.