Ethics

The Alaska Oil Spill and the Union Carbide Disaster

The Alaska Oil Spill and the Union Carbide disaster are two of the worst human caused disaster in history . The extent of the impact of both disasters was enormous . According to a report by the Alaska Oil Spill Commission in 1990 , the Alaska Oil Spill happened on March 24 , 1989 when the Exxon Valdez grounded at Bligh Reef , rupturing eight of its 11 cargo tanks and spewing some 10 .8 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound (cited in EVOSTC website . Although

there were no human deaths reported , the resource and natural losses were immense . The oil spill did not only have a negative impact on wildlife it also hambered subsistence livelihoods , fisheries and tourism . On the other hand , the Union Carbide disaster happened on December 3 , 1984 when a toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate (MIC ) gas enveloped hundreds of shanties and huts surrounding a pesticide plant in Bhopal , India . The tragedy caused about 3 ,800 deaths and 11 ,000 disabilities (Browning , 1993

The two disasters are quite different in terms of the affected population . As was mentioned , the Alaska Oil Spill did not cause human death but the Union Carbide disaster did . Another difference is in the nature of the disasters . The Alaska Oil Spill originated from a ship and occured in a body of water , while the Union Carbide disaster originated from a pesticide plant and occurred inland . The reports indicated that both disasters were caused by humans . The only difference is that the Union Carbide disaster was said to be intentional while the Alaska Oil Spill was only an accidendent

In the case of the Alaska Oil Spill , the Exxon Valdez crew were the ones being blamed for the incident . The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident and determined five probable causes of the grounding (cited in EVOSTC website

a .The third mate failed to properly maneuver the vessel , possibly due to fatigue and excessive workload

b . the master failed to provide a proper navigation watch , possibly due to impairment from alcohol

c . Exxon Shipping Company failed to supervise the master and provide a rested and sufficient crew for the Exxon Valdez

d . the U .S . Coast Guard failed to provide an effective vessel traffic system

effective pilot and escort services were lacking

A report regarding the Union Carbide disaster gave a conclusion that the cause was undeniably sabotage . They disregarded any speculation that the incident was caused by faulty equipment and lack of safety measures . It was said that a disgruntled employee added water to a storage tank to spoil a batch of methyl isocyanate (Browning , 1993

4 . It was indicated in the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council website that a major lesson of this disaster was that the spill prevention and response capability in Prince William Sound was fundamentally inadequate ' If only there were effective techniques and adequate equipment , the tragedy could have been controlled . If only the ship 's crew members...