Longterm environmental impact of oil spills sciencedirect. Just 1 litre of oil can contaminate 1 million litres of water. As a result, our predictive capability is probably better for oil spills than for many other types of marine pollutant. The 4 million barrels of crude oil that spilled into the ocean over the ensuing 3 months also carried a significant environmental impact, some of which is still being felt today. Pipeline, rail, and truck despite increased safety regulations and technological advances that make spill and leak prevention much easier, oil and gas spills are inevitable. The severity of the impact of an oil spill depends on a variety of factors, including characteristics of the oil itself.
The environmental impact of the deepwater horizon oil spill. Ecological impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill. Most oil has a density less than water, so it floats. The perception of the spill s fate may be influenced by multiple factors, including oil spill assessments, the group that prepared the assessment, and the manner in which the assessment is presented. Domestic oil production has increased in recent years, and vast quantities of oil continually enter the country via vessel or pipeline, moving throughout the. The dwh spill was the largest environmental disaster and response effort in u. Gulf of mexicos waters, plants, animals, and habitats. Procedia engineering 00 2017 000a000 by involving the oil multinationals and. Published in conjunction with api and iogp, it brings together the collective wealth of the technical expertise of the membership of the three associations. The work supports the highpriority, immediate efforts of emergency response teams, as well as decadeslong monitoring of the impact of spilled oil.
The work supports the highpriority, immediate efforts of emergency response teams, as well as. The worst oil spill caused by offshore oil drilling happened in the mexican gulf. Doseresponse relationships with expected oil concentrations were utilized to estimate the impact on fish growth and mortality rates. The 2010 bp deepwater horizon offshore oil spill in the gulf of mexico, for example, occurred during prime mating and nesting season for many bird and marine species, and longterm environmental consequences of that spill wont be known for years. In oil spill remediation, it is critically important to understand the window of opportunity for various cleanup technologies. Environmental damages or nonmarket damages were computed in a similar fashion as in the exxon valdez oil spill. Natural resource damage assessment unit 3607909725. Environmental justice and the bp deepwater horizon oil spill. Impacts of a pipeline spill in washington in washington state, 820 miles of pipelines carry about 7 billion gallons of petroleum products through local communities. After an oil spill occurs, ecology, human health and economy are major concerns. Of the 126 workers at the site that day, 11 were killed by the blast. Summary of information concerning the ecological and. A spill could significantly impact public, environmental, and economic health, as well. While most people would not argue about oil s importance, whether or not we should access and extract oil from below the earths surface is a subject of frequent debate.
Impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill evaluated using. Many drains lead directly to rivers, streams or lakes, and if you allow oil to enter a drain it can have the same effect as you pouring it directly into a watercourse. Drilling for oil, both on land and at sea, can have a number of effects on the environment. The 2010 deepwater horizon oil spill was the largest offshore oil spill in u. The sustainability reporting guidance for the oil and gas industry is a key tool to help companies shape the structure and content of their sustainability reporting. Smothering will affect an organisms physical ability to continue critical functions such as respiration, feeding and thermoregulation. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the. Assessment of oil spill impact on the niger delta environment using egbematoro 1 in southern ijaw as a case study was conducted. Page 3 summary of information concerning the ecological and economic impacts of the bp deepwater horizon oil spill disaster overall area of impact oil spill cleanup operations are rarely capable. An assessment of the impact of the exxon valdez oil spill.
Currently, many oil rigs are being drilled in seas. The gulf war kuwait, 1 991 geography of the persian gulf the persian gulf is to all effective purposes a shallow semienclosed inland sea. The population level, or how oil spills may impact a group of living things of the same species. In its first month, bp spilled 30 million gallons of oil into the gulf, three times the exxon valdez oil spill. The qualitative research design appears appropriate for researching oil spill impacts at the community, and the study could be expanded into further research oshienemen n. The direct effect of the braer oil spill on seabird populations, and an assessment of the role of the wildlife response centre. They run along and under rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands, and puget sound. Horizon oil spill, which submitted 316 pages on these issues to the national commission on the bp deepwater horizon oil spill and offshore drilling. The deepwater horizon dwh oil rig exploded on april 20, 2010, initiating the discharge of over 800 million liters of oil into the gulf of mexico over approximately three months table 1 and figure 1. While most people would not argue about oils importance, whether or not we should access and extract oil from below the earths surface is a subject of frequent debate.
The kalamazoo river spill in 2010, the spill on the pegasus pipeline in 20, and the. Depending on the magnitude of the spill and its location, the effects can vary, ranging from minimal to serious ones. Understanding oil spills and oil spill response united states office of emergency epa 540k99007 environmental protection and remedial oswer 9200. Over the past five years oil has consistently been among the uks top three pollutants. Spill prevention, preparedness, and responseprogram. The perception of the spills fate may be influenced by multiple factors, including oil spill assessments, the group that prepared the assessment, and the manner in which the assessment is presented. Domestic oil production has increased in recent years, and vast quantities of oil continually enter the country via vessel or pipeline, moving throughout the country to various destinations. Procedia engineering 212 2018 1054a1061 10618 albert et al. Introduction phase i of the assessment of the impacts of the won valdez oil spill on the alaska tourism industry was designed as the first phase in a multiphased process to idenw the extent of harm andor benefit of the spill on the tourism industry. Ipieca the global oil and gas industry association for.
Various types of habitats have differing sensitivities to oil spills as well. Proceeding of a symposium held at the royal society of edinburgh, 78 september 1995. The impact of an oil spill on commercial fisheries and aquaculture would depend, for instance, upon factors including the oil spills volume and location relative to fishingcultivation areas. For instance, oil spills can have a major impact on the temporary animal and fish loss of habitat. Environmental impact the environment is always a stakeholder in oil spills. Environmental impacts and recovery after the hebei spirit. Once in the water, oil undergoes weathering, a process that describes the physical, chemical, and. The major focus of this research was on the oil spills near the gulf of mexico. Risk assessment of oil spills to us inland waterwaysto us inland waterways dagmar schmidt etkin, phddagmar schmidt etkin, phd environmental research consultingenvironmental research consulting freshwater spills symposium 2006.
We use a spatially explicit biogeochemical endtoend ecosystem model, atlantis, to simulate impacts from the deepwater horizon oil spill and subsequent recovery of fish guilds. Oil can be categorized into five groups, ranging from very light to very heavy oils. Oil spills may impact the environment in the following ways. This article draws from that submission, which has not been published elsewhere. When there are oil spills in the ocean or freshwater, it does not blend with the water. Socioeconomic and cultural value of spill location impact socioeconomic costs. The bp oil spill began when the deepwater horizon rig suffered an explosion on april 20, 2010.
The oil pollution act of 1990 mandates that a natural resources damage assessment be compiled for each oil spill. The consequences of the 2010 deepwater horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico extended beyond the 11 fatalities and 17 injuries suffered that day. Multiple technologies are typically used in a spill response, including. A little fresh water flows into it from the tigris and euphrates rivers via the shattalarab and a few intermittently flowing creeks. Diagram of scientifically documented impacts from the deepwater horizon oil spill, organized by level. Options for minimizing environmental impacts of freshwater.
Here, a large biodiesel fuel spill is coating debris and shoreline. Despite this, spill experts estimate that 30%50% of oil spills are either directly or indirectly caused by human error, with 20%40% of all spills caused by equipment failure or malfunction. Environmental impact of the deepwater horizon oil spill. Selecting appropriate oil spill protection, recovery, and cleanup techniques, before and following an oil spill, is a critical element affecting the ultimate environmental impact and cost resulting from a spill. Natural conditions, such as water temperature and weather, also influence the behavior of oil in aquatic environments.
Oil spills can disrupt migratory patterns by contaminating areas where migrating birds normally stop. Environmental impact assessment system, environmental regulatory framework enacted. Epa oil spill research one of epas top priorities is to help the nation be better prepared to respond to oil and fuel spills that threaten public health and natural ecosystems. Some of which have technical issues hence causing oil spillage. The individual level, or how oil spills may impact a single living thing like a fish. Most often, spilled oil strands on the shoreline and requires cleanup efforts, though care is needed to minimize additional harm that can slow overall recovery. Cleanup operation was conducted by official and contract responders as well as volunteers for massive oil containment and removal of heavy accumulations of stranded oil. Background and governance congressional research service summary oil is a primary source of energy in the united states. Specifically, this thesis discusses the impacts of oil spills on microbes, marine organisms, human health and revenue. Aug 04, 2010 oil leaks and spills dont just affect marine life they have a direct impact on humans too long after the initial media frenzy has died down. This is caused by oils with a high viscosity, in other words heavy oils. When an oil spill occurs, many elements of the environment may be affected. The 2010 deepwater horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico has been described as the worst environmental disaster in the united states, releasing about 4. Published in conjunction with api and iogp, it brings together the collective wealth of the technical expertise of the.
Effects of 2010 bp oil spill were 30% larger than calculated as satellite images were unable to detect full extent of pollution in gulf published. The oil environmental impact on water in damaging in a variety of ways. The purpose of this report is to give a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the deepwater horizon oil spill, as well as summarize the lessons learned from the spill and its cleanup efforts. Heavy oils may affect several organism functions like respiration, feeding, and thermoregulation. Oil tends to spread into a thin layer on the water surface as a sheen.
This paper addresses the environmental impact of oil spillage and degradation in the niger delta region of nigeria. The impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill stretched beyond the. We also examine the effects of fisheries closures and impacts on recruitment. Oil spills have many adverse effects on the environment. The epa basic oil spill cost estimation model boscem was developed to provide the us environmental protection agency epa oil program with a methodology for estimating oil spill costs, including response costs and environmental and socioeconomic damages, for actual or hypothetical spills. Osofskys fall 2010 course environmental justice and the bp deepwater. The causes, consequences, solutions to the problem of oil spill incidents and remediation measures were articulated to ameliorate this problem and assist oil communities. Evaluation of the impacts of oil spill disaster on. Over a very short period of time, the oil spreads out into a very thin layer across the surface of the water. Noaa studies documenting the impacts of the deepwater. Some alaskan communities were affected by the exxon valdez disaster as important commercial fishing and hunting grounds were contaminated for an extended period.
This research concluded that despite the promulgated environmental regulations and eia regime, the unsustainable manner of oil and. In addition, between 1997 and 2001, nigeria also recorded a total number of 2,097 oil spill incidents. It is important to identify techniques that in themselves have. Oil properties and their impact on spill response options. Scientists noted that the prevailing paths of the gulf of mexicos loop current and a detached eddy located to the west kept much of the oil, which covered a sizable part of the gulf some three. In 1998, 40,000 barrels of oil from mobil platform off the akwa ibom coast were spilt into the environment causing severe damage to the coastal environment. Jul 10, 2017 the hebei spirit oil spill hsos on december 7, 2007 was the worst oil spill recorded in korea, with the release of approximately 10,900 tons of crude oil and 375 km of coastline polluted along the west coast of korea. However, efforts for spill containment and recovery are considered to be only moderately effective. Cleaning up the oil from a spill can be a daunting task, and there are many ways to approach this problem depending on the size and location of the spill, the type of oil, and. The macondo blowout environmental reportdhsgjan2011. Bp deepwater horizon oil spill and its economic impact.
A stakeholder analysis of the bp oil spill and the. This article draws from that submission, which has. Onshore and offshore oil drilling are some of the worst ways oil can find its way to the sea. Both the spill and the cleanup efforts had effects on the environment the oil spill was called the worst environmental disaster the us. The environmental impact of an oil spill on sea organisms and their ecosystems has been welldocumented. Socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the prestige. The environmental impact of oil spills has been extensively researched over the past 30 years and a considerable amount has been learnt about the nature and duration of such effects. The hebei spirit oil spill hsos on december 7, 2007 was the worst oil spill recorded in korea, with the release of approximately 10,900 tons of crude oil and 375 km of coastline polluted along the west coast of korea.
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