Shoreline Bioremediation Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska

Bioremediation played an important role in the cleanup following the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The initial spill response included washing the beaches and collecting the oil with skimmers, but while this was in progress a joint program between Exxon and the United States Environmental Protection Agency investigated the feasibility of using bioremediation to remove residual oil. Early experiments demonstrated that oil biodegradation on affected shorelines was nutrient-limited, and several fertilizer application strategies were tested to overcome this limitation. Two fertilizers, the liquid oleophilic Inipol EAP22 and the solid slow-release Customblen™, were chosen for wide-scale application. Field monitoring convincingly demonstrated that the fertilizer strategy effectively stimulated oil biodegradation severalfold, with no adverse environmental impacts.