Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: A Case Study in Engineering Disaster - Admission/Application Essay Example

? Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: A Case Study in Engineering Disaster al Affiliation Engineering is one of the greatest professions that have contributed immensely in transforming the world. It is just unimaginable where the world could be without the work of engineers. This is because it is them who make the planes fly in the sky, construct buildings, roads, railways and electronic equipments just to name a few. For instance, it baffles how engineers make a heavy plane capable of flying on the air or a ship that floats on water. All this are due to the work of engineers. Nevertheless, any blunder in engineering work can prove very disastrous. Such engineering blunders occurred in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez vessel carrying 55 million liters of oil hit a reef resulting in the worst oil spill ever seen in U.S. history. About 10.8 million barrels of oil spilt into the Alaska coastline resulting in the death of several birds, aquatic animals. The oil spill also affected over 32 million people who depended on the Alaska shoreline. Investigations conducted revealed that human and engineering blunders were to blame for the accident. This paper analyzes the Exxon Valdez disaster to show how engineering disasters plays a critical role in understanding the importance of engineering and designers in the society. In addition, the discourse will demonstrate the impact that engineering disasters may have on the engineering practice. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Background of the Exxon Valdez - Oil Spill 5 The investigation of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 6 Findings 8 Human and Organizational Errors 8 Engineering and Technology Failures 8 Recommendations 9 Impact on engineering practice 10 Conclusion 10 References 11 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: A Case Study in Engineering Disaster Introduction Engineering is one of the greatest professions that have contributed immensely in transforming the world. It is just unimaginable where the world would be without the work of engineers. This is because it is them who make the planes fly in the sky, design and construct buildings, roads, railways and electronic equipments just to name a few. For instance, it baffles how engineers make a heavy plane capable of flying on the air or a ship that floats on water. All this are due to the work of engineers. Despite good role played by engineers, some failures have also been noticed in many engineering works, their impacts, devastating. One such failure occurred in 1989 in what is popularly known as the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. The disaster has been blamed on a number of engineering and human blunders. The impacts of this disaster were so destructive since apart from the millions of barrels of oil lost because of the disaster, many birds were lost and the environment got severely degraded. Report indicated that over 2,800 sea otters, 900 eagle, 300 harbor seals, and 250,000 sea birds perished immediately after the disaster. It is also estimated that more than 1,300 miles of the coastline were affected in one way or the other by the spillage affecting businesses and human health. The disaster is also said to have cost the company over ?4.3 billion, which were spent on compensation, settling the displaced, clean up payments and fines as well. It is reported that the company had to compensate over 11,000 Alaskans, as well as the businesspersons who were affected (ExxonMobil, 2012). Additionally, the disaster affected the tourism sector in which an estimated 9,400 and ?5.5 million were lost in the tourism sector. The cleanup efforts also required over 10,000 laborers, 100 aircrafts, and 1,000 boats. Despite the cleanup effort, four people also lost their lives during clean up. The spillage is also said to have led to death of millions of fish, and salmon embryos. This oil spill affected over 32 million people who rely on fishing as their main economic activity. This makes the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill the worst oil spill ever witnessed in the U.S. history (Marguilies, 2003). This paper analyzes the Exxon Valdez disaster to show how engineering disasters plays a critical role in understanding the importance of engineering and designers in the society. In addition, the discourse will demonstrate the impact that engineering disasters may have on the engineering practice. Background of the Exxon Valdez - Oil Spill Events Leading To the Accident Exxon Valdez - Oil Spill is one disaster, which is perceived to have occurred as a result of engineering failures. The incidence began at around 9 pm 23 March, 1989 when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker had just left Alyeska pipeline in a bid to cross Prince William Sound, which by that time was carrying over 53 million gallons of unrefined oil. The tanker is said to have been going to Beach California. At this time, the vessel was under the control of a pilot known as William Murphy assisted by Captain Joe Hazelwood and Helmsman Harry Claar who were on the steering wheel when it set off. However, a few minutes after the vessel began navigating through Valdez Narrows, something unusual happened when Murphy, the experienced ship pilot left the ship. As a result, Captain Hazelwood took over the vessel’s wheelhouse. A few minutes later, the vessel hit an iceberg, which had been on the shipping lane. Immediately after the accident, captain Hazelwood instructed Claar to steer the vessel round the ice. However, instead of continuing to monitor the wheelhouse, Hazelwood came out of the wheelhouse leaving it under the control of Third Mate Gregory Cousins instructing him to turn back to the shipping lane as soon as the vessel reached a given point (Beech, 2007). As these changes were going on in the wheelhouse, another change took place around the steering wheel where Claar was also replaced by another captain, Helmsman Robert Kagan. However, even after being given precise instructions, Kagan and Cousins failed to return the vessel into the lane as they had been instructed. Instead, the ship ran over a Bligh Reef shortly after midnight of March 24, 1989. Reports indicate that about 10.8 million barrels of oil was lost in the accident due to spill over. The spill also affected over 1,100 miles of Alaska coastline, making the disaster the largest oil spill ever recorded in U.S. history. Reports indicate that Hazelwood, the captain of the vessel was in his room at the time of the accident (ExxonMobil, 2012). Figure 1: The image of the Exxon Valdez shortly after the oil spill (ExxonMobil, 2012). The investigation of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill As previously stated, the Exxon Valdez accident was the worst oil disaster ever witnessed in U.S. history. The accident resulted in the death of many aquatic animals and massive contamination of the Alaska coastline. