Oil Spills

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Oil Spills
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Background Information

• Each year, millions of gallons of oil are
  released into the environment, either
  accidentally or intentionally.
• Tanker accidents or blowouts
• Spills at offshore drilling rigs
• Run-off and dumping waste oil from cities and
  industries.

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• In 1979, a huge blowout occurred at the Ixtoc I
  oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
• Over 184 million gallons of oil leaked into the
  environment.
• Took 8 months to cap the well

As horrendous as that seems, releases from
offshore wells during normal operations and
during transportation of the oil add much more
oil to the environment than such occasional
accidents.
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Accidents happen

• Oil tanker accidents account for about 10 to 15
  percent of the annual input of oil into the
  worlds oceans
• Leaks at wells
• Purging of tanks
• Seepage from natural sources

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Oil Spills

• Castillow de Bellver (1983) caught fire and
  relased 78.5 million gallons of ocean off the
  coast of Capetown, South Africa
• Exxon Valdez (1989) hit a reef and released about
  11 million gallons of oil into the Prince William
  Sound of Alaska. The spill was the largest in
  U.S. history. Capt. Joe Hazelwood, who later
  admitted to having had several alcoholic drinks
  that day, (From Huntington, Long Island). In
  jail NOW!
• More than 33,000 seabirds, 1,000 sea otters, 100
  bald eagles killed.

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How much damage is done?

• The type and amount of damage from an oil spill
  depend on a number of factors
• Type of oil (crude oil most toxic due to benzene
  and toluene)
• Weather conditions
• Types of organisms in the area
• Season
• Oils spill cleanup is difficult and EXPENSIVE.
  It is very difficult to
• save animals who have ingested
• the hydrocarbons into their digestive tracts,
  especially aquatic birds who preen to insulate
  themselves.

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• On March 24, 1989, an oil tanker struck Bligh
  Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, releasing
  more than 200 million liters (11 million) of oil.
• The map outlines the oil-spill front as it
  expanded from 1 to 8 days after the spill it was
  compiled from aerial observations by the National
  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Exxon,
  the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Alaska Department
  of Environmental Conservation.
• Bottom sediments studied by the USGS more than 7
  weeks after the spill contained no clear evidence
  of oil pollution possible traces of
  contamination were found near the south end of
  the Sound, but the presence of oil could not be
  confirmed.
• Much of the oil was carried onshore by surface
  currents and deposited along the beaches.
  Long-term monitoring is needed to assess the
  effect of the spill on the marine environment.

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So how do we clean it up?

• Containment and Removal
• Application of Dispersants
• Bioremediation
• Enzymes released by the microbe break the
  contaminant down into digestible pieces.
• The contaminant is consumed as food by the cell.
• Harmless biological wastes are all that remain of
  the contaminant.

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Reguations

• In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez incident,
  Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990,
  which required the Coast Guard to strengthen its
  regulations on oil tank vessels and oil tank
  owners and operators. Today, tank hulls provide
  better protection against spills resulting from a
  similar accident, and communications between
  vessel captains and vessel traffic centers have
  improved to make for safer sailing.