Oil Spill What is Oil Spill?

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually applied to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel) and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil. An oil spill is a catastrophic event in the environment. It can negatively affect both plants and wildlife, while causing human suffering and economic losses. Oil spills happen when people make mistakes or are careless and cause an oil tanker to leak oil into the ocean. There are a few more ways an oil spill can occur. Equipment breaking down may cause an oil spill. If the equipment breaks down, the tanker may get stuck on shallow land. When they start to drive the tanker again, they can put a hole in the tanker causing it to leak oil. When countries are at war, one country may decide to dump gallons of oil into the other countrys o ceans. Terrorists may cause an oil spill because they will dump oil into a countrys ocean. Many terrorists will do this because they are trying to get the countrys attention, or they are trying to make a point to a country. Illegal dumpers are people that will dump crude oil into the oceans because they do not want to spend money on decomposing their waste oil. Because they wont spend money on breaking up the oil (decomposing it) they will dump oil into the oceans, which is illegal. Natural disasters (like hurricanes) may cause an oil spill, too. If a hurricane was a couple of miles away, the winds from the hurricane could cause the oil tanker to flip over, pouring oil out.

Environmental Effects of Oil Spills Effects on birds: The birds most affected by oil spills and petroleum contamination are those that spend a majority of their time at sea or near the water, such as gulls, ducks, pelicans, auks, grebes, terns and loons. If the oil reaches shore, however, all types of shorebirds may be affected, as well as migratory songbirds that use polluted habitats as critical migration stopovers. Birds that feed from polluted areas, such as fish-hunting eagles and ospreys, can also feel the disastrous effects of oil spills. (In short, no bird species are entirely unaffected by this type of toxic pollution.) An area subjected to a large oil spill become uninhabitable for the birds. Since oil contains toxic poisons, oil that coats the nesting areas destroys its critical habitat. Over time, small amounts of oil in the birds' ecosystem can be absorbed into food supplies, gradually building to deadly concentrations in birds that eat that food, whether it is plant life, insects, fish or other food sources. If birds are already nesting at the time of the pollution, oil that coats the eggs will be responsible for its suffocation, decimating the birds' population. If eggs have not been laid but female adults ingest the oil, the pollution can cause thinner shells that are more subject to being crushed and causing malformed chicks that will not survive.

 Oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations. When oil sticks to a bird's feathers, it causes them to mat and separate, impairing waterproofing and exposing the animal's sensitive skin to extremes in temperature. This can result in hypothermia, meaning the bird becomes cold, or hyperthermia, which results in overheating. Oiled birds also lose their natural buoyancy from air pockets created by proper feather alignment, and they can sink and drown in polluted waters. Many oil-soaked birds lose their buoyancy and beach themselves in their attempt to escape the cold water. The fortunate ones are taken in by concerned citizens or capture crews. Oil can impair a bird's ability to fly, preventing it from foraging or escaping from predators. When birds preen, they may ingest the oil coating their feathers, irritating the digestive tract, altering liver function, and causing kidney damage. In order to remove the oil from their feathers, oiled birds will begin to preen excessively, even desperately. As they preen, they inadvertently ingest the toxic sludge, which will then poison their kidneys, liver, lungs, intestines and other internal organs, causing slow and agonizing death. If they do not die from the oil's toxicity, their excessive preening in a desperate attempt to realign their feathers and get clean again will cost them more energy than they can spare, and many oiled birds eventually succumb to exhaustion, dehydration or starvation. Some birds exposed to petroleum also experience changes in their hormonal balance.

Effects on Fish: Fish may be exposed to spilled oil in different ways: they may come into direct contact and contaminate their gills the water column may contain toxic and volatile components of oil that may be absorbed by their eggs, larvae, and juvenile stages they may eat contaminated food Large oil spills can kill fish directly by suffocation and can also destroy the surrounding environment where fish lay eggs and young fish develop. Oil also disperses in water, and chemicals in the oil are absorbed by fish and can cause death. Direct exposure to crude oil causes a coagulated mucous film to cover the body and gills. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in crude oil affect eggs and larvae of fish and increase mortality. Crude oil contains many compounds that are toxic to animals including fish. These compounds are difficult to dissolve in water, but wave action and large amounts of crude oil will cause the compounds to be present at toxic levels. Fish are particularly susceptible to absorbing these compounds because they naturally have a high oil or fat content, and the compounds dissolve easily into their tissues through contact with the skin and gills. When exposed to oil, adult fish may experience reduced growth, enlarged livers, changes in heart and respiration rates, fin erosion, and reproduction impairment. Wild fish in open waters are likely to swim away from oil spills and long-term effects on local populations are usually avoided. Fish populations moving back into an area following a spill may however, take some time to recover.

