CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Hazards of Oil Polluttion Foreign Students Aparts from pollution coming from oil spills and intentional discharges cause by routine shipboards operation. Marine environment and shipboard personnel are both exposed to the hazard of damage and injuries, respectively. Charging associated with the carriage of oil.

The Hazards are described as follow: Fire Hazard It is not the oil itself that burns, but the vapors given off. If oil ignites, the vapor is given off by the liquid that burns. When vapor rises quickly, the vapor burns if there is sufficient air supply. Fire may cause severe injuries to shipboard personnel. It may also scatter on water surfaces where vapors are present and damage the marine organisms and structure. Explosion Hazard Carriage of oil exposes the ship to the possibility of explosion when appropriate safety measures are not undertaken. Explosion is the fire of a vapor air mixture. The mixture of vapor and air is only explosive within certain limits, which are called the lower explosive limit (LEL) or lower flammable limit (UFL). When explosion occurs, personnel on board the ship can be injured seriously. Explosion also destructs and sometimes destroys marine species living in the immediate vicinity of the watered areas where explosion occurred. Poisoning and Intoxication hazard Poisoning and intoxication risk are present when the vessel carries crude oil containing hydrogen sulfide (HS). Middle East crude oils contain hydrogen sulfide (HS), white many other light products can cause intoxication when accidentically released. Shipboard personnel are in danger of direct physical contact in times of accident. They can be poisoned and intoxicated by inhalation and direct exposure. Living organisms in the immediate marine environment can be also seriously harmed. Some chemicals or substances kill fishes and other aquatic animals and organisms.

Electrostatic Charging When pumped through a pipeline at great speed, oil may become charged and this could cause an explosion in a non-inerted tank. Again, the accident can seriously damage living organism and manmade structure within the immediate areas of explosion because of the accidental release of oil into water. Personnel working in the areas are endangered. The explosion could result in fatalities.

EFFECTS OF OIL POLLUTION The effects of heavy and refined oil are the same. They remain in the marine environment for considerable period of time and can be seen. Lighter products such as petrol or gasoline do stay in time marine environment for longer time. They have tendencies to evaporate quickly. However, they could also create serious harm to marine environment.

The following are the effects of oil spills: Elogical effects

Physical and chemical changes in habitat One important ecological effect of oil spills especially then the accident happened close to the coastal areas, is the physical and chemical changes to the habitat. Aquatic habitats, such as water surface where birds dive or swim are contaminated during oil spills can also cause the drowning of water fowls and other animals. The impact of floating and sunken oil on fishing and aquaculture facilities is by fouling gear could contaminate the fish and aquaculture and produce and render them unsuitable as food. Caged fish and shellfish as well as cultured mollusks stand a high risk of being contaminated by soluble or dispersed oil fractions following an oil spill. Aquaculture facilities could also be damaged by floating oil, apart from the edible portion of the produce being tainted by dispersed oil and soluble components . Oil spills change aquatic habitat. People living in affected areas noted that fishes, birds and other aquatic animals dwindled in number. Cultured shellfishes, which are the cheapest food of poor folks are oftentimes the most affected species. Due to incident of human poisoning from eating contaminated is longer present and despite clearance from the government authority.

There are also many reported cases, wherein oil penetrated the course sands of beaches through the tidal water. Oil even went mangroves, salt beds, sheltered tidal flats and mud. Fishes, which used to inhabit the mangroves disappeared. This penetration affected the biota (plants and animals in the area) due to smothering or fouling especially during the early stages of oil spills in the water. Bioaccumulation and Training Effects

Another dangerous effects of oil spill in the ecology is the bioaccumulation and tainting. Bioaccumulation is the ability of an organism to concentrate an element to a level higher than the of its environment. Bioaccumulation factor is a quantitative way to express bioaccumulation. Tainting is ability of a product to be taken up an organism, which affects the taste or smell of seafood. Tainting of seafood is an unwelcome consequence of oil spills edible fraction of water is enriched in the components that can cause tainting. Fish could be tainted within a few hours of exposure to water with concentration of certain hydrocarbon level. Many studies have been reported on bioaccumulation of pertroleum-derived materials in marine organisms. These incidents led to edible of marine organisms. If organism survived the lethal or deadly effects of oil these organisms are contaminated these by the oil distances arising from in take activities. When the organisms take in these oil substances, these go into their tissues, which later on affected their growth and reproduction capabilities. This may also cause early deaths of organisms. With regard to fish, crustaceans and mollusks, long exposure to oil also contaminated them. Fishes accumulate oily odors or flavors. However, when conditions return to normal, these odors and flavors go off. Tainting may be encountered for a period from a few days to several months. Generally, recovery or restoration to normal condition of water and marine life is fast in the water. Plankton population (the small aquatic organisms and the basis of marine life). Which inhabit near the shore can recover in a few weeks. Larger sizes of marine species such as juvenile fishes are rarely seen in the areas affected by oil, even after a year of contamination. The reproduction process of adult fishes is slow, thereby decreasing their population. For inter-tidal or benthic organism, those resistant to oil normally undergo dramatic increase in population but there are fluctuations in the areas that are directly affected by oil pollution. Repopulation is slow while some showed increments only in the second year. Recovery takes place many years later in the heavily impacted areas. Damages to marshy areas or mangroves, on the other hand, persist for many years (IMO Manual on Oil Pollution, 1988).

Social and \Economics Effects The social and economic utilization of the beaches and seas are deeply affected by oil spill because boating, fishing, bathing and diving in the sea areas are prohibited. Tourist cannot be accommodated to the coastal areas where beaches are polluted. Small fishermen whose economic sustenance depends on fishing zones close to the coasts are prohibited from fishing. Other industries are affected, such as tourism, marine transportation port services and harbor activities. Commercial vessels are not allowed to call the ports where pollutants are still present. The port loses income from berthing and loading discharging operations. However, these commercial and economic activities are only temporary. Commercial activities such as tourism and ports usually resume in much lesser time. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS The oil penetrates, up the structure of the plumage of birds, reducing its insulating ability, and so making the birds more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. It also impairs birds flight abilities to forage and escape from predators. As they attempt to preen, birds typically ingest oil that covers their feathers, causing kidney damage, altered liver function, and digestive tract irritation. This and the limited foraging ability quickly causes dehydration and metabolic imbalances. Hormonal balance alteration including changes in luteinizing protein can also result in some birds exposed to petroleum. Most birds affected by an oil spill die unless there is human intervention. Marine mammals exposed to oil spills are affected in similar ways as seabirds. Oil coats the fur of sea otters and seals, reducing its insulation abilities and leading to body temperature fluctuations and hypothermia. Ingestion of the oil causes dehydration and impaired digestions. Because oil floats on top of water, less sunlight penetrates into the water, limiting the photosynthesis of marine plants and phytoplankton. This, as well as decreasing the fauna populations, affects the food chain in the ecosystem. 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. CLEAN UP AND RECOVERY Clean up recovery from an oil is difficult and depends upon many factors, including the type of oil spilled, the temperature of the water (affecting evaporation and biodegradation), and the types of shorelines and beaches involved.

Methods for cleaning up include: Bioremediation: use of microorganisms or biological agents to break down or remove oil. Bioremediation Accelerator: Oleaphilic, hydrophobic chemical, containing no bacteria, which chemically and physically bonds to both soluble and insoluble hydrocarbons. The bioremediation accelerator acts as a herding agent in water and on the surface, floating molecules to the surface of the water, including soluble such as phenols and BTEX, forming gel-like agglomerations. Undetectable levels of hydrocarbons can be obtained in produced water and manageable water columns. By over spraying sheen with bioremediation accelerator, sheen is eliminated within minutes. Whether applied on land or on water, the nutrient-rich emulsion creates a bloom of local, indigenous, pre-existing, hydrocarbonconsuming bacteria. Those specific bacteria break down the hydrocarbons into the water and carbon dioxide, with EPA tests showing 98% of alkanes biodegraded in 28 days; and aromatics being biodegraded 200 times faster than in nature they also sometimes use the hydrofireboom to clean the oil up by taking it away from most of the oil and burning it. Controlled burning can effectively reduce the amount of oil in water, if done properly. But it can only be done in low, and can cause air pollution. Dispersants acts as detergents, clustering around oil globules and allowing them to be carried away in the water. This improves the surface aesthetically, and mobilizes the oil. Smaller oil droplets, scattered by currents, may cause less harm and may degrade more easily. But the dispersed oil droplets infiltrate into deeper water and can lethally contaminate coral. Recent research indicates that some dispersants are toxic to corals. Watch and wait: in some cases, natural attenuation of oil may be most appropriate , due to the invasive nature of facilitated methods of remediation, particularly in ecologically sensitive areas. Dredging: for oils dispersed with detergents and other oils denser than water. Skimming: requires calm waters Solidifying: solidifiers are composed of dry hydrophobic polymers that both absorb 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 materials 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 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. A solidifier called a C.I Agent (manufactured by C.I Agent Solutions of Louisville, Kentucky) is being used by BP in granular form as well as in Marine and Sheen Booms on Dauphin Island. AL and Fort Morgan, MS to aid in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup. 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 amount of oil to go back as well. This issue is hampered the use of centrifuge due to a United States regulation limiting the amount

of oil in water returned to the sea.

SOURCE www.google.com www.wikipedia.com ^http.//seeps.geol.ucsb.edu/

^ Less Than 1% of Oil-Soaked Birds Survive : TreeHugger . www.treehugger.com.http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/06/less-1-percent-oil-soaked-birdssurvive.php.retrieved 2010-06-09. ^ C. Michael Hogan (2008), Magellanic Penguin , GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg.