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
SS Tuxpam (Mexican oil tanker) SS Tuxpam (Mexican oil tanker) The SS "Tuxpam" was an oil tanker, in the service of Petroleos Mexicanos, that was sunk on 27 June 1942 by U-129. She was completed in November 1903 as SS "Prometheus" for Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum GmbH, Hamburg. In 1914 she was laid up at New York City and, in December of that year, sold and renamed SS "Cushing" for Standard Oil of New Jersey, Bayonne. In September 1918, she was requisitioned by the US Navy as "USS Chinampa (SP-1952)" for the Naval Overseas Transportation Service and returned to her owners in May 1919. In 1924 she