Oil spill is the release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbons to the environment, especially marine ecosystems, due to human activities, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given for oil spills, where oil is released into the sea or coastal waters, but spills can also occur on land. Oil spills may be due to the release of crude oil from tankers, offshore rigs, drilling rigs and wells, and spills of distilled oil products (such as gasoline, diesel) and its by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or oil spills or oily waste.
The oil spill penetrates into the structure of bird feathers and mammal hair, reduces its insulation capacity, and makes it more susceptible to temperature fluctuations and less floating in water. Cleaning and recovery of oil spills is difficult and depends on many factors, including the type of spilled oil, water temperature (affecting evaporation and biodegradation), and the type of coastline and shore involved. Spills may take weeks, months or even years to clean up.
Oil spills can have devastating consequences for society; economically, environmentally and socially. As a result, oil spill accidents have sparked intense media attention and political upheaval, bringing together many people in the political struggle about the government's response to the oil spill and what actions can prevent them from happening.
Video Oil spill
The biggest oil spill
Crude oil and crude oil spills from tanker accidents have damaged vulnerable ecosystems in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, France, Sundarbans, Ogoniland, and many other places. The amount of oil spilled during the accident has ranged from a few hundred tons to several hundred thousand tons (for example, Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Queen Atlantic , Amoco Cadiz ), but the volume is a barometer of damage or limited impact. Smaller spills have been shown to have major impacts on ecosystems, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill due to remoteness of the location or the difficulties of an emergency environmental response.
Oil spills in the sea are generally much more destructive than on land, as they can spread for hundreds of nautical miles in thin oil layers that can cover the coast with a thin layer of oil. It can kill sea birds, mammals, shells and other organisms that they coat. Oil spills on land are more easily blocked if emergency ground dams can be quickly sawed off around the spill site before most of the oil is released, and land animals can avoid oil more easily.
Maps Oil spill
Human impact
Oil spills are a direct fire hazard. The Kuwaiti oil fire produces air pollution which causes respiratory distress. The Deepwater Horizon explosion killed eleven workers of oil rigs. The fire resulting from the Lac-MÃÆ'ng gantic slipping killed 47 and destroyed half of the city center.
Oil spills can also contaminate drinking water supplies. For example, in 2013 two different oil spills contaminated water supplies to 300,000 in Miri, Malaysia; 80,000 people in Coca, Ecuador,. In 2000, springs were contaminated by an oil spill in Clark County, Kentucky.
Contamination can have an economic impact on the tourism industry and the extraction of marine resources. For example, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted coastal tourism and fishing along the Gulf Coast, and responsible parties were asked to compensate the victims of the economy.
Environmental effects
In general, oil spills can affect animals and plants in two ways: dir ?? t of oil and from the process of response or cleaning. There is no clear relationship between the amount of oil in the aquatic environment and its possible impact on biodiversity. Smaller spills at wrong time/wrong season and in sensitive environments may prove far more dangerous than larger spills at other times of the year in other environments or even the same. Oil penetrates into the structure of bird feathers and mammal fur, reduces their isolation ability, and makes them more susceptible to temperature fluctuations and less floats in the water.
Animals that rely on the scent to find their babies or mothers can not because of the strong oil scent. This causes the baby to be rejected and abandoned, leaving the baby starving and eventually dying. Oil can damage the ability of birds to fly, prevent it from feeding or escaping predators. As they preen, birds can swallow oil that lines their fur, irritate the digestive tract, alter liver function, and cause kidney damage. Along with reduced feeding capacity, this can quickly produce dehydration and metabolic imbalances. Some birds exposed to oil also experience changes in their hormonal balance, including changes in their luteinizing proteins. The majority of birds affected by oil spills die from complications without human intervention. Some studies suggest that less than one percent of oil-borne birds survive, even after cleaning, although survival rates may also exceed ninety percent, as in the case of the Treasure Oil spill.
