Petroleum microbiology oil while A. borkumensis simutaneously increases synthesis of anionic glucoproteins, which are used to emulsify hydrocarbons in the environment and increase their bioavailability. The presence of crude oil along with appropriate levels of nitrogen and phosphor catalyzes the removal of petroleum either by mechanisms that enhance the efficiency of substrate uptake or by direct biodegradation of aliphatic chains. Two well-known oil spills exemplify large scale marine bioremediation applications: In 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground, spilling 41.6 million liters of crude oil, and launching one of the first major bioremediation efforts for an oil spill. Cleanup of Alaskan shorelines relied
Exxon Valdez oil spill to be depressed; others emphasized the human costs of leaving children unattended while their parents worked to clean up. Many Native Americans were worried that too much time was spent on the fishery and not enough on the land that supports subsidence hunting. In 2010, a CNN report alleged that many oil spill cleanup workers involved in the "Exxon Valdez" response had subsequently become sick. Anchorage lawyer Dennis Mestas found that this was true of 6,722 of 11,000 worker files he was able to inspect. Access to the records was controlled by Exxon. Exxon responded in a statement to CNN: