The Exxon Valdez oil tanker spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989.

the verdict

SUPPORTED

the evidence backs this

Recorded sources

6 sources for · 0 against

Counts group repeated records of the same source within each side. They do not measure evidence strength or source independence.

Is it true that the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989?

Yes. Multiple reliable sources, including official government statutes and reference works, confirm that the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989.

Verdict: SUPPORTED · 6 sources for, 0 against · Last checked 4 Oct 2026

How claims like this are judged

Judged against reference works: claims of this kind are settled by the historical reference record, not journal abstracts.

Evidence for · 6

Wikipedia: Exxon Valdez

Reference article covering this claim directly

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Wikipedia: Exxon Valdez. (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez

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More for · 5

PLOS (all journals): Evaluating signals of oil spill impacts, climate, and species interactions in Pacific herring and Pacific salmon populations in Prince William Sound and Copper River, Alaska

Confirms the tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound on March 23/24, 1989 and spilled millions of liters of oil.

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PLOS (all journals): Evaluating signals of oil spill impacts, climate, and species interactions in Pacific herring and Pacific salmon populations in Prince William Sound and Copper River, Alaska. (n.d.). PLOS (all journals). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172898

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (US): POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSURE - Toxicological Profile for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)

States that 10.8 million gallons resulted from the Exxon Valdez catastrophe in 1989.

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Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (US): POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSURE - Toxicological Profile for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH). (n.d.). Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK595978/#ch5

GovInfo: STATUTE 104

An official government record explicitly stating the March 24, 1989 grounding spilled 11 million gallons in Prince William Sound.

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GovInfo: STATUTE 104. (n.d.). GovInfo. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/STATUTE-104

LibreTexts: LibreTexts: 17.10: Impact of Large Petroleum Related Disasters

Notes the Exxon Valdez occurred in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, spilling 10 to 11 million gallons.

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LibreTexts: LibreTexts: 17.10%3A Impact of Large Petroleum Related Disasters. (n.d.). LibreTexts. https://geo.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Oceanography/Oceanography_101_(Miracosta)/17%3A_Marine_Pollution/17.10%3A_Impact_of_Large_Petroleum-Related_Disasters

Semantic Scholar peS2o: DIFFERENT REGIME APPLIED TO LIABILITY FOR OIL POLLUTION DAMAGE

Mentions 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled in the Exxon Valdez incident.

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Semantic Scholar peS2o: DIFFERENT REGIME APPLIED TO LIABILITY FOR OIL POLLUTION DAMAGE. (n.d.). Semantic Scholar peS2o. http://jhp.ui.ac.id/index.php/home/article/download/554/488

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