A social assessment of the Hebei-Spirit oil spill

This paper examines the early social consequences of the largest oil spill in Korea from December 2007 up to May 2008. The focus is on the social impact of the oil spill and its social implications in three major areas of oil spill response: (1) clean-up operations, (2) compensation, and (3) ecological impact. The paper highlights both the positive and negative consequences of the spill and the significance of the early social assessment to understand subsequent responses and adaptation in the long run.