SPILL THE FACTSA RESEARCH PROJECT ON

OIL SPILLS

By: Group 9 ; Shameera M., Akshaya D. B., Amy N., Fatima R., Prabhjot V., Rajveer P.

What is an

Oil spill?

What is an oil spill? The release of liquid

petroleum hydrocarboninto environment dueto human activity

Form of pollution most often oil is

released into the oceanor coastal waters (marine spills)

countries have policiesin case of oil spills, in order to assure a quick clean up

WHAT CAUSES AN OIL SPILL

The General Causes

Contrary to popular belief, not all oil spills are Marine spills. In fact, the majority of the spills occur right here on the land, but the severity is far greater in the marine. Regardless of the type, most spills are caused by:

o Drilling Accidents o Faulty Pipelineso Offshore Explosions o Tanker Collisions o Sabotage o Daily Human Activities

Drilling Accidents

Drilling accidents have caused some of the worst oil spills throughout history. A drilling accident is any incident that results in a spill, due to a malfunctioning drill or improper drilling.

* For Example, the Lxtoc 1 oil spill.

Ixtoc 1 oil spill

Who: Petroleus Mexicanos (PEMEX)

What: 140 million gallons, Ixtoc I oil well exploded upon deciding to seal the well as a result of a lack of stability , the oil drilling platform then caught fire and collapsed, rupturing valves and making it difficult for rescue personnel to control the damage.

When: June 1979 – March 1980 Where: Gulf of Mexico Why: a blown out drill in one of the

oil wells

Faulty Pipelines

Faulty Pipeline oil spills refer to accidents that occur during the transport of oil due to leaking, broken, or improperly installed pipelines. Such an incident was the Kolva River Oil Spill.

Kolva oil spill Who: Russia What: pipeline just south of the Arctic Circle had been leaking since

February 1994 but oil was contained, October 1st, the dike collapsed because of cold and snow, 84 million gallons

Where: near the town of Usinsk in Northern Russia When: September 1994 Reason: a faulty pipeline that had burst Clean up time: ~1 year

Clean up crews try and navigate through the contaminated waters of the Kolva River

Offshore Explosions

The largest marine, and one of the most publicized Oil Spills off all time, was the BP oil spill. The BP oil spill occurred very recently on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The BP oil spill is an example of an offshore explosion accident. In an offshore explosion, an explosion occurs on the drilling rig, or with the equipment itself resulting in damaged pipelines and tankers.

The BP oil spill

When: April 20 2010 Where: Gulf of Mexico, 1,070

kilometres of Gulf of Mexico coastline have been contaminated by the oil.

What: explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, size: 5 million barrels of oil (worth about $400 million ) 210 million gallons

Who: BP (Was The British Petroleum Company now Beyond Petroleum)

Location: Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, Gulf of Mexico

Why: an explosion occurring on the drilling rig

Clean up time: On-going

Deep Water Horizons Oil rig explosion.

Tanker Collisions

A Tanker in the Oil industry refers to a ship specifically designed for the bulk transport of oil. Oil spills due to tanker collisions are caused when a tanker as hit another ship, the loading dock, or in the worst case scenario; another oil tanker. An example of an oil tanker collision is the Exxon Valdez tanker collision.

Exxon Valdez oil spill Who: Exxon mobil corporation What: The drivers of the Exxon

Valdez noticed icebergs in their planned route. Instead of trying to weave through the icebergs, they decided to go in another direction. On the new route, the oil tanker hit shallow land. $2.1 billion for the clean up, 11 million gallons of oil was spilled

When: March 23, 1989 Where: Prince William Sound

in Alaska Why: Collision with the Bligh

reef. Clean up time: 3 years

Sabotage

Although most oil spills are accidents, some of the worst spills are actually intentional. These spills are usually the result of war and sabotage. Examples of Sabotage include the Gulf war, and the Kuwait oil fires.

Gulf War Oil Spill

When: January 1991 Where: Persian gulf (Kuwait, Iran) What: 380-520 million gallons of

oil, The oil slick reached a maximum size of 101 miles by 42 miles and was five inches thick.

Who: Iraq and Kuwait Why: Iraq sabotaged the Kuwait

in order to leave them helpless and invade.

Clean up time: 2 years One of the 700 oil wells that were set on fire.

Daily Human Activities

As hard it may be to believe, daily human activities are in fact responsible for a majority of oil spills around the world. These activities include faulty automobiles, improper oil disposal, and the excess run of oil from roads and driveways. These oil spills may be minor in size, but they effect us directly as they are draining into our cities and will build up over time.

ADVANTANGES OF AN OIL SPILL?

This may sound like an oxymoron at first, however, oil spills do have advantages. Obviously, they do not compare to the extent of disadvantages oil spills have, but they do help in a sense.

Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico was a very popular area for fishing. The fishing technique of trawling (massive nets to catch

fish) was used by the various fishing companies. causes major damage to the ocean floors and any reefs

in its way destroys entire underwater habitats Luckily fishing has been restricted because of the major

oil spill. The massive scale fishing done in this area affected the population and diversity of the fish. It eliminated the majority of the population of fish and the diversification was very minimal.

…Continued

Studies from the Fisheries Institute at the University of British Columbia say that because of the restriction of fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, there will be a massive increase in the population of fish and the Gulf will see the great amount of fish it use to see before.

…Continued

To help prevent the Gulf ofMexico from being depopulated,the Magnuson-Stevens Act was passed by the U.S.

The initiative was taken by the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration). This act halted overfishing in various coastal regions

in the U.S. including the Gulf of Mexico.

Every oil spill spreads awareness

Over the summer of 2010, President Obama gave a speech in which he said that he is using oil spills to “accelerate the transition” towards a “green” economy and that we should “seize the moment”

He is trying to bring more awareness of the tragedies caused by the oil spills to convince the big businesses in the oil industry.

Already, oil drilling plans, of the famous company Shell, in Alaska are being opposed slowly and steadily.

Education of Oil Spills

When an oil spill happens, more and more people learn about it, which is an advantage because if the upcoming generations are well educated about oil spills they will know how to deal with them.

Also the education already present has been very beneficial as there are so many efficient cleaning techniques now.

Innovations for Clean-up Techniques

There are many methods including:

Bioremediation Controlled burning Dredging Skimming Solidifying Vacuum and Centrifuge Booms Watch and Wait Use of Dispersants Shoveling

Oil Spill Research

Many programs and organizations have been created over the years for research and prevention of oil spills such as the N.O.A.A. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), O.S.R.R. (Oil Spill Response & Research) Program, T.A. & R. (Technology Assessment and Research) Program.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON PEOPLE

oil spills are a big issue because they affect humans negatively in many ways

they affect not only our health, but our economy and our food as well

Human Health

oil spills affect the health of the cleanup crews for the oil spill because they are exposed to a large amount of petroleum

workers experience acute symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, throat irritation, eye pain, coughing or choking and dizziness

potential long-term risks include lung, kidney and liver damage This is a picture of a worker cleaning up

an oil spill, he is hardly wearing any protection which is very hazardous to his health.

Human Health continued... traumatic events such as oil spills can sometimes result in

depression oil spills cause economic and environmental destruction

which causes depression and can lead to suicide and domestic violence by the people who have been affected by the spills the most

for example, less than two months after the damaged BP oil rig began spewing oil into the gulf, boat captain Allen "Rookie" Kruse, 55, took his own life inside the quarters of his boat (gulf of mexico oil spill)

he mayor of Bayou La Batre, a coastal Alabama community, has reported that domestic violence calls in the area have tripled since the oil spill began

Industry Power stations, desalinization plants and other industrial facilities that

draw in seawater are all affected by oil spills because they are at risk if the water intakes are close to the surface.

