In the Wake of the Exxon Valdez: The Devastating Impact of the Alaska Oil Spill. Art Davidson. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. 1990. xvii + 333 pages. $19.95, cloth. Reviewed by Stanton S. Miller, Managing Editor, ES&T.
Principles, Issues, and Relationships ustpub/ished!A current perspective on the relationship between pesticides and cancer. A first-of-its-kind approach, this iolume summarizes the latest thinking on the 3esticides-carcinogenesisrelationship, seen in the light of new findings in cancer research. In a blend of theoretical and practical infornation, this timely work examines the process if carcinogenesis itself and society’s attempts [o strike a balance between increased agriculLural productivity and the risk of cancer. Beginning with an overview that puts the topic n a historical perspective, Carcinogenicityand pesticides unfolds to target key issues such as:
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the uncertainty of data interpretationin predicting whether a pesticide will cause cancer in humans external factors that affect carcinogenesis mechanisms of chemical carcinogenicity structure-activityrelationships riskasJessment epidemioloqy of cancer and pesticide exposure
Bruce Ames, originator of the Ames Test for :arcinogenicity, concludes the book with a thoughtful discussion on current research findings and how they relate to decisions :oncerning widespread use of pesticides in jociety. If you are a scientist, policy maker, or reguator concerned with the effects of pesticides in the environment, you’ll find Carcinogenicity and Pesticides a valuable synthesis of contem3oraty thinking on a topic of critical importance. Nancy N. Ragsdale, Editor, US. Department of 4griculture Robert E. Menzer, Editor, University of Maryland leveloped from a symposium sponsored by the D k ;ion of Agrochemicals of the American Chemical Society ACS Symposium Series No. 414 2 4 7 pages (1989) Ciothbound ISBNo-a412-1703-3 LC 89-18052
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Art Davidson lives in the mountains near Anchorage, AK, and has been a natural resource planning director for the state of Alaska. In his introduction to In the Wake of the Exxon Valdez, he writes, “Here, often in their own words, are the oil and govemment officials, the scientists, native villagers, fishermen, beach cleaners, wildlife rescuers, and many others who fought the continent’s most devastating oil spill.” Divided into three sections, his book tells about the accident, the response, and the aftermath of the largest oil spill in U.S.history. Each separate component of the overall crisis unfolds in the narrative as it did in real life the spring and summer of 1989. Alaskans became accustomed to having the oil industry in the state. According to the author, “With the advent of North Slope oil money, the state income taxes were abolished, and each resident began receiving an annual windfall check of at least $800 from the state’s oil revenues. Oil revenue was soon producing 85% of state revenues, creating jobs, and paying for new highways, schools, libraries, and performing art centers. For nearly 12 years Alaskans enjoyed the prosperity of the state’s oil wealth without having to face its tradeoffs-until the wreck of the Exxon Valdez,” the author writes. The section called “The Spill” details the cleanup plans that were not implemented during a period of calm weather that followed the spill, before a storm pushed the oil out of control. Its chapters describe how tankers pass through the sound; the place where the oil was spilled; and what happened, or, more importantly, did not happen before the calm weather deteriorated. When the storm came through the area, it spread the oil so widely that it could never be controlled again. Once the oil began to move, not much time passed before it spread southwestward, contaminating everything in its way. People hundreds of miles away, who thought that this sort of calamity could not happen to them,
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were unpleasantly surprised. The “Response” section examines the way in which the players-Exxon, the state, and the federal govemmenttried to fulfill their promise to contain the oil, save wildlife and fisheries, protect communities, and restore the environment. This section is divided into chapters entitled “The Great Promise” and “The Lawyers and the Admiral,” as well as chapters on the effort by conservationists and citizens who volunteered to save oiled marine birds, sea otters, bald eagles, and shoreline. The section called “The Wake” follows the oil as it fouled national parks, wildlife refuges, and one coastal town after another. The oil moved out of Prince William Sound after the storm, and the extent to which it migrated is addressed in these chapters. The first town to be affected was Valdez. Subsequent chapters in this section describe how the oil moved down the Kenai Peninsula and the Alaska Peninsula slowly but perceptibly, driven by the winds and tides. In its path were national parks, wildlife refuges, and villages that depended on fishing for their likelihoods. The last portion is called “Reflections.” “As a result of the Exxon Valdez spill, Alyeska [Pipeline Service Company] and Exxon are likely to pay substantial damage claims, but will pass on most of these costs to consumers as they continue to make about $400,000 an hour profit from North Slope oil,” the author writes. He cites as his source a report prepared for the State of Alaska Department of Revenue by Edward B. Deakin, “Oil Industry Profitability in Alaska: 1969 through 1987.” The report is dated March 15, 1989, and is reference 14 in this chapter. “After accounting for all expenses, including exploration, lease acquisition, income taxes, and depreciation, the oil industry realized an estimated $42.6 billion in profit from production and transport activities in Alaska from 1969 through 1987. On an hourly basis, the parent companies earned after-tax profits at the rate of $463,144 per hour, 24 hours a day, every day,” the author reports. In the Wake of the Exxon Valdez is suggested for anyone who needs to read about the day-by-day events of the Alaska oil spill as they were unfolding, and about their impacts.
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