Schools of fish may either avoid or be attracted to oil spills. 1. Fish are extremely sensitive to water conditions and can sense the taint of oil in water, which in many cases causes them to avoid it. 2. However, oil floats on the surface of the water and blocks out the sunlight, which can be attractive to fish looking to hide from predators. As fish congregate under oil spills, birds and other predators are also drawn to these places, creatures that can suffer direct damage from oil more easily.

Effects on Plants: Blocked Sunlight Photosynthesis uses solar radiation to convert water and carbon dioxide into essential nutrients that sustain plant life. Therefore, plants and algae need reliable access to water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to undergo this essential process. Spilled oil floats on the surface of the water, blocking one of these fundamental ingredients, sunlight, from reaching the plants within the body of water. Spilled oil may also directly coat the leaves of plants -- where most of the work of photosynthesis occurs -- reducing or blocking out sunlight. Without sunlight, plants lack the energy needed to undergo photosynthesis. Water Contamination An oil spill can impact photosynthesis by reducing water quality. Not only does the presence of oil directly poison the water, but the spill can kill sea life, bird life and other wildlife that uses an aquatic habitat. A large die-off can increase bacteria levels and lower the pH of a body of water. The reduction in water quality can stress plants, essentially halting photosynthesis. Clean Up Bioremediation: use of microorganisms or biological agents to break down or remove oil. There are three kinds of oil-consuming bacteria. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and acid-producing bacteria are anaerobic, while general aerobic bacteria (GAB) are aerobic. These bacteria occur naturally and will act to remove oil from an ecosystem, and their biomass will tend to replace other populations in the food chain. Controlled burning can effectively reduce the amount of oil in water, if done properly. But it can only be done in low wind, and can cause air pollution. Dispersants can be used to dissipate oil slicks. A dispersant is either a non-surface active polymer or a surface-active substance added to a suspension, usually a colloid, to improve the separation of particles and to prevent settling or clumping. They may rapidly disperse large amounts of certain oil types from the sea surface by transferring it into the water column. They will cause the oil slick to break up and form water-soluble micelles that are rapidly diluted. The oil is then effectively spread throughout a larger volume of water than the surface from where the oil was dispersed. They can also delay the formation of persistent oil-in-water emulsions. Dredging is used for oils dispersed with detergents and other oils denser than water. Skimming - An oil skimmer is a machine that separates a liquid from particles floating on it or from another liquid. A common application is removing oil floating on water. Solidifying Solidifiers are composed of dry hydrophobic polymers that both adsorb and absorb. They clean up oil spills by changing the physical state of spilled oil from liquid to a semi-solid or a rubber-like

material that floats on water. Solidifiers are insoluble in water, therefore the removal of the solidified oil is easy and the oil will not leach out. Solidifiers have been proven to be relatively non-toxic to aquatic and wild life and have been proven to suppress harmful vapors commonly associated with hydrocarbons such as Benzene, Xylene, Methyl Ethyl, Acetone and Naphtha. The reaction time for solidification of oil is controlled by the surf area or size of the polymer as well as the viscosity of the oil. Some solidifier product manufactures claim the solidified oil can be disposed of in landfills, recycled as an additive in asphalt or rubber products, or burned as a low ash fuel. Vacuum and centrifuge oil can be sucked up along with the water, and then a centrifuge can be used to separate the oil from the water - allowing a tanker to be filled with near pure oil. Usually, the water is returned to the sea, making the process more efficient, but allowing small amounts of oil to go back as well. This issue has hampered the use of centrifuges due to a United States regulation limiting the amount of oil in water returned to the sea.

