Oil spills maybe due to release of crude oil, off shore platforms, drilling rigs, and wells as well as spills of refined petroleum products. The framework can be used to clarify the complexity of oil spill impacts, identify lessons that may be transferable from other oil spill. Such perceptions are understandable as they are often fuelled by distressing images of oiled birds and other wildlife. The effect of oil spills on workers involved in containment and. Increasing evidence, largely from the prestige oil spill, suggests that cleanup workers may also experience longterm respiratory effects and chromosomal damage. Oil spill environmental forensics provides a complete view of the various forensic techniques used to identify the source of an oil spill into the environment. Oil spills can cause a wide range of impacts in the marine environment. Ultimately, the marine environment removes spilled oil through longterm. The second type of tools used to prevent oil spills or skimmers, which are the type of boats that can remove the spilled oil from water. Health effects of the gulf oil spill toxicology jama. Control of oil spills oil spills occur largely because there is a needdemand for oil has a source of energy. Environmental implications of oil spills from shipping. For instance, oil spills can have a major impact on the temporary animal and fish loss of habitat.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The environmental impacts of offshore oil drilling. The major focus of this research was on the oil spills near the gulf of mexico. Lessons for study of the health effects of oil spills.
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. Over the past few decades, various oils spills have been among the greatest humaninduced environmental disasters ever. The impact of oil spills can also ruin the ecology and economy of a particular area with longterm effects for decades. Evaluation of environmental and ecological effects due to. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the. Natural variation and the huge range of factors that influence bird population statistics makes it difficult to assess the impact and recovery of a single event such as an oil spill. Oil spills often happen because of accidents, when people make mistakes or equipment breaks down. Spills of diluted bitumen from pipelines examines the current state of knowledge and identifies the relevant properties and. The impact of oil spills research briefing national assembly for. Environmental impact and mitigation of oil spills 2011. The effects of oil spills throughout the world may be the same since the vegetation. Oil is used extensively in industries to power large machinery and equipment. In some cases, nonpetroleum oil spills can produce more harmful effects than petroleum oil spills.
Environmental effects of response technologies for inland waters that was jointly. Understanding oil spills and oil spill response pdf epa. Every attempt must been made to estimate cleanup costs in a reasonable manner. The report is available only in electronic format from neris homepage for sale at. Environmental pollution, types, causes, impact and. Spilled oil affects both marine organisms and animals which live near the coastline. Causes and effects of oil spill on our environment earth.
According to carla 2000 oil spills are the uncontrolled discharge of oil or its by products including chemicals and wastes, into the environment. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the nigerian. Negative effects of human action on the environment. Chapter five discusses in greater detail how oil spills impact wildlife. Health effects of oil spills and implications for public health planning and research angela eykelbosh, msc, phd introduction two major pipeline projects have been proposed to transport petroleum products from alberta to the british columbian coast. Learn more about the effects of oil spills on marine ecosystems and some statistics on the worlds largest oil spills. The authors explore which analytical and interpretative techniques are best suited for a particular oil spill project. Uc san diego has a spill prevention, control, and countermeasure plan spcc to prevent or reduce the discharge of oil into navigable waters the campus spcc plan identifies management measures that must be implemented wherever oil and oilbased products are used or stored to prevent spills and promptly respond to.
Oil spills have a number of effects on the environment and economy. Physicians should be familiar with health effects from oil spills to appropriately advise. On a basic level, oil spill effects will damage waterways, marine life and plants and animals on the land. The accident was one of many oil spills occur ring in the country in recent years. Partnered with the occupational safety and health administration osha and national institute of environmental health sciences niehs to provide other federal and state partners, bp, and workers with guidance and educational materials for protecting response workers. Restoration of environmental damage following marine oil spills. The chronic lowlevel pollutants are proving to be the most difficult to correct and abate because of their ubiquitous nature. The international tanker owners pollution federation ltd 1999.
Health effects of oil spills and implications for public. An electronic copy of this document can be found on the national assembly. The effects of oil spills on wildlife, marine life, and the ecosystem are well studied and. Sea plants are very important for the survival of marine animals. Between 1976 and 1996 a total of 4647 incidents resulted in. The most publicised of all oil spills in nigeria occurred on january 17 1980. Other causes include natural disasters or deliberate acts. Candidate, resource management and environmental studies rmes.
Longterm environmental impact of oil spills sciencedirect. Ultimately, the marine environment removes spilled oil through long term. As a result, our predictive capability is probably better for oil spills than for many other types of marine pollutant. 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. Although rising north american crude oil production has resulted in greater transport of crude oil by rail or tanker, oil pipelines continue to deliver the vast majority of crude oil supplies to u. The behavior and effects of oil spills in aquatic environments. This study has become very imperative due to the environmental degradation occasioned by oil spill in odugboro community. Threats from oil spills us environmental protection agency.
Short and longterm health impacts of marine and terrestrial oil spills. Options for minimizing environmental impacts of freshwater spill response. When an oil spill happens there will be no entry of oxygen in the sea. Environmental consequence an overview sciencedirect topics. Effects of oil in these systems have the potential to have longterm impacts on fish and wildlife populations. The services work continues long after a spill event occurs. The report is available only in electronic format from neris homepage. Spills of any type of oil may damage the environment. Options for minimizing environmental impacts of freshwater. When oil spill occurs, the oil being less dencse than water floats.
Conclusions and recommendations related chapters glossary bibliography biographical sketch summary this chapter aims to present the main environmental impacts of the oil and gas industry throughout the stages of exploration and discovery of new deposits, hydrocarbon production and oil refining. Oil leaks or spills large and small are never good news in a marine and coastal environment. Emerging spill risks include increased maritime activity in the arctic, deepwater exploration and development, and the rapid expansion of rail transport of crude oil. In addition to this we will be developing a system for the realtime observation of underwater oil spills and a strategic tool for choosing oil spill response methods. Accidents involving oil tankers or offshore platforms or oil pipelines, spills from offshore drilling, spills from pipelines, and leakages from sunken, grounded or abandoned ships and so on petroleum is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons. Given the highly charged and emotional reaction usually associated with oil spills, it can be difficult to obtain a balanced view of the realities of spill effects and subsequent recovery. Oil spills have major environmental and economic effects. The service responds to oil spills to minimize impacts to trust resources. The anticipated outcomes of the outreach will be a greater understanding of the social and economic effects of oil spills on communities and the empowerment of these communities to more actively participate in the decision making process related to the mitigation of the environmental impacts as well as an improved ability to respond to future. Pdf the environmental impacts of offshore oil drilling. These effects can depend on what kind of oil was spilled and where on land, in a river.
Potential environmental impacts of oil spills in greenland nationalt. Ultimately, the impact of oil on marine organisms depends on the fate of the oil. The forensic procedures described within represent various methods from scientists throughout the world. However, cleaning up animals and birds which are affected by oil spills will take a lot of time and professional assistance. Environmental care and management presentation by the national environment and planning agency, nepa. Although there can be no denying the scale of the impact of this particular spill on some vulnerable seabird species, evidence from past similar incidents indicates that the wellknown and sometimes dramatic shortterm effects of oil spills on marine animals and plants do not normally translate into longterm population effects.
The oil spill in the gulf of mexico poses direct threats to human health from inhalation or dermal contact with the oil and dispersant chemicals, and indirect threats to seafood safety and mental health. Depending on the magnitude of the spill and its location, the effects can vary, ranging from minimal to serious ones. The effects of oil spills at sea depend on numerous factors, such as the physicochemical parameters of the oil, the characteristics of the environment affected, and the physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring there, such as evaporation, dissolution, dispersion, emulsification, photooxidation, biodegradation, and sedimentation. Oil in the sea from anthropogenic sources, whether from spills or chronic releases, is perceived as a major environmental problem. When an oil spill occurs, many elements of the environment may be affected. Pdf oil spill problems and management in the niger delta. Oil is used in one way or another in our day to day activities. The effects of oil spills can have wide ranging impacts that are often portrayed by the media as long lasting environmental disasters. Oil spills also damage nesting grounds, potentially causing serious longterm effects on entire species. Oil spills have many adverse effects on the environment. Studies in the gulf of mexico should investigate acute.
Niosh protected oil cleanup workers with the following efforts. Oil spill problems and management in the niger delta. Some international institutions like the world bank 2009, 2008, and the who, 2002, have equally reported facts on what constitute the causes and effects of oil and gas on a particular environment like the niger delta region. Review on the effects of exposure to spilled oils on human health. We use oil to fuel our carstrucksbuses and so on as well as to heatlight up our homes. An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment especially marine areas, due to human activity and is the form of pollution. Previous epidemiologic studies of oil spills have primarily focused on acute physical effects and psychological sequelae.
Ecological impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill sage journals. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the nigerian coastal areas. Although there have been numerous oil spills in history, these two spills were chosen because they were the largest in volume and time. Oil spills can seriously affect the marine environment both as a result of physical smothering. Pdf while oil is a necessary risk in a complex society, recent and avoidable major oil. The oil initially floats in a layer up to several inches thick. This includes all environments that are critical to a regions economy, commerce, personal. It affects surface resources and a wide range of subsurface organisms that are linked in a complex food chain that includes human food resources. 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. However, there is little firm evidence that seabirds suffer longterm effects from individual. As previously described, when oil is present in the environment, it is either dispersed in the top layer of the water littoral zone or remains on the surface and, consequently, on. The project will focus on developing, comparing and evaluating the effectiveness and environmental effects of different oil spill response methods in a cold climate.
208 645 502 911 685 1466 444 1477 1121 812 544 1305 1477 609 314 348 535 1028 32 572 562 1224 1310 369 1395 186 384 545 526 81 1382 1392 110 449