Oil Spills – are they really a problem?
In this report, we detail oil spills, with their causes, effects and required management. However, to properly understand oil spills as a disaster, one must first understand what a disaster means, and the process of disaster management. Hence, our objectives are to:
- Introduce, define, describe and classify disasters.
- Introduce disaster management and its key components.
- Introduce oil spills as a disaster and describe them in detail.
- Provide a case study on a major oil spill.
- Explain the disaster management process of oil spills.
Disasters
What is a Disaster?
A disaster is a serious problem occurring over time that
causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds
the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own
resources.
In simpler words, any problem that causes major loss to a
community, which that community cannot fix on their own, is known as a
disaster.
Disasters lead to a disruption in social activities. Events
that occur in uninhabited areas are not considered as disasters.
Developing countries suffer the most due to disasters, with
over 95% of deaths due to hazards.
Hazards, Disasters and Risks
The terms hazard, disaster and risk are often confused or
used interchangeably. They have, in fact, different meanings.
A hazard is a dangerous event that poses a threat to humans.
It is also known as a ‘peril’. Simply, it is anything that could cause harm.
A disaster is an event that harms human life, property and
thus disrupts social activities.
A hazard can be a precursor to disaster. Using mitigation
techniques in disaster management, we can prevent a hazard from becoming a
disaster.
Events that occur in uninhabited areas are considered
hazards, not disasters, as they do not affect the society.
Risk is a combination of the chance that the hazard will
cause harm and how serious that harm could be.
Disasters are the consequence of inappropriately managed
risk.
Classification of Disasters
Disasters can be broadly categorized into natural and
man-made disasters.
However, classifying disasters is not easy, as they can be
caused by multiple factors, or even other disasters, which makes them hard to
discern or classify. For example, disasters like smog and acid rain are often
incorrectly categorized as natural disasters.
Natural disasters may also be accelerated by humans, for
example, deforestation can lead to an increase in droughts. These are sometimes
referred to as human – accelerated disasters.
Disasters can also be further classified as major or minor disasters. For example:
Major Natural Disasters
·
Floods
·
Cyclones
·
Droughts
·
Earthquakes
Minor Natural Disasters
·
Mud slides
·
Storms
·
Heat waves
·
Cold waves
Major Man-made Disasters
·
Wars
·
Deforestation
·
Chemical Pollution
·
Epidemics
Minor Man-made Disasters
·
Environmental pollution
·
Road accidents
·
Riots
·
Food Poisoning
Impacts of a Disaster
The effect of a disaster on people, buildings and society is known as its impact. The impact may be caused directly or indirectly by the disaster.
Quantifying the losses from a disaster is also not easy, as
some effects may not be quantifiable.
The psychological effect that disasters pose can also be
considered an impact of it.
Disaster Management
What is Disaster Management?
Disaster Management is the process through which a community
reduces its vulnerabilities to disasters, reduces the damages caused by them,
and aids in the recovery after the disease has happened.The process can be divided into 4 key components: Mitigation, Preparation, Response and Recovery.
The aim is to prevent disasters and where this is not
possible, to reduce their harmful impacts.
Mitigation
The goal of mitigation is to protect people and property
while also decreasing risks and consequences from a given disaster situation.It aims to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of a
disaster, such as property damage, injuries, and loss of life.
The mitigation phase happens before the disaster takes
place.
For example, you can relocate structures to less
disaster-prone areas to decrease the chance of them being affected by certain
disasters.
You can also improve the drainage facility and add diversion canals to protect from flooding. For example, the image shows Tujunga Wash, a diversion canal in California.
Preparation
The goal of preparation is to act ahead of time to be ready
by the time a disaster strikes.
Providing training and education on disaster safety as well
as providing regular drills to practice for times of need are good ways to
prepare for a disaster.
An emergency kit can also be a helpful thing to put together
before a disaster strikes. Basic items like non-perishable food, clean water, a
flashlight, batteries, medicine, first aid kit, sanitary items and money can be
extremely useful in times of crisis.
Response
Response is the first thing you do after disaster strikes.
Protection or rescue from immediate danger and maintaining
physical and emotional stability of yourself and others are important aspects
of responding to a disaster.
Finding food, water and shelter is often the first step to
take. Finding help through radio devices, phones, or landlines is also a good
idea.
Different disasters require different responses. For
example, when an earthquake strikes, you should drop under a sturdy desk or
table and protect your eyes by keeping your head down.
Recovery
Recovery is the restoration of the affected areas to a state
similar or better than before the disaster struck.
After the imminent danger of the disaster is over,
individuals, communities and institutions start to focus on the recovery from
the effects of the disaster.
The recovery process can take days, weeks, months or years
depending on the disaster.
Recovery then leads to the mitigation and preparation for
the next disaster, completing the cycle.
What is an Oil Spill?
An oil spill is the release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbons
into the environment. Petroleum hydrocarbons are chemicals that comprise of oil
or products refined from oil (petrol, diesel, etc.)
Oil spills can be classified as a major man-made disaster.
They can cause major environmental, economic and social damage, as well as
being very difficult to clean up.
Oil spills can occur both on water and land, but the term
usually refers to marine oil spills.
Causes of Oil Spills
Waste oils are also sometimes deliberately expelled into the
ocean after being consumed, although this is a violation of international
regulations.
The most widely known cause is the accidental spills which
occur due to disasters or problems occurring to tankers, ships, oil rigs, etc.
Oil is also spilt during its extraction process.
Causes of Oil Spills – Broken down
According to the United Nations Environment Program, these are the rates of different causes of oil spills -
- Natural Seeps: 46%
- Discharges from consumption of
oil: 37%
- Accidental Spills: 12%
- Extraction of oil: 3%
- Other: 2%
Spills from Oil Tankers – Broken Down
The main causes of oil tanker spills as of 2007 were:
- Collision: 29%
- Grounding: 22%
- Mishandling: 14%
- Sinking: 12%
- Others: 23%
Around 90% of the world's oil transportation is through oil
tankers.
Impact of Oil Spills
Impact on Humans
Toxic compounds in oil are known to cause health problems
such as heart damage, stunted growth, liver problems, damage to the
respiratory, reproductive, and immune system, and even death.
Oil spills can cause fires, like the oil fires in Kuwait,
which can cause respiratory diseases due to the air pollution.
The Deepwater Horizon explosion, which caused an oil spill
and fire, killed 11 workers and injured 17.
The average volume of oil spill annually is about 115,000
barrels, which is worth about $4.58 million. Thus, oil spills can also be
economically damaging.
Impact on Birds and Animals
Oil spills can affect the environment both through the oil
or the cleanup process.
Oil penetrates the structure of the plumage of birds and the
fur of mammals, reducing their insulating ability, and making them much less
buoyant in the water.
Oil can impair a bird's ability to fly, and blind animals
Animals who rely on scent for navigation cannot do so due to
the strong scent of the oil.
The ingestion of oil causes poisoning, dehydration and
impairs the digestive process.
Impact on the Environment
The chemicals found in oil can be extremely lethal and
polluting. They can evaporate or oxidize and mix with the atmosphere.
Fires caused by oil spills can be extremely polluting. For
example, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred near America, caused
significant air quality issues in the Gulf Coast of the US.
Oils spills, which have a huge impact on birds and animals,
can throw off the balance of the surrounding ecosystem.
The cleaning of oil spills or trying to fix the damages can
also cause damage to the environment. Not only is this process extremely
difficult and expensive, but it is also not possible to fully clean or recover
from an oil spill.
Major Oil Spills
Kuwaiti Oil Fires
The Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by the Iraqi military
setting fire to a reported 605 to 732 oil wells as part of a scorched earth
policy (destroying the land to leave nothing of value) while retreating from
Kuwait due to the Gulf War.
The fires lasted from January 16 to November 6, 1991, and
consumed around 42 billion barrels worth of oil.
This event made an immense impact on Kuwait’s environment
and economy.
The extinguishing process consisted of blasting seawater at
the fires, which mixed with the oil to create huge oil spills, now known as the
Kuwait Oil Lakes.
This oil is still causing damage to the surrounding
wildlife, and since then there has been no cleanup process in over 30 years, it
is extremely difficult to restore the environment.
Gulf War Oil Spill / Persian Gulf Oil Spill
In January 1991, Iraqi forces began dumping oil into the
Persian Gulf to stop the US from landing on their shores as part of their
“Operation Desert Storm”.
This spill, of 380 million gallons, affected beaches of
Kuwait, Iran, Bahrain and Qatar, but caused the most damage to Saudi Arabia.
Lakeview Gusher
The Lakeview Gusher was an eruption of around 378 million
gallons of oil from a pressurized oil well in the Midway-Sunset Oil Field,
California, in 1910.
Early oil drilling technology lacked modern safety features
like blowout preventers.
Deepwater Horizon
On 20 April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig,
exploded, killing 11 workers and injuring 17.
Around 206 million gallons of oil was spilled following the
explosion.
Ixtoc 1
On 3 June 1979, Ixtoc 1, an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico,
suffered a blowout.
Around 140 million gallons of oil was spilled because of
this blowout.
Case Study - Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically
positioned, semi-submersible
offshore drilling rig, owned by Transocean and
operated by BP.
It was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2001 and could
operate in waters up to 3000 m deep.
In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in
history at a measured depth of 10,685 m in the Tiber Oil Field.
It was described as ‘one of the most powerful rigs in the
world’.
Location
The rig was then operating in the Macondo Prospect.
The Macondo Prospect is an oil and gas prospect in the
United States Exclusive Economic Zone of the Gulf of Mexico. It is officially
known as MC252 (Mississippi Canyon Block 252).
A prospect is an area of exploration where oil or gas has
been predicted to exist in economic quantity.
BP, or British Petroleum Company, operates the Macondo
Prospect, with a 65% share of the
Prospect. This is why the Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill is also known as the BP Oil Spill.
The site was roughly 66 km off the Louisiana Coast, which is
full of beaches prone to oil spills.
Deepwater Horizon Explosion / Blowout
At 9:49 PM, on April 20, 2010, the rig was suddenly shaken,
and seven minutes later, pressurized methane gas from the oil well burst
through several seals, rapidly expanded and ignited.
The rig’s blowout preventer, which was supposed to shut off
the flow of pressurized gas, failed to seal the well.
The result was an explosion, which was followed by a fire
that engulfed the platform. The explosion killed 11 platform workers and
injured 17 others.
At 10:21 am, on April 22, the rig sank, with oil continuing to
leak from the rig at about 340,000 gallons per day.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
The oil leak was discovered on the afternoon of 22 April
2010 when a large oil slick began to spread at the former rig site.
The oil continued flowing for 87 days after it began.
BP originally estimated a flow rate of 1,000 to 5,000 bbl/d
(barrels per day) but the Flow Rate Technical Group (FRTG) estimated the
initial flow rate to be 62,000 bbl/d, which BP denied.
According to the satellite images, the spill directly
affected 180,000 sq. km of ocean, and by June, the spill had ended up on 201 km
of Louisiana’s coast.
In the following months, the oil spill managed to affect the
coastlines of several other US states.
Deepwater Horizon Response
Containment booms (temporary floating barriers - see picture) stretching
over 1300 km were deployed.
A total of 1.84 million gallons of Corexit oil dispersant
was used to break down the oil.
This was sprayed by military aircrafts and applied at the
well, 1500 m under the sea.
Deepwater Horizon Recovery
The oil dispersants were able to degrade the oil so that the
bacteria can digest it faster.
can absorb, adsorb or both) took care of the rest, although the oil spill cannot be erased completely.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rescued animals to help
with the spill cleanup, although there were many animals found dead
Some of the oil was also burnt during the initial fire, or
naturally dispersed.
On 15 April 2014, BP announced that cleanup along the coast
was substantially complete.
Deepwater Horizon Environmental Consequences
The spill area was called one of the most productive ocean
ecosystems in the world, hosting 8332 species.
In July 2010, it was reported that the spill was ‘already
having a devastating effect on marine life in the Gulf’.
Tar balls continued washing up on US coastlines as late as
2012 and were still found on the beaches in the later years.
A 2015 study found that the dispersants used were more toxic
to coral life than the oil itself.
Cleanup workers exposed to the oil have developed severe
respiratory issues and even cancer.
Deepwater Horizon Economic Consequences
BP spent a total of over $65 billion on cleanup costs,
charges and penalties, and is still paying for the incident that happened in
2010.
Due to the loss of market value, BP had dropped from the
second to the fourth largest oil company by 2013.
The oil spill was estimated to cost the fishing industry
$2.5 billion, the tourism industry $23 billion and even managed to drop real
estate prices in the Gulf of Mexico.
The total oil spilt was around 4.9 million barrels, which
was then worth around $392 million.
What Happened to the Oil?
- Directly Recovered: 17%
- Burnt: 5%
- Skimmed: 3%
- Chemically Dispersed: 16%
- Naturally Dispersed: 13%
- Evaporated / Dissolved: 24%
- Other: 22% (remaining in the water, settled in the sea floor, mixed with sediment, ingested by microbes, etc.)
Disaster Management Process of Oil Spills
Mitigation
The main cause for oil spills is human negligence. People
often cut corners when dealing with safety equipment to save on time and money,
however, the consequences of an oil spill greatly outweigh the cost of
investing in a good safety system.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred because of the
failure of the blowout preventer.
To prevent accidental oil spills, it is important to invest
in preventive measures, both through safety devices and training.
When it comes to safety, cutting corners is not a good idea.
Preparation for Oil Spills
Adequately preparing for an oil spill can make it easier to
recover from and reduce its impacts. Having container booms on hand will stop the oil from
spreading too far, which will make the cleanup process much faster.
Keeping an oil spill kit can also be a good idea and a way
to quickly clean up smaller spills.
Keeping the contact information of the authorities related
to oil spills in your specific area is also important.
Response to Oil Spills
After an oil spill takes place, it is very important to try
and reduce the damage before focusing on the recovery.
Acting quickly is very important, as the oil can spread very
quickly.
Before taking any action, protect yourself and warn any
others. Not only can the oil irritate your skin and lungs, but you are also at
risk of oil fires.
Use containment booms (or spill berms on land - see picture) to keep the oil in one place, reducing its impact.
This can give you time to properly assess the extent of the
spill and the best way to recover, as well as time to contact the related
authorities.
Recovery from Oil Spills
The way to recover from an oil spill is to remove the oil
from the environment and to remove its effects.
Oil can be absorbed with sorbent pads or broken down by
dispersants.
Sometimes, the oil on the surface may be burnt, also called
in situ burning. This, however, poses a threat to the environment.
Oils can also be skimmed off the surface by modified boats,
known as skimmers.
The natural environment can also play a role in restoring
the surroundings. Special bacteria in the ocean can digest oils.
Rescue missions to find and save affected animals can take
place after the oil is cleaned up to minimize damage to the natural ecosystem.
Conclusion
"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust the
sails." - Thomas S. Monson”
Through this report, we have understood oil spills, with
their causes, effects and management. We have learnt about some major oil
spills, with a case study on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We have also understood
disasters and related terms, and the process of disaster management.
References
oils.gpa.unep.org - Global Marine Oil Pollution
Information Gateway
sgp.fas.org/crs - Congressional Research Service
wikipedia.org - Wikipedia
noaa.gov - US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
britannica.com - Encyclopedia Britannica
epa.gov - US Environmental Protection Agency
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