Oil Spills

1. Oil Spills Global Environment Corey McCrary & Kevin Harris

2. What is a Oil Spill? • 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.

3. How do oil spills happen? • Oil spills into rivers; bays and oceans are caused by accidents that usually involve tankers, barges, or refineries. • Usually the oil is being transported to another part of the world for various reasons. People who by some form or another make mistakes or are being careless in what they are doing cause the spills themselves. • Oil spills are not always caused by human mistake however; sometime machinery can break down which cause oil to spill out into the surrounding environment.

4. Impact on the Ocean • When oil is spilled in the ocean, it spreads primarily on the surface, depending on its relative density and composition. • 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. • If oil waste reaches the shoreline or coast, it interacts with the beach sand and gravel, rocks and boulders, vegetation, and terrestrial habitats of both wildlife and humans, causing erosion as well as contamination.

5. Effects of Drilling • Offshore oil spills or leaks occur during various stages of well drilling and repair operations. • Oil waste from offshore drilling operations come from disposal of oil-based drilling fluid wastes, deck runoff water, flowline and pipeline leaks, or well failures or blowouts.

6. Damage to Wildlife, and Recreation • The immediate effects of toxic and smothering oil waste may be mass contamination of fish and other food species. • Reptiles, amphibians, and birds that live in or near the ocean, are also poisoned by oil waste.

7. Long-term fate of Oil Spills • Long-term ecological effects that contaminate or destroy the food chain and are also harmful to the wildlife, so species populations may change or disappear. • Oil waste that invades and pollutes these areas and negatively affects human activities can have devastating and long-term effects on the local economy and society.

8. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (aka BP Oil Spill) • The BP Oil Spill is the biggest oil spill in American history, with between 17 and 39 gallons spilled in the Gulf of Mexico. • Over 30,000 people responded to the spill to clean up the beaches, and working to collect the oil.

9. How it affects wildlife? • It depends on the type of oil that is spilled in the water, that effects the animals and surrounding wildlife. • The oil gets on animals body and makes it into a very thick layer • It cause stress to animals which will eventually kill them.

10. Methods of treating Oil Spills • One method in treating oil spills is to burn it in a contained area on the surface of the water. • A combination of wind, sun, current, and wave action will rapidly disperse and evaporate most oils. Light oils will disperse more quickly than heavy oils.

11. Cleanup and Recovery • Leave the oil alone so that it breaks down by natural means. • Contain the spill with booms and collect it from the water surface using skimmer equipment. • Use dispersants to break up the oil and speed its natural biodegradation. • Introduce biological agents to the spill to hasten biodegradation.