NATION : Captain May Get Drunk for Defense

The fired captain of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker, source of the worst oil spill in North American history, may fight allegations that he was intoxicated at the time of the accident by getting drunk under a doctor’s supervision, his lawyer said today.

Capt. Joseph Hazelwood, who failed an alcohol test 10 hours after the ship’s grounding, may get drunk this week in Portland, Ore., to see how fast his body assimilates liquor, Seattle lawyer Michael Williamson said. “We’re trying to find out the rate at which his body burns off alcohol--everyone’s body burns off alcohol at a different rate,” Williamson said.