The EXXON Valdez: An Assessment of Crisis Prevention and Management Systems

The EXXON Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef just after midnight on March 24, 1989, and approximately 10 million gallons of crude oil gushed into the pure waters of Prince William Sound from eight ruptured cargo tanks. Clean-up costs have exceeded $2 billion, and lawsuits seeking billions more in damages have been filed. The EXXON Valdez disaster has provided ample economic motivation to prompt the investigation of the linkages and trade-offs between risk reduction, contingency planning, and pollution response and to force the investment of significant resources in each of these areas. Management scientists can find better ways to assess risks in complex systems and to communicate these risks to policy makers and the public. We must use our knowledge and technology to minimize risks and to assist those who will manage the response organizations and will make decisions in a hostile and turbulent environment when low-probability, high-impact events occur.