Hairy marine mammals spaced with oil spills are affected in the same way. Oil coats sea otters and seals, reduces the effects of its insulation, and causes fluctuations in body temperature and hypothermia. Oil can also blind animals, making them helpless. Oil intake causes dehydration and impairs the digestive process. Animals can be poisoned, and can die because the oil enters the lungs or liver.
There are three types of oil-eating bacteria. Sulfate reducing bacteria (BAL) and acid-producing bacteria are anaerobic, while common aerobic bacteria (GAB) are aerobic. These bacteria occur naturally and will act to remove the oil from the ecosystem, and their biomass will tend to replace other populations in the food chain. Chemicals from water-soluble oils, and therefore available to bacteria, are those present in the water fraction associated with oil.
In addition, oil spills can also damage air quality. Chemicals in crude oil are mostly hydrocarbons containing toxic chemicals such as benzene, toluene, polychromatic hydrocarbons and oxygen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These chemicals can cause adverse effects on health when inhaled into the human body. In addition, these chemicals can be oxidized by oxidants in the atmosphere to form fine particles after evaporating into the atmosphere. These particulates can penetrate the lungs and carry toxic chemicals into the human body. Burning of surface oils can also be a source of pollution like soot particles. During the cleaning and recovery process, it will also produce air pollutants such as nitric oxide and ozone from ships. Finally, bursting bubbles can also be a generation path for particulates during oil spills. During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, significant air quality issues are found on the Gulf Coast, which is a wind upwind from the DWH oil spill. Air quality monitoring data show that pollutant criteria have exceeded health-based standards in coastal areas.
Source and level of occurrence
The VLCC tanker can carry 2 million barrels (320,000 m 3 ) of crude oil. This amount is about eight times that of the Exxon Valdez oil spill . In this spill, the ship ran aground and dumped 260,000 barrels (41,000 m 3 ) oil into the sea in March 1989. Despite the efforts of scientists, managers, and volunteers of more than 400,000 seabirds, about 1,000 oceans. Beavers, and large numbers of fish are killed. Considering the volume of oil carried by the sea, however, tanker owners' organizations often argue that the industry's safety record is very good, with only a fraction of the percentage of oil cargo being sown. The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners has observed that "unintentional oil spills in this decade have reached a record low - a third of the previous decade and one-tenth of the 1970s - as the oil transported has more than doubled since the mid- an. "
Oil tankers are just one of many sources of oil spills. According to the US Coast Guard, 35.7% of the volume of oil spilled in the United States from 1991 to 2004 came from tankers (vessels/barges), 27.6% of facilities and other non-vessels, 19.9% ​​of non- ship tanks, and 9.3% of pipelines; 7.4% of the mystery spill. On the other hand, only 5% of the spill actually comes from oil tankers, while 51.8% comes from other types of vessels.
The International Tanker Owner's Polling Federation has tracked 9351 accidental spills that have occurred since 1974. According to this study, most spills are generated from routine operations such as cargo loading, cargo removal, and fuel oil pickup. 91% of small operational oil spills, yielding less than 7 metric tons per spill. On the other hand, spills resulting from accidents such as collisions, groundings, gastric failures, and explosions are much greater, with 84% of these involving losses of over 700 metric tons.
Cleanup and recovery
Cleaning and recovery of oil spills is difficult and depends on many factors, including the type of spilled oil, water temperature (affecting evaporation and biodegradation), and the type of coastline and shore involved. Physical oil spill cleaning is also very expensive. However, microorganisms such as the Fusobacteria species show an innovative potential for future oil spill cleanup due to their ability to colonize and lower the oil layer at sea level.
Equipment used includes:
- Boom: large floating barrier that retains oil and lifts oil from water
- Skimmer: skim oil
- Sorben: a large absorbent oil absorber
- Chemical and biological agents: help break down the oil
- Vacuums: dispose of oil from beaches and water levels
- Spades and other road equipment: usually used for cleaning oil on the beach
Prevention
- Secondary detention - a method to prevent the release of oil or hydrocarbons into the environment.