These affected operations can limit the supply of their products such as electricity, water, etc which in turn affect the economy

This is a picture of an oil spill near a power plant in Lebanon.

- Many industries are depending on clean water, e.g., for cooling purposes in nuclear, other power plants and desalination plants. The facilities can be negatively affected if the risk getting oil into their water intakes. The result may be contamination of piping systems which in turn may require that the plant is shut down while cleaning is carried out.

Tourism

Many hotels are resorts are built right next to oceans and large bodies of water

in case of an oil spill, the shorelines will be seriously contaminated

this in turn will restrict bathing and boating in coastal resorts, which will impact the business of the hotels and restaurants, tour operations and others who rely on the economic benefits of the tourists in the area of the spill

A resort worker attempts to catch an oil coated pelican after an oil spill.

Fisheries an oil spill can have a number of effects on fisheries fishing and shellfish areas may

be closed for fishing for shorter or longer periods because of the risks of the catch being tainted by oil

fish and crab may contain concentrations of petroleum and shellfish will be contaminated

this means there will be a drastic decrease of consumer consumption of fish and shellfish resulting in huge losses for the fisheries This is a picture of fish that died

due to an oil spill.

Transportation

ships wont be able to pass through the area of the oil spill

transportation companies will have to come up with alternate routes

Negative Feelings the owners of the oil become angry at the spill

because their oil goes to waste and they lose a lot of money

they must pay for the clean up of the spill

they get bad publicitybecause of the media and the press

people might have a bad impression of the area of thespill (fearing for their health) if the oil spill makes international news

The oil slick as seen from space by NASA's Terrasatellite on May 24, 2010.

Negative Feelings continued...

the people who live near the area of the spill become angry because their beaches are polluted with oil

they become angry because their marine creatures as well as sea birds are dead and dying

they become angry because they lose many economic opportunities

they become angry because the oil company does not completely pay for the clean up of the spill and the beaches are still not thoroughly cleaned

fear of another oil spill

EFFECTS OF OIL SPILLS ON WILDLIFE

Alice Feagan’s picture depicts the oil spill that occurred in Gulf of Mexico, Oil Island 2010

Oil Spills

Oil spills severely affect species that use the surface of the water and species that live near the shores the most.

Despite size, the damage of oil spills are always catastrophic. Since oil floats on top of the water, it becomes very likely to come

into contact with many life forms near the water. Each oil spills are different, the magnitude of the effect depends

on a few factors: what kind of oil is spilt, where the oil spilt, the type of wildlife that are in the area, time of year (breeding cycle and seasonal migration), and the weather during the spill.

Oil is highly damaging to the wildlife because not only does it coats the animals’ body in a thick oil layer, as time passes, the oil becomes stickier and harder to get off

Effects on fish

Fish become infected through in taking the oil directly through their gills or consuming smaller oiled prey.

The oil has a potent effect on the future generation of the fish due to the fact that eggs of many fish species are really sensitive to oil pollution as well as oil causes reproductive impairment.

Adult fish that come into contact with the oil are at risk of decreasing in size, enlargement of the livers,change in heart/respiration rates, erosion of the fins.

Occasionally in open water, fish are able to avoid the oil spill by either going into deeper water, or swimming further away.

Caught in an oil spill, many fish wind up dead

Effects on marine life Wildlife that dwells close to shore, are more at risk of being

contaminated when the oil washes up ashore Breathing in droplets of oil/oil fumes or gas that is emitted

could damage airways and cause congestions. Oils can also cause damage to the animals’ eye which result in conjunctivitis, ulcers, and ultimately blindness. These complications make finding food, and avoiding predators more difficult.

Exposure to the oil causes skin, nasal cavity or mouth irritation and ulceration. Damage or decrease to the immune system, and red blood cells of the marine mammals could also occur. This would sometimes leads to bacterial or fungal infections.

