Oil dispersants Alaska had fewer than 4,000 gallons of dispersants available at the time of the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill, and no aircraft with which to dispense them. The dispersants introduced were relatively ineffective due to insufficient wave action to mix the oil and water, and their use was shortly abandoned. A report by David Kirby for TakePart found that the main component of the Corexit 9527 formulation used during Exxon Valdez cleanup, 2-butoxyethanol, was identified as "one of the agents that caused liver, kidney, lung, nervous system, and blood disorders among cleanup crews in Alaska following the 1989 "Exxon Valdez" spill."
Oil spill governance in the United States in the U.S. involves a number of federal authorities. The responsibilities of the agency is split into two categories: (1) oil spill anticipation and prevention and (2) oil spill response and cleanup. The single most important authority governing oil spills in the United States is the Federal government. The federal government has jurisdiction over oil responses and oil spills that occur in state and federal navigable waters alike. The location of the Oil spill determines which authority responds. Oil spills that occur in coastal waters are the responsibility of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) while the Environmental Protection Agency