This project evaluates the long-term social impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on natural-resource reliant communities in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The effects of technological disasters on communities are reflected by changes in perceptions, actions and choices which can lead to long-term social changes. These effects are termed "secondary disasters" and are rarely studied. This project, unlike the bulk of previous research relating to the oil spill, will focus on the Native and non-Native communities in the region. The study is highly relevant to the well-being of local people and of considerable scientific interest and importance, both inside and outside of the Arctic. The impact of industrial disasters is, nevertheless, greatly magnified in Arctic and Subarctic regions because of the sensitivity of the environment and the vulnerability of small natural resource-dependent communities.
