Chemistry

How does crude oil pollute environment?

What are the consequences of that pollution?

Word Count: 1,412

Student: Denis Badurina

Class: II-2 MYP

Sarajevo, October 2012

 To begin with we need to understand why we chose to talk about this. The answer is simple,
its because it concerns every living being besides humans. Our greed to survive and make our
presence on this earth better we need to watch out for the hazardous effects of crude oil which can
destroy life in seconds. This topic is widely connected to chemistry and to talk about the hazardous
behavior of crude oil, we need to understand the structure, existence and the good side.
The structure of crude oils is in variation from one place to another, the structure is not
always the same, and it depends on the ground quality and placing. Crude oil is basically a term
which is used for unprocessed oil. It is a fossil fuel and that means that is created naturally from
plants and animals which were decaying for millions years. The biggest place for finding crude oil is
the sea and the area bellow sea. We also need to state that the crude oil has a variety of colors from
the darkest ones to the most clearest, and also the very in the state (from liquid to almost solid). In
average the crude oil components are: carbon - 84%, hydrogen - 14%, sulfur 1% to 3%, nitrogen
less than 1%, oxygen less than 1%, metals less than 1% and salts also less than 1%. 1
Thats for the structure and now we need to talk about why do we need it and how does it
help. The eco and chemistry importance has reached so high level that it almost couldnt be
described. A lot of crude oil areas which are used for extraction are found, mostly in USA, northern
sides of South Africa, Central East, especially in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. The sources were
started being used in the time of development of self-combusting engines at the beginning of the
20th century. The processed oil which is later on created from the crude oil (unprocessed oil) can be
used in: gasoline, flammable oils and as lubricants. These usages are so important that if we stop
consuming crude oil the whole modern world would drop.
The biggest catastrophes which happened with the crude oil are the ones in which a whole
tanker containing crude oil sinks and pollutes a part of the ocean. When big tankers full of crude oil
sink and the containers brake, the crude oil spreads on the sea and pollutes a large area of the ocean
causing living beings underwater to die and destroy the habitat of those parts. An oil spill is the
release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially oceanic areas, due to
human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe oceanic oil spills,
where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters. 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. Another significant route by which oil enters
the marine environment is through natural oil seeps. Oil wastes that enter the ocean come from
many sources, some being accidental spills or leaks, and some being the results of chronic and
careless habits in the use of oil and oil products. Most waste oil in the ocean consists of oily
stormwater drainage from cities and farms, untreated waste disposal from factories and industrial
facilities, and unregulated recreational boating. It is estimated that approximately 706 million
gallons of waste oil enter the ocean every year, with over half coming from land drainage and waste
disposal; for example, from the improper disposal of used motor oil. Offshore drilling and production
operations and spills or leaks from ships or tankers typically contribute less than 8 percent of the
total. The remainder comes from routine maintenance of ships (nearly 20 percent), hydrocarbon
particles from onshore air pollution (about 13 percent), and natural seepage from the seafloor (over
8 percent).Oil spills present the potential for enormous harm to deep ocean and coastal fishing and
fisheries. The immediate effects of toxic and smothering oil waste may be mass mortality and
contamination of fish and other food species, but 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, and on which their reproductive success is based. Commercial
fishing enterprises may be affected permanently.Wildlife other than fish and sea creatures, including
mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds that live in or near the ocean, are also poisoned by oil

1
"How Oil Refining Works." HowStuffWorks. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-refining1.htm>.
waste.2 We also need to say that not all the oil spills are the same, they can vary in the type,
location, and wildlife species, time breeding cycles and even weather can affect the type with the
change of state. We said that it can pollute the water wildlife, and so it also can pollute the animals
which live on the earth and flying beings. As the crude oil is used to produce various products and
also in vehicles which have a dangerous exhaust. The exhaust which car produces destroys the ozone
layer they also infect and kill the animals which spend their time in the air mostly. The same way as
it pollutes the ozone layer it also makes hazardous areas for the flying animals which later on breed
in the polluted gasses and it destroys their inner organs. The exhaust gasses mix with the oxygen and
other gasses which are in the air and are so transmitted not only to flying beings but also to animals
which are unable to fly. They instead of living in the area which is polluted (air) they breed in the
gasses and also hunt animals which fly and then eat them, that is also one way of transition. To be
more precise oil in the environment interferes with the breeding process and so destroys breeding
abilities and newborns. They damage the airways of all mammals and inner organs which are
responsible for breading. The second most important organ which is exposed to the polluted
environment are the eyes and so can oil infect the eyes of animals and prevent their visual abilities.
They also damage the following: skin, mouth, immune system, blood cells, livers, adrenal tissue, egg
shells and nasal cavities. With these damages presented animal behavior could change and they can
become more aggressive and stressful, which can cause attacks and other inappropriate behavior.
Through this essay which writes about the bad sides of crude oil, we can conclude that
besides the crude oils good sides we need to watch also the bad sides, the hazardous behavior which
happens after a human error. A lot of happenings can cause the pollution of water, but the most
destructive one are oil spills from big tankers which sink underwater, and release oil in the seas.
After explaining all this we can also see that not only the seas are the biggest victims of oil spills, but
so are the ground areas and animals on them. Because of the big usage of oil we cannot stop
consuming it, but we can get more careful and advanced to prevent those kinds of pollution to
happen. The cars should be more eco-friendly (and these cars are already in production and are
being released). Besides the vehicles which cause air pollution and ground based animal distinction,
human error is inevitable but in certain ways it could be more advanced and prepared in order not
to make mistakes. If we take care more about the environment the environment will take care
about us.

2
"Effects of a Crude Oil Spill on Ecology." Australian Science. Web. 12 Oct. 2012
. <http://www.australianscience.com.au/environmental-science/effects-of-a-crude-oil-spill-on-ecology/>.
Bibliography
"Effects of a Crude Oil Spill on Ecology." Australian Science. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.australianscience.com.au/environmental-science/effects-of-a-crude-oil-spill-on-
ecology/>.

"How Oil Refining Works." HowStuffWorks. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.

<http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-refining1.htm>.

"The Effects of Oil on Wildlife." Effects of Oil on Wildlife. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.amsa.gov.au/marine_environment_protection/educational_resources_and_informatio
n/teachers/the_effects_of_oil_on_wildlife.asp>.