Exxon Valdez oil spill 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. Mechanical cleanup was started shortly afterwards using booms and skimmers, but the skimmers were not readily available during the first 24 hours following the spill, and thick oil and kelp tended to clog the equipment. Despite civilian insistence for a complete clean, only 10% of total oil was actually completely cleaned. Exxon was widely criticized for its slow response to cleaning up the disaster and John Devens, the mayor of
Jakob Maersk oil spill company met together to decide how the oil spill was going to be clean or treated. The cleanup was the responsibility of the Portuguese Navy, Commandant Casquinno was appointed to clean up the oil spill and came up with a plan.The plan was separated into two actions, the first part of the plan was to clean up as much oil as possible that was in the water and the second part of the plan was to clean the oil that washed ashore. A company called Fina Oil Company was nearby and contributed several drums of Finasol. This oil spill unlike