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December 22, 2003

Report: Valdez spill effects last decades

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Toxic disasters such as the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska have a far greater and longer-lasting effect on the environment than isolated studies might suggest, according to a review of hundreds of research papers.

The review, led by a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is detailed in last week's issue of the journal Science.

The findings, researchers said, show that the consequences of the spill extend beyond the short-term mass wildlife casualties. An estimated 250,000 seabirds and thousands of marine mammals died after 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into Prince William Sound, contaminating more than 1,200 miles of shoreline.

In the long term, declines have been observed in various marine populations, including stunted growth and indirect mortality increases in pink salmon populations.




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