Aftermath: This event resulted in about $3.8 billion spent in the cleanup effort. Oil dispersing chemicals and skimming were the different types of cleanup methods used. This spill caused fisheries to collapse in this area. Hundreds of thousands of wildlife was killed. This spill also created the oil pollution act of 1990. The Exxon Valdez tanker was later sold to Hong Kong.

Aftermath: The effects took place mainly on the people who lived there. Many cases of disease popped up such as adult leukemia, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Parkinson’s disease. Even today, lawsuits are still being dealt with. The safe drinking water act was implemented and the site was placed NPL. The Navy had to remove all contaminated soil and storage tanks.

Aftermath: The Animas River was closed and residents had to have their wells tested. Many indigenous people lived in this area, such as the Navajo nation. These people had to declare a state of emergency because this was their main source of life. The pollution temporarily turned to the river orange. There was no lasting impacts and no measurable changes to environmental life.

Aftermath: Hundreds of families had to evacuate their homes and the ground had to be tore up and bleached. The superfund list was created due to this event. The harmful pollutants were known to have caused many birth defects and miscarriages in this area. The chemicals have either been removed or put into one area that has been lined with an impermeable surface and covered with clay. There is also a drainage system that collects the run off waste water and treats it. This took 20 years to complete.

Aftermath: Pacific Gas & Electric had to pay over $750 million to clean up the mess that they had created. They build a concrete wall to contain the spill and tried to counter the chemicals by dumping ethanol, chromium-6, chromium-3, and alfalfa plants into the ponds. The cleanup process is still not completed.

Aftermath: These fires were environmentally dangerous. In some occasions, boats caught fire. The river has been modified by creating a new man-made mouth to the river and the U.S. Army periodically removes the waste from one area of the river and move it to another. Dams have been built to reduce flooding from this river. Besides these things, not much else has been done to reduce the pollutants in the river.

Aftermath: This event is linked to causing childhood leukemia and other illnesses. All the families in the area had to be evacuated from their homes and fencing was set up. The wells had to be removed and the soil had to be dug up and incinerated. The groundwater had to be severely treated. This process is still something not completed 30 years later.

Aftermath: Consequently, 300,000 residents had no access to potable water. It is said that the contaminated water smells sweet like licorice. The companies did not know whether the consumption of the chemical was fatal or not. They added additional carbon and other chemicals to try to treat the water before it got out of the states water distribution system. Due to the fact that they acted very quickly, they were able to reduce the concentration of MCHM in the water significantly the day after the spill. There happened to be no apparent effect on the marine life in the water. 

Aftermath: It is estimated that 1.61 million residents in this area were stricken ill with cramps, fever, diarrhea, and dehydration which was caused by this pathogen. Many even died.  People were strongly urged to boil their water before drinking it. The company shut down and the epidemic subsided. Milwaukee now and ever since then does extensive water testing. The long-term effects are that it is uncertain whether or not the pathogen is still in the lakes and rivers in Milwaukee.

Aftermath: This affected the people living there because they could not drink tap water. Duke is still working on the cleanup process. The coal ponds are being removed. The long-term effect is that the coal pond is still not even close to being cleaned up yet .

The dead zone is 8776 mi.². This is a non-point source event.

Aftermath: The effect on the environment is that a no marine life can live in the dead zone. This makes it harder for the fishing industries and things of that nature. The pollution is not being cleaned up but there is funds for monitoring and trying to research how to better understand and reverse the damage in the dead zone. They are working on reducing the nutrient pollution coming from the Mississippi River basin.

Aftermath: The health department stated that it is vital to those who are younger or older than specified ages should not eat any fish caught in this area. These chemicals can create neurological disorders, lower IQ, and create short-term memory loss. It can also cause cancer, Parkinson’s disease, ADHD, heart disease, etc. In 1966, the Hudson river sloop Clearwater was founded. This gained activism for the cleanup by GE. In 1972, Congress passed the clean water act and all the Hudson river point source distributors had to get a permit to be able to dump into the Hudson river. The river was able to reduce the pollutants being dumped in as well as getting their water treated. The EPA cleaned up 100,000 pounds of PCBs.