Oil is a necessity in the industrial society and a major element of

our lifestyle. In fact, production and consumption of oil and

petroleum products are increasing, and the risk of oil pollution is

increasing accordingly.

OIL SPILLS

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OIL SPILLS

INDEX

1. Causes.

2. Environmental impacts.

2.1. Effect on humans.

2.2. Effect on birds.

2.3. Effect on mammals.

2.4. Effect on fish.

2.5. Effect on plants.

2.6. Effect on Wildlife Habitat and Breeding Grounds.

3. Solutions.

3.1. Booms and skimmers.

3.2. Dispersants.

3.3. Bioremediation.

3.4. Mushrooms and hair.

3.5. Tractor beam.

4. Prevention.

5. References.

DONE BY:

Andrew Achraf William

Toka Mohamed Rashad

Ahmed Hatem el Sharkawy

Anas Jalal Sulaiman

Abdelrahman Amr el Adawy

Mariam Emad

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1. CAUSES

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.

The movement of petroleum from the oil fields to the consumer

involves as many as 10 to 15 transfers between many different modes

of transportation, including

tankers, pipelines, railcars,

offshore platforms, drilling

rigs, wells and tank trucks.

Oil is stored at transfer

points and at terminals and

refineries along the route.

Accidents can occur during

any of these transportation

steps or storage times.

In conclusion, it is important to study spill incidents from the past

to learn how the oil has affected the environment, what cleanup

techniques work, and what improvements can be made.

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2. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Oil spills can affect animals and plants in two ways: from the oil itself and

from the response or cleanup operations. Understanding both types of impacts

can help spill responders minimize overall impacts to ecological communities

and help them to recover much more quickly. Ultimately, the severity of

environmental damages caused by a particular oil spill depends on many

factors, including the amount of the oil spilled, the type and weight of the oil,

the location of the spill, the species of wildlife in the area, the timing or

breeding cycles and seasonal migrations, and even the weather at sea during

and immediately after the oil spill. But one thing never varies: oil spills are

always bad news for the environment.

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2.1. Effect on humans:

An oil spill represents an immediate fire hazard, for example

the Kuwaiti oil fires1 produced air pollution that caused respiratory

distress for many Kuwaitis and

those in neighboring countries,

and the fire resulting from the

Lac-Mégantic derailment2 that

killed 47 and destroyed half of

the town's center. Spilled oil

can also contaminate drinking

water supplies. Contamination

can have an economic impact on tourism and marine resource

extraction industries. For example, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

impacted beach tourism and fishing along the coast.

1 The fires were started in January 1991 during the gulf war. 2 It occurred in the town of Lac-Mégantic, in Quebec-Canada on July 6, 2013. It happened due to the explosion of tank trucks.

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2.2. Effect on birds:

Any oil spill in the ocean is a death sentence for sea birds. Some species of shore birds may escape by relocating if they sense the danger in time, but birds such are likely to be exposed to oil as they float on the water’s surface. Oiled birds can lose the ability to fly, dive for food or float on the water which could lead to drowning. Oil interferes with the water repellency of feathers leaving them vulnerable to hypothermia3 or overheating. Some studies have suggested that less than one percent of oil-soaked birds survive, even after cleaning.

As birds groom themselves, they can ingest and inhale the oil on their bodies. While ingestion can kill animals immediately, more often it results in lung, liver, and kidney damage which can lead to death. Bird eggs may be damaged if an oiled adult sits on the nest. Oil spills also damage nesting grounds, which can have serious long-term effects on entire species. For example, The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, occurred during prime mating and nesting season for many bird and marine species, and the long-term environmental consequences of that spill won't be known for many years. Oil spills can even disrupt migratory patterns by contaminating areas where migrating birds normally stop. For example, the Exxon Valdez4 oil spill killed somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 seabirds, plus a number of shore birds and bald eagles.

3 Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below 35.0 °C. 4 It’s an oil tanker that spilt 38 million gallon of oil near Alaska in 1989.

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2.3. Effect on mammals:

Oil spills frequently kill

marine mammals such as

whales, dolphins, seals and

sea otters. The deadly damage

can take several forms. The oil

sometimes clogs the blow

holes of whales and dolphins,

making it impossible for the

animals to breathe properly and disrupting their ability to communicate.

Oil coats the fur of sea otters and seals, reducing its insulating effect,

and leading to fluctuations in body temperature and hypothermia.

Animals who rely on scent to find their babies or mothers cannot due to the strong scent of the oil. This causes a baby to be rejected and abandoned, leaving the babies to starve and eventually die. The ingestion of oil causes dehydration and impairs the digestive process. Animals can be poisoned, and may die from oil entering the lungs or liver. Oil can also blind an animal, leaving it defenseless.

Even when marine mammals escape the immediate effects, an oil spill can cause damage by contaminating their food supply. Marine mammals that eat fish or other food that has been exposed to an oil spill may be poisoned by the oil and die or can experience other problems.

The Exxon Valdez oil spill killed thousands of sea otters, hundreds of harbor seals, roughly two dozen killer whales and a dozen or more river otters. Even more troubling in some ways, in the years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill scientists noted higher death rates among sea otters and some other species affected by the oil spill, and stunted growth or other damage among other species.

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2.4. Effect on fish:

Fish can be impacted

directly through uptake by

the gills, ingestion of oil or

oiled prey, effects on eggs

survival. Adult fish may

experience reduced growth,

enlarged livers, changes in

heart and respiration rates,

fin erosion, and

reproductive impairment when exposed to oil. Oil has the potential to

impact spawning success as eggs of many fish species are highly

sensitive to oil toxins.

The shrimp and oyster fisheries along the Louisiana coast were

among the first casualties of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon

offshore oil spill. Similarly, the Exxon Valdez oil spill destroyed

billions of salmon and herring eggs. Those fisheries still have not

recovered.

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2.5. Effect on plants:

Marine algae and seaweed responds variably to oil, and oil spills

may result in die-offs for some species. Algae may die or become

more abundant in response to oil spills. Although oil can prevent the

growth of marine plants, most vegetation appears to recover after

cleanup.

2.6. Effect on Wildlife Habitat and Breeding Grounds:

The long-term damage to various species, and to the habitat and nesting or breeding grounds those species depend upon for their survival, is one of the most far-reaching environmental effects caused by oil spills. Even many species that spend most of their lives at sea -such as various species of sea turtles- must come ashore to nest. Sea turtles can be harmed by oil they encounter in the water or on the beach where they lay their eggs, the eggs can be damaged by the oil and fail to develop properly, and newly hatched young turtles may be oiled as they scurry toward the ocean across an oily beach.

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3. SOLUTIONS

No two oil spills are the same because of the variation in oil types, locations, and weather conditions involved. For example, Light oils are very volatile, so they usually don't remain for long in the aquatic or marine environment, typically no longer than a few days. If they spread out on the water, as they do when they are accidentally spilled, they will evaporate relatively quickly. In contrast, very heavy oils like bunker oils, which are used to fuel ships look black and may be sticky for a time until they weather sufficiently, but even then they can persist in the environment for months or even years if not removed. The timing of an oil spill and the weather conditions have a great impact upon the severity of the effects of a spill. Winter weather may hamper cleanup and recovery efforts.

In open-water marine spills, the primary response objectives are:

To prevent the spill from reaching shore. To reduce the impact on marine life. To speed the degradation of any unrecovered oil.

There are several ways to clean up oil spills, we will talk about some of them in details.

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3.1. Booms and skimmers:

Contain the spill with booms and collect it from the water surface using skimmer equipment. There are various types of booms that can be used either to surround and isolate a slick, or to block the passage of a slick to vulnerable areas such as the fish-farm pens or other sensitive locations.

Boom types vary from inflatable neoprene tubes to solid, but buoyant material. Most rise up about a meter above the water line. Some are designed to sit flush on tidal flats while others are applicable to deeper water and have skirts which hang down about a meter below the waterline. Skimmers float across the top of the slick contained within the boom and suck the oil into storage tanks on nearby vessels or on the shore. However, booms and skimmers are less effective when deployed in high winds and high seas.

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3.2. Dispersants:

Dispersants are chemical

agents similar to soaps and

detergents that help break

up an oil slick into very

small droplets, which dilute

throughout the water. While

this does not remove the

spilled material, smaller oil

particles are more easily

biodegraded and it provides

a measure of protection for sensitive habitats threatened by a

surface slick. Dispersants are sprayed onto spills by specially

equipped boats or planes.

Dispersants act by reducing the surface tension that stops oil and

water from mixing. Small droplets of oil are then formed, which helps

promote rapid dilution of the oil by water movements. The formation

of droplets also increases the oil surface area, thus increasing the

exposure to natural evaporation and bacterial action. Dispersants

are most effective when used within an hour or two of the initial spill.

However, they are not appropriate for all oils and all locations.

Successful dispersion of oil through the water column can affect

marine organisms like deep-water corals and sea grass.

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3.3. Bioremediation:

Using naturally present

microorganisms to clean up oil

spills makes use of bacteria

living in the ocean who actually

“eat” the oil when it enters their

natural habitat. Most of the

components of oil washed up

along a shoreline can be

broken down by bacteria and other microorganisms into harmless

substances such as fatty acids and carbon dioxide. Adding sulfate or

nitrate fertilizers to the microorganism population causes them to

multiply beyond their natural state and eat up the toxic metals at up

to five times the rate that they would without assistance.

However the effectiveness of this technique depends on factors

such as whether the ground treated has sand or pebbles and

whether the fertilizer is water soluble or applied in pellet or liquid

form.

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3.4. Mushrooms and hair:

By using mats made from

mushrooms and hair offer a totally

organic and effective way to sop up oil

on water. The technique isn’t just

speculation either, it was actually

utilized in the Cosco Busan oil spill5.

3.5. Tractor beam:

The tractor beam is the

most advanced solution to oil

spills, yet it wasn’t put to

practical use. In 2014

physicists at The Australian

National University (ANU)

have created a tractor beam

on water, providing a radical new technique that could confine oil

spills. The team, led by Dr. Horst Punzmann, discovered they can

control water flow patterns with simple wave generators, enabling

them to move floating objects at will.

5 The Cosco Busan oil spill occurred on 7 November 2007 between San Francisco and Oakland, California.

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6. PREVENTION

Technical solutions are helping us to reduce the risk of oil leaking

from pipelines into the ocean and

lessen the impact if this occurs. We

have buried underwater pipelines

several meters under the seabed so

that floating ice does not damage

them. Systems are designed to detect

any drop in pressure in the pipes and

activate multiple valve systems to stop the oil flow.

In order to reduce the chances of an oil spill from tankers,

engineers have developed new ship designs with double and even

triple hulls. The oil is stored in the most interior hull, so that if there was

a leak, it would be captured in the next outer hull.

Prevention requires continuous assessment and improvement in every phase of operation in which oil is produced, transported, stored, and marketed. Significant resources are invested in order to develop equipment specially designed to prevent oil spills during each phase.

Exploration and production facilities use advanced technologies

and materials that incorporate multiple back-up safety systems, such

as blowout preventers. Pipelines employ computers, electromagnetic

instruments, and ultrasonic devices that detect and report

vulnerabilities in order to proactively maintain and repair equipment.

Throughout training, employees are educated with prevention measures aimed at minimizing the risk of spills and ensuring safe operations. Employee training is a vital part of preventing spills; it reinforces process safety and promotes the safe use of equipment.

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After all the effort tin trying to prevent oil spills, spill incidents have declined from 246 in the 1970s to 33 in the 2000s. However, as long as there is the potential for a spill, industry will not be satisfied, and will continue to invest in innovative and more effective prevention equipment.

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5. REFERENCES

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/oil-

spills/how-oil-harms-animals-and-plants.html

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/owcn/oiled_wildlife/index.cfm

http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/pdfs/dhjicfwsoilimpactswildlifefactsh

eet.pdf

http://www.sciencedump.com/content/scientists-create-tractor-beam-

water

http://tryengineering.org/sites/default/files/lessons/spillsolutions.pdf

http://www.spillcontainment.com/oil-spill

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_spill

http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Oc-Po/Oil-Spills-Impact-on-the-Ocean.html

http://environment.about.com/od/petroleum/a/oil_spills_and_environment.htm

http://www.shell.com/global/future-energy/arctic/oil-spill-prevention-reponse.html

http://www.oilspillprevention.org/oil-spill-prevention

http://www.oilspillprevention.org/oil-spill-cleanup/ocean-oil-spill-cleanup