Scott Pegau, a scientist at the Prince William Sound Science Center, studies the effects of spilled oil on the environment in Cordova, Alaska. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption
Remembering The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
The Ohmsett research facility, which researches oil spill response, was closed just before the Exxon Valdez accident. It was reopened as part of the measures included in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption
Orca Inlet, Cordova's fishing harbor, on a blustery day this month. Commercial fishing is the small Alaskan town's primary industry. Marisa Peñaloza/NPR hide caption
An oiled murre passes the darkened shoreline near Prince William Sound, Alaska, less than a month after the March 1989 spill. Erik Hill/Anchorage Daily News/MCT/Landov hide caption