Saudi Aramco: The Future of Oil and Gas - GineersNow Petroleum Saudi Aramco, The Future of Oil & Gas Industry | Page 48

Could This Be the
Ultimate Oil Spill
Cleaning Solution?
An Exxon Valdez disaster-inspired
solution by self-taught, self-funded
Kevin Kennedy might just be the oil
spill cleaning solution we all need.
Prince William Sound, the islanded inlet of the
Gulf of Alaska, was never the same after the
oil tanker Exxon Valdez spilled 11 to 38 million
U.S. gallons of crude oil back in March 1989,
which was a Good Friday. The effects of this
devastating human-caused environmental
disaster were felt heavily by those who
depended on the natural resources of the
region. One of them is Kevin Kennedy.
He knew about the oil spill on the day it
happened but little did he know how huge it
was until he decided to take a boat ride and
check. It was his last day as a shrimper.
“I didn’t have any idea how big it was until I
got three-and-a-half, four hours out of Whittier
and got to Knight Island Pass,” says Kennedy.
“And then you could smell it. And then you
could start seeing it. And it just kept coming
and coming and coming.”
Kennedy did not sit the oil spill through and
worked on taking the oil out of the water. Now,
he’s been working hard by himself in his “mad
scientist den” to find the best solution to oil
spills.
He is not at all backed with engineering
experience or financed by the government in
this endeavour. He is entirely self-taught and
self-funded, thanks mostly for being a retiree.
Since he started working in his garage with a
pungent smell of oil and scattered mechanical
parts and tools, he, together with his team
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Construction Leaders • April 2017