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched an investigation immediately to unearth the cause of the accident. This board was tasked with the responsibility of investigating the events that led to the accident and come up with the recommendations to prevent such accidents in the future. To investigate the accident, the NTSB immediately moved to the scene of the accident to observe for themselves the accident and its devastative effects. This was followed by the interview of the captains of the ship and eyewitnesses to get a clue of what happened. The board then investigated the possibility of a human error in the accident. To do this, the board had to investigate the background of the ship captains as regards their experiences and qualifications in ship navigation. The board also subjected the captains to drug and alcohol level testing to establish whether drunkenness or fatigue could have led to the accident (Marguilies, 2003). The NTSB also investigated the design and engineering blunders that might have led to the accident’s occurrence. In doing so, the board tested a number of parts of the Exxon Valdez vessel, including the thickness of the material used to make a barrier between the oil and water. In addition, the investigators analyzed the hull of the vessel to see if it could have been substandard. Further, the NTSB analyzed the technological devises in the ship to establish whether they were working well and up-to-date. This involved reviewing the radar and the GPS technology installed on the Exxon Valdez vessel. After investigating all the probable causes of the accident, the board went ahead to file a report of their findings (Beech, 2007). Figure 2: vessels of investigators at the site of the oil spill after the disaster (Beech, 2007). Findings Human and Organizational Errors After analyzing the accident in detail, the National Transportation Safety Board identified a number of human and organizational errors as the main causes of the accident. Firstly, the board noted that the third mate who was in charge of the vessel at the time of the accident failed to remove the ship from the wrong lane due to excessive workload and fatigue. Secondly, the board noted that the master failed to ensure proper navigation watch due to drunkenness. In this regard, the board noted that some of the captains of the ship were too drunk to control navigate the ship properly at the time of the accident. Thirdly, the investigation found the shipping company at fault of failing to supervise the master and give rested and enough crew for the vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard was also blamed for failing to provide an effective vessel traffic system. Lastly, the investigative team noted that the accident might have occurred due to lack of effective pilot and escort services (Marguilies, 2003). Engineering and Technology Failures As much as human and organizational errors were to blame for the accident, investigations conducted after the accident also identified some engineering and technology failures that could have led to the accident. Experts have noted that the accident must have occurred since the engineering of the tanker was substandard. Three reasons have been given to support this claim. Firstly, investigations conducted after the accident showed that Exxon Valdez vessel had only one hull. This was a serious engineering failure in the sense that it meant that the tanker had only a single barrier between 50 million barrels of oil and the open ocean (Beech, 2007). In fact, the discovery of this fault resulted in the introduction of a new law in 2010, that required all oil vessels to have double hulls. The second engineering failure blamed for the accident was that the Exxon Valdez vessel had a very thin steel barrier, which measured on ? inches thick. This meant that the barrier between water and the oil in the tanker was very thin making it easy for the vessel to burst open when hit by a reef. As a result, as soon as the Exxon Valdez tanker hit the reef, it ripped open resulting in a massive oil spill (Beech, 2007). The last engineering failure blamed for the Exxon Valdez tanker accident was that the technology used in the Exxon Valdez vessel was antiquated. Engineering experts investigating the cause of the accident noted that instead of installing a new GPS technology on the vessel, the relied on outdated technology. In addition, the engineers of the oil tanker failed to install an advanced radar system on the Exxon Valdez. These engineering and technology blunders together with the human errors were found to have been the main causes of the Exxon Valdez accident (Beech, 2007). Recommendations After analyzing the causes of the accident, the NTSB came up with a number of recommendations to prevent the occurrence of such human and organizational blunders in the future. The first recommendation was that since the accident occurred since the Exxon Valdez vessel had only one hull, all oil tankers should have double hulls. Having double hulls would increase the barrier between oil and oceanic water. In fact, this recommendation was implanted in 2010 in which all oil vessels must currently have double hulls. The NTSB also recommended that all oil tankers should have new GPS and advanced radar technology to prevent such accidents in the future. In addition, the board recommended that the steel barrier separating water and the oil should not be less that 1 inch thick to ensure that the barrier is strong enough to withstand any impact with underground reefs, icebergs, or rocks. The board also recommended that all captains must be closely supervised to ensure that only those who are sober and active are allowed to navigate ships. Further, the NTSB also recommends the enhancement of vessel traffic system by the U.S. Coast Guard (Carr, 1991). Impact on engineering practice Engineering is one of the careers that are guided by ethics. As such, the ethical guideline requires every engineer to be very serious when performing his or her duties. This is not only with regard to providing quality work but also in ensuring the well-being and safety of citizens (Harris, Pritchard, and Rabins, 2009). This is because any small failure whether caused by negligence or accidents may lead to tragic disaster that might impact the entire engineering practice. For example, the Exxon Valdez accident impacted negatively on the engineering practice since the accident was caused partly due to engineering failures. The failure of the engineers made people develop doubts about the engineering practice. Some considered engineering a profession full of unethical people who are not concerned about the lives of others in the society, according to Carr (1991). In addition, the disaster led to a review of the American law regarding engineering practice and risk management. Conclusion The Exxon Valdez disaster is the worst oil spill ever witnessed in the U.S. history. The impacts of the oil spill were so devastating and resulted in the death of aquatic animals including birds and human beings. However, it is surprising that this accident could easily be prevented if human and engineering errors could have been avoided. As such, it is very important for engineers and authority in charge of vessels to make up for problems made that allowed the accident to occur. This should include formulation of policies that will ensure that such errors do not occur again in the future. References Beech, L. (2007). The Exxon Valdez’s deadly oil spill. New York, NY: Bearport. Carr, T. (1991). Spill! The story of Exxon Valdez. New York, NY: F. Watts. ExxonMobil (2012). The Valdez oil spill. Retrieved from "http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/about_issues_valdez.aspx Harris, C.E., Pritchard, M.S., & Rabins, M.J. (2009). Engineering ethics: Concepts and cases. New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Marguilies, P. (2003). The Exxon Valdez oil spill. New York, NY: Rosen Publications Group. Read More