- The Oil Spill Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Control Program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
- Double mill - double hull into vessel, which reduces the risk and severity of the spill in the event of a collision or earth. There is a single hull ship can also be rebuilt to have a double hull.
- Heavy-skinned rail transport tank.
Spill response procedures should include elements such as;
- A list of suitable protective clothing, safety equipment and cleaning supplies required
for cleaning of spills (gloves, respirators, etc.) and an explanation of their proper use;
- Proper zones and evacuation procedures;
- Availability of fire fighting equipment;
- Disposal containers for spill cleaners; and
- First aid procedure that may be required.
Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI)
The Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) is used to identify sensitive coastline resources prior to the oil spill event to establish priorities for protection and to plan a cleaning strategy. By planning for an earlier spill response, the impact on the environment can be minimized or prevented. The environmental sensitivity index map consists essentially of information in the following three categories: coastline types, and biological and human resources.
Coastline type
Coastline types are classified by rank depending on how easily the site targets will be cleared, how long the oil will last, and how sensitive the shoreline is. Slick buoyant oil places a coastline at certain risk when they finally land, covering the substrate with oil. Different substrates between coastline types vary in response to oiling, and affect the type of cleansing that will be required to effectively decontaminate the shoreline. In 1995, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expanded the ESI map to lakes, rivers, and types of estuary shorelines. Coastal exposure should be energy waves and tides, substrate types, and slope of the shoreline also taken into account - in addition to biological productivity and sensitivity. The productivity of shoreline habitats is also taken into account when determining ESI rankings. Mangroves and swamps tend to have higher ESI ratings because of long-lasting and damaging effects from both oil contamination and cleaning action. Exposed surfaces open to high-wave action are lower ratings because the reflection of waves keeps the oil from coming on land, and the speed at which natural processes will remove the oil.
Biological resources
Plant and animal habitats that may be at risk from oil spills are referred to as "elements" and shared by functional groups. The classification further divides each element into groups of species with the same life history and behavior relative to their vulnerability to oil spills. There are eight groups of elements: Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish, Invertebrates, Habitats and Plants, Wetlands, and Marine Mammals and Terrestrial Mammals. The group of elements is subdivided into subgroups, for example, the 'marine mammal' elemental group is divided into dolphins, manatees, pinnipeds (seals, sea lions & walruses), polar bears, sea otters, and whales. The issues considered when ranking biological resources include observation of large numbers of individuals in small areas, whether special life stages occur on land (nesting or molting), and whether there are threatened, endangered or rare species.
Resources people use
The human resources used are divided into four major classifications; archeology or cultural resource sites, recreational areas or high coastline access points, important protected areas of management, or resources. Some examples include airports, dive sites, popular beach sites, marinas, nature reserves, or marine reserves.
Estimating spill volume
By observing the thickness of the oil film and its appearance on the surface of the water, it is possible to estimate the amount of spilled oil. If the spill surface area is also known, the total volume of oil can be calculated.
The oil spill model system is used by industry and government to assist in emergency planning and decision making. Very important to the prediction skills of the oil spill model is an adequate description of the wind and the current field. There is an oil spill modeling program worldwide (WOSM). Tracking the spill of the oil spill may also involve verification that the hydrocarbons collected during the ongoing spill are from active spills or other sources. This can involve advanced analytical chemistry that is focused on oil fingerprints based on a complex mixture of existing substances. Mostly, it will be a variety of hydrocarbons, among the most useful polyaromatic hydrocarbons. In addition, heterocyclic hydrocarbons of oxygen and nitrogen, such as homologous and homologous alkyl carbazole, quinoline, and pyridine, are present in many crude oils. As a result, these compounds have great potential to complement the existing hydrocarbon target series to improve the tracking of oil spill sources. Such an analysis can also be used to follow weathering and degradation of crude oil spills.
See also
References
Further reading
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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