The Nation - News from July 2, 1989

A former Exxon computer operator said he accidentally erased computer copies of thousands of documents on the Alaskan oil spill, the New York Times said in its Sunday editions. An Exxon spokesman confirmed the destruction but said company lawyers believe other copies exist either on paper or in other computer files. Kenneth A. Davis, a computer operator who had worked at Exxon’s Houston office, said it would be difficult to determine which documents had been destroyed. Davis, 33, was fired June 8, the day after the destruction was detected. He said his superiors had been negligent in safeguarding the records and he decided to contact the newspaper because “they are making me the scapegoat.” Exxon has been under a federal court order to preserve all records concerning the March 24 spill in Prince William Sound.