Oil consumption causes organ damage and failure, while oil vapours have the ability to damage the central nervous system as well as the lungs and liver.

Consuming oil can also diminish the animal’s ability to ingest or digest its food by harming cells inside the intestinal tract.

Can interfere with the baleen whale's eating habits specifically. The oil floats on the surface of the water, since the baleen whale eats by skimming the water surface and filtering out the water the contaminated water enters the whale.

• Oil poisoning occurs when young, such as dolphin calf, feed from the mother’s milk.

A Baleen whale surfacing to feed

A young dolphin calf swims with the

mother

Oil that come into contact with fur destroys the natural insulation property of the fur. This then leads to hypothermia in the mammals.

Marine mammals easily become prey due to the oil sticking to their bodies and thus hard to escape from predators. Inability to swim properly is also the cause of drowning.

Weight lose occurs when they can not feed properly because of the contaminated environment .The smell of the usual prey is overpowered and disguised by the odour and taste of oil.

Scent of seal pups are masked under the oil and mothers reject and abandon their young. Unable to look after themselves, they starve.

Unfortunately wildlife, seals and dolphins for example, were recorded to continue living fairly close to the oil spills.

The oil reduces and destroys the natural properties of feathers to insulate and waterproof. This causes birds to becoming prone to catching hypothermia. They lose body weight as their body tries to fight the low body

temperature Birds become an easier source of food for others because their

feathers are matted by oil, limiting them to the ground and unable to fly away.

Oil consumed damages the bird’s ability to maintain blood pressure levels, and concentration of fluid in its body.

Effects on birds

A sea gull paralyzed in oil on the beach of East Grand Terre Island in Barataria Bay, La. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times / June 4,

2010)

As the birds surrender to the oiled conditions, they stop diving, swimming and become dehydrated, and starve.

The slickened feathers weigh more because of the oil, thus they cannot catch enough air between the feathers to stay buoyant and the birds drown.

In attempt to rid themselves of the oil, birds ingest the substance. Through eating the oil, the birds damage their insides, causing ulcers or bleeding inside their stomachs.

The oil causes interference with the breeding behaviour of birds for instance,

reducing the number of eggs a bird lays. It also decrease in the thickness of egg shells and can suffocate eggs by closing off pores in the eggs and stopping gas exchange.

A bird trying to rid itself of the oil

Marine life and birds

Unfortunately marine life and birds tend to not stay away from the spill. • Oil that is floating on top of the water can infect plankton

(algae), roe, and the larvae of various invertebrates. Other fish are drawn in by the oil for the fact that it appears to be

motionless floating food. This puts sea birds at risk for coming into contact with the oil.

Fascinated by the large schools of fish that swarmed the spill, birds dive right into the oil slicks.

Likeliness to be affected

Wildlife that are cover in oil earlier to the spill occurring might be affected differently than those that are exposed later on. An example of this is that oil is more toxic when it is more recently spilled. Thus animals that encounter it earlier on will consume more toxic poison.

Weather conditions can also play a role. Depending on the weather condition of the spill, it will either increase of decrease the possibility for the oil to cause more damage to the surrounding environment. High winds and warm water causes lighter oils to become gases. This reduces the oil quantity that remains in the water to affect marine dwellers.

Long term Due to the fact that oil spills affect all wildlife in the immediate

area, larger animals that might not necessary come into contact with the oil, will be infected through the food chain. As larger wildlife, this includes bigger fish, mammals, birds, and sometimes even humans, consume a greater quantity of smaller organisms, they ingest a larger amount of oil dosage.

Studies on oil ingestion shows to suppress the immune system, damage organ , irritate skin cause ulceration, adrenal system becomes damaged.

Immune systems being damaged is a cause for secondary infections which leads to death as well as behavioural changes. These then could also be the interfere with the creature’s ability to locate food and stay away from predators.

Oil can also damage reproduction cycle of animals by causing the animals be become too sick to breed.

