
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 2, 1990                   TAG: 9005020492
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/5   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ANCHORAGE, ALASKA                                LENGTH: Medium

EXXON SENDS CLEANUP CREWS BACK TO ALASKAN BEACHES

Exxon workers hitting Alaska's beaches for a second summer of cleanup got approval from Gov. Steve Cowper to use potentially toxic fertilizer to remove oil. "Everything's dead anyway," he said.

About 100 Exxon workers in five teams Tuesday were sent to pick up oily debris on the shoreline in Prince William Sound. Three more squads of 20 to 50 each will go out later this week, said Exxon spokesman Jim Robertson.

The cleanup from Exxon's March 1989 spill of nearly 11 million gallons of North Slope crude was suspended in September. The nation's biggest oil spill killed hundreds of otters and thousands of birds and other animals. More than 200 miles of shoreline still have some oil, according to an Exxon survey.

State officials decided Tuesday to permit extensive use of fertilizers along the Prince William Sound shoreline. The urea- and phosphorous-based fertilizer speeds the growth of bacteria known to eat oil.

Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation had balked at the process, known as We know direct application of these chemicals will have a toxic effect. But the flip side is these beaches have been heavily oiled and everything's dead anyway. Gov. Steve Cowper bioremediation. Environmentalists, fishing groups and recreational users of the Sound had expressed concern that incorrect application of the fertilizer could produce unwanted slime.

Exxon has said it wants to use bioremediation on 160 of the 209 sites it had surveyed by last week.

The state dropped its hesitation over the technique after reviewing Environmental Protection Agency data on toxicity and the effectiveness of Inipol, a French-made fertilizer developed especially for oily shores.

Fertilizers will be used carefully to avoid exposure to mammals and will be monitored daily and reviewed in six weeks for effectiveness, officials said.

Oily tar balls will be removed by hand on environmentally sensitive shores, said Coast Guard Rear Adm. David Ciancaglini, coordinator for the cleanup.

Cowper said relations between the state and Exxon Corp. have improved significantly this year.

"Last summer we often had to rely on confrontational press in order to generate any kind of action," the governor said. "I think a lot of the rough spots have been cleared away."

by CNB