Guimaras oil spill The Guimaras oil spill is a massive oil spill at the Guimaras Strait, the Philippines that started on August 11, 2006. It is the worst oil spill ever in the Philippines. Background The oil tanker M/T Solar 1, carrying more than two million liters of bunker fuel, sank on August 11, 2006 at the Guimaras Strait off the coast of the Guimaras and Negros Occidental provinces, causing some 500,000 liters of oil to pour into the strait. Siphoning the remaining 1.5 million liters from the sunken tanker, at a depth of more than 600 meters, was scheduled for March 2007. It has been said that the recent oil spill has now adversely affected marine sanctuaries and mangrove reserves in three out of five municipalities in Guimaras Island and reached the shores of Iloilo and Negros Occidental. The oil spill occurred in the Visayan Sea which is considered a rich fishing ground that supplies most of the fisheries' demand for the entire country. (NDCC, August 2006) Haribon sent its two biologists to Guimaras to rapidly assess the damage and talk to the affected communities regarding their immediate needs. Haribon will be providing assistance to the area particularly for the longterm rehabilitation of the area. Finally, the government has evacuated the affected families who have already been exposed to the toxic elements of the crude oil. According to reports gathered in the field, people have already contracted skin diseases. Causes Several causes have been mentioned, including bad weather and human error. Allegations have been made stating that the tanker only had a capacity of 1.2 million, implying the possibility of overloading [2]Other investigations have claimed that the captain of the ship had no capacity to manage it. Effects The spill has damaged Taklong Island National Marine Reserve, a marine sanctuary for feeding and breeding ground for fish and other species.[3] The oil slick also posed a threat to the blue crab industry in the municipality of Enrique B. Magalona in Negros Occidental.[4] Dr. Jose Ingles, eco-region coordinator of the World Wide Fund for Nature in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, said that the damage may be felt by at least two generations. He warned that the disaster may have damaged the reefs and mangroves, scarring the ecosystem and causing seafood yields to significantly decrease. According to him, the worst hit would be the shorelines, the coasts and the swamplands with mangroves. This will greatly impact the livelihood of the fishermen, mostly living in poor conditions. [5] In the south-southeast of the spill site is located the Sulu Sea, a deep water area frequented by commercially valued fishes. The towns of southern Negros Occidental province prides themselves as the home of the Blue

marlin and the Yellowfin tuna. This is an important source of income for the communities. When the slick is not effectively contained, this will surely damage this thriving local industry. As of August 22, 2006, the Philippine Coast Guard says that the spill has affected 20 communities in 4 municipalities in Guimaras. It also threatens 27 communities in Iloilo province and 17 others in Negros Occidental.[6] Oil spill at La Union cleaned upCoast Guard 6:00 am | Friday, February 24th, 2012 The spill of some 10,000 liters of automotive diesel oil into the sea due to a leak in a pipeline in La Union on Tuesday has been contained, the Philippine Coast Guard said Thursday. PCG Northern Luzon District commandant Captain George Ursabia Jr. told reporters that Coast Guard personnel were deployed to the Poro Point Pier in the provincial capital San Fernando City to monitor efforts by the oil companies involvedChevron and Shell Philippinesto clean up the spill. According to initial reports reaching the PCG headquarters in Manila, the Chevron Bulk Plant had been receiving diesel fuel from the motor tanker MT Panglao Island for two hours on Tuesday when operations personnel detected a leak in the pipeline at around 10 a.m., prompting them to halt the fuel transfer. Chevron was supposed to receive a total of 2,000 liters of diesel from the Panglao Island. The slick from the spill reached 800 meters long and 100 meters wide, according to Ursabia. In the early stages of the anti-spill operation, the PCG official added, the area was heavily contaminated with oil so they laid down a 400-meter-long boom to contain the oil. It can be postulated that the said oil spill was harmful to the marine environment; it was not that alarming considering the characteristic of the diesel oil and its estimated spilled volume, which would easily evaporate and disperse, he said. As of 9 p.m. of Wednesday, Chevron reportedly declared to have completed the cleanup operations. But the PCG and the city government of San Fernando have yet to assess the situation and determine if indeed the oil spill has been contained to their satisfaction. Ursabia said there would be an investigation as to who would be made accountable for the incident and so that it would not be repeated. Chevron is the spiller while Shell is the administrator or in charge of the maintenance of the pipeline. But even if Shell is in charge of maintenance, Chevron should have first checked on the integrity of the pipeline before using it, he said. Apart from the PCG, other government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources would also conduct their own investigation. The quality of the water and the aquatic life in the area, particularly seaweeds and fishes, would be tested.

Atlantic Empress, 1979 Location: Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies Gallons: 88.3 million

Gulf War, 1991 Location: Kuwait Gallons: 240 to 336 million How It Happened: As Iraqi forces retreated from Kuwait during the first Gulf War, they opened the valves of oil wells and pipelines in a bid to slow the onslaught of American troops. The result was the largest oil spill history has seen. Some 240 million gallons of crude oil flowed into the Persian Gulf. The resulting oil slick spanned an area just larger than the size of the island of Hawaii.

Ixtoc 1 Oil Well, 1979 Location: Bay of Campeche, Mexico Gallons: 140 million