Oil in the environment can erupt a in the environment and the ecosystem that was necessary to support a specific wildlife

Environments such as coral reefs, estuaries, and seagrass habitats which are used as breeding grounds for many type of fish

On November 7, 2007 in San Francisco Bay, 54 000 gallons of heavy oil was leaked during a crash between a cargo ship and the Bay Bridge

As a result 1 068 birds categorized into 30 species, including other wildlife, in the area were collected

Usually on an average, half of the birds who were rescued from oil spills that occurred across the decades were profiled to surviving for a year after the disasters struck.

In the case of San Francisco Bay, less than 40 percent of the birds survived.

San Francisco Bay 2007

EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Undersea lifeOceans: It is estimated that approximately

706 million gallons of waste oil enter the ocean every year

When oil spill reaches the shoreline, it interacts with sediments, rocks, vegetation, and terrestrial habitats of both wildlife and humans, causing erosion as well as contamination

Oil spills are very harmful to deep ocean life and coastal fishing and fisheries.

Effects on Ocean Life

The immediate effects include mass mortality and contamination of fish and other food species

long-term ecological effects may be worse. Oil waste poisons the sensitive marine and coastal organic substrate, interrupting the food chain on which fish and sea creatures depend on. Commercial fishing enterprises may be affected permanently.

Effects on Ocean Life continued...

There's really no aspect of a marine and coastal environment that is not in some way adversely affected by an oil spill. The closer the spill occurs to the shoreline, the more pronounced the damage will be due to coastal zones being home to more concentrated and diverse populations of marine, bird and animal life than far out to sea.

Oceans and marine life gets affected by oil spills the most

Oil Spill effects on Soil

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, contamination with oil can reduce the amount of oxygen present in soil. A reduced level of oxygen has the potential to inhibit native plant growth.

Oil contamination can reduce the fertility of soil. When oil is spilled on land used for agriculture, it can result in reduced crop yields and poorer harvests.

Long term effects on soil

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, oil spills can pollute the groundwater in soil, posing a risk to human beings who use or consume it.

In some types of soil, especially sand and gravel, the effects of an oil spill can linger for years. For example, areas of beach in Alaska's Prince William Sound have not fully recovered from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, even though it occurred more than 20 years ago.

Oil spills do not necessarily render soil completely unusable. Oil-contaminated soil can be used in the production of asphalt, cement and brick.

Effects on Rainforests

The very thick nature of the bush makes it suitable for hunting of wild animals. However, the affected vegetation and the depleted environment make things worse for any wild life to survive in the area. Hunters in the affected areas complained that their occupation has been negatively affected by the oil spills. Therefore, both people and the soil get affected.

Effects on Agriculture

The basic activity of the people is farming. Therefore the spill and its consequential effects will linger for a long time especially with the thorns and thistles all over the vegetation symbolic of the unproductive nature of the soil. It is obviously possible that it would take as long as 15 years or more for this impacted area to regain its soil fertility, as a result of the spill.

Environmental conclusions

Once oil has effected the environment, no matter how well it is cleaned up, it has already taken effect and the environment will take many years to return to its original state if it ever does.

Prevention of an oil spill is key.

Conclusion

Oil spills happen all over the world and have an affect on all of us every time they happen. Whether they are in Mexico or Somalia, they affect us and the land we live on. So what can WE do about all this?

Solutions Prevention is better than cure, and reducing oil usage is

one way of reducing pollution. Harnessing other natural resourcse including solar

energy from the sun is a key way to reduce the use of oil

Reduce human error, many oil spills are caused by accidents that can be prevented

Solutions continued... By ensuring that Properly Trained Personnel are on

guard, the Coast Guards are reinforced, placing Stricter rules and regulations for Oil Tankers, being equipped with the latest Navigational Equipment and better Maintenance of the Oil rigs and Tankers

Awareness; the more we make ourselves aware of a causes, the more we fight for the cause. OUR word matters, so lets stand up and make a difference.

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