Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Aug 15;45(16):6709-15.
doi: 10.1021/es2013227. Epub 2011 Jul 8.

Oil biodegradation and bioremediation: a tale of the two worst spills in U.S. history

Ronald M Atlas  1 , Terry C Hazen
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Oil biodegradation and bioremediation: a tale of the two worst spills in U.S. history

Ronald M Atlas et al. Environ Sci Technol. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

The devastating environmental impacts of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 and its media notoriety made it a frequent comparison to the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the popular press in 2010, even though the nature of the two spills and the environments impacted were vastly different. Fortunately, unlike higher organisms that are adversely impacted by oil spills, microorganisms are able to consume petroleum hydrocarbons. These oil degrading indigenous microorganisms played a significant role in reducing the overall environmental impact of both the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graphic depiction of Exxon Valdez spill and cleanup.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graphic depiction of Deepwater Horizon spill and cleanup.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Wolfe D. A.; Hameedi M. J.; Galt J. A.; Watabayashi D.; Short J.; O’Clair C.; Rice S.; Michel J.; Payne J. R.; Braddock J.; Hanna S.; Sale D. Fate of the oil spilled from the T/V Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1994, 28, 561A–568A. - PubMed
    1. Owens E. H.Shoreline conditions following the Exxon Valdez oil spill as of Fall 1990. In Proceedings of the 14th Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program (AMOP) Technical Seminar; Environment Canada, Vancouver: British Columbia, Canada, 1991; pp 579–606.
    1. Bragg J. R.; Prince R. C.; Wilkinson J. B.; Atlas R.. Bioremediation for Shoreline Cleanup Following the 1989 Alaskan oil Spill; Exxon: Houston, TX, 1992.
    1. Pritchard P. H.; Costa C. F. EPA’s Alaska oil spill bioremediation project. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1991, 25, 372–379.
    1. Bragg J. R.; Prince R. C.; Harner E. J.; Atlas R. M. Effectiveness of bioremediation for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Nature 1994, 368, 413–418.

Publication types