The toll on the population has been very significant. It's been a situation where lawyers have triumphed over rationality. Scientists believe that long-term, the sound will recover. There is a significant difference of opinion right now about the state of the sound and the progress that's been made. The presence of oil in the environment has been constant since the beginning of time.
Nature has a way of remediating the negative effects.
The problem is that in Alaska, the benefit of heat and solar degradation is not present to the degree that you would have found at the Amoco Cadiz spill in France in 1978, where they estimate that the oil broke down after five years. In addition, the unique nature of the beaches in Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet are the small rocks called cobble and sands, unlike the beaches in France where it's fine sand, it's very difficult to remove it. We're still finding oil sheens and deposits 10 years later. ET Most of the Wildlife that was effected by the oil spill is now on the endangered species list. Most Fish, Birds, and Seals have experienced significant drops in there numbers alone.