ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Oil Spill Claims Questioned: A geochemist working independently of Exxon Corp. has found evidence supporting the company’s claim that not all of the oil fouling Alaska’s Prince William Sound came from the Exxon Valdez spill, The New York Times reported in today’s editions. The information could complicate billions of dollars in claims against Exxon resulting from the March, 1989, spill. Keith A. Kvenvolden, a geochemist working for the U.S. Geological Survey, found that, on the surface of the surrounding shores, it is easier to find residue from a 1964 spill than from the 11 million gallons spilled from the Valdez, the newspaper said.