Effects on plankton, nekton, and deepsea benthos article pdf available in oceanography washington d. Oil is a necessity in the industrial society and a major element of our lifestyle. The model is implemented with the data of a potential oil spill interacting with the salmon aquaculture industry in northern norway. The process of oil exploration and production is extremely challenging, offering significant. Whats the environmental impact of the deepwater horizon. For instance, oil spills can have a major impact on the temporary animal and fish loss of habitat. Assessing the impact of oil spills on marine organisms longdom. Options for minimizing environmental impacts of freshwater. Oil exploration, oil spills and environmental damage conference college of the bahamas. Oil spill pollution may comprise a variety of amounts starting with one or more gallons of oil and up. The impact of an oil spill at sea depends on a number of factors, such as spill volume, type of oil spilled, weather conditions, and proximity to environmentally, economically, or socially sensitive areas. Pdf impact of oil spills on marine life in the gulf of.
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. Review on the effects of exposure to spilled oils on human health. Larissa graham, christine hale, emily maungdouglass, stephen sempier, tara skelton, ladon swann, and monica wilson. 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. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the nigerian coastal areas peter c. Internationally treaties, declarations, principles, etc. Again, that oil spills which contaminated the sources of drinking waters and rivers in the niger delta, particularly on their farmlands and fish ponds, need urgent attention is glaring. A case study concerning birds in environmental impact assessments.
Environmental effects of the deepwater horizon oil spill. Simulating an oil spill to understand environmental impact. After an oil spill occurs, ecology, human health and economy are major concerns. Badejo abstract nigeria has a coastline of approximately 853km facing the atlantic ocean. The objective of the workshop was to bring together the oil spill response community experienced andor responsible for responding to freshwater crude oil or petroleum product spills, and to develop strategies through. The extent of air pollution, health effects and environmental effects depend on factors such as, a amount of oil spill. The major focus of this research was on the oil spills near the gulf of mexico.
The production loss in salmon aquaculture and the regional income impact is. Assessing impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill in. This aerial image of the oil spill was taken on may 6, 2010, just a few weeks after the initial disaster. On april 20, 2010, a combination of mud, seawater and gas from methane hydrates erupted from the oil well of the deepwater horizon oil rig. Oil spills can cause impacts over a range of time scales, from days to years, or. The effects of oil spills can have wide ranging impacts that are often portrayed by the media as long lasting environmental disasters. Causes, consequences, prevention, and countermeasures. Reproduction is permitted, provided the source is explicitly acknowledged.
Both the spill and the cleanup efforts had effects on the environment the oil spill was called the worst environmental disaster the us. Oil spills have many adverse effects on the environment. Such perceptions are understandable as they are often fuelled by distressing images of oiled birds and other wildlife. 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. Christine hale, larissa graham, emily maungdouglass, stephen sempier. Crude oil spills in the environment, effects and some. However, if the spills are in shallow or confined waters, or if dispersal agents cause a lot of oil to reach the sea floor, huge damage can be caused to these species. The 2010 deepwater horizon oil spill was the largest offshore oil spill in u. Oil spills, for example those due to tanker collisions and groundings or platform accidents, can have huge adverse impacts on marine systems. Evaluation of the impacts of oil spill disaster on. Outline of presentation examine the principal legal and policy issues that impact the oil and gas industry. Before considering the longterm effects of oil spills, it is important to define what is meant by clean and recovery in the context of an oil spill.
Deepwater oilspill modeling for assessing environmental. Understanding oil spills and oil spill response pdf epa. Since oil floats, fish and other marine animals are not generally affected to the same extent as airbreathing vertebrates. Oil spills include any spill of crude oil or oil distilled products e. Environmental impact and mitigation of oil spills request for applications closing date. Depending on the magnitude of the spill and its location, the effects can vary, ranging from minimal to serious ones.
Predicting impacts of oil spills can ecological science cope. When an oil spill occurs, many elements of the environment may be affected. Specifically, this thesis discusses the impacts of oil spills on microbes, marine organisms, human health and revenue. This will go a along way in mitigating the adverse effects of oil pollution of the environment. As the oil spill disaster in the gulf of mexico crosses the two month mark, veteran marine biologist professor rick steiner, writes for channel 4 news counting the cost to the environment. Because they have toxic properties and produce harmful physical effects, spills of nonpetroleum oils also pose threats to public health and the. Short and longterm health impacts of marine and terrestrial oil spills. Analysis of environmental and economic damages from. Oil spills also damage nesting grounds, potentially causing serious longterm effects on entire species. Regional economic impact of oil spills springerlink. It was a disaster that ended up as one of the worst oil spills in modern history, the deepwater horizon didnt just leak, it gushed. As a result, our predictive capability is probably better for oil spills than for many other types of marine pollutant. 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. Oil leaks or spills large and small are never good news in a marine and coastal environment.
The individual level, or how oil spills may impact a single living thing like a fish. Longterm environmental impact of oil spills sciencedirect. Gulf of mexicos waters, plants, animals, and habitats. Oil including petrol, diesel, central heating oil, lubricating oil, mineral oil, vegetable and plant oil, heavy oil i. The effect of oil spills on land and water springerlink. This article demonstrates an approach of coupling an environmental model to io analysis which aims to quantify the regional economic impact of an environmental accident. Predicting impacts of oil spills can ecological science. The environmental impact of a marine oil spill can be determined by combining field ecology techniques with gas chromatographic analysis. Frances beinecke talked about the environmental impact of the gulf of mexico oil spill and and how her organization, the national resources defense. These procedures have been used during several oil spills. In laboratory tests of the toxicity of crude oils to winkles, ottway recorded mortalities ranging from 1% to 89%. Discuss why volunteers would sacrifice their time and money for this purpose. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the. Harmful effects of oil spills on diverse flora and fauna species have been extensively studied.
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. National environmental research institute, denmark. It is coauthored by hans langeveld biomass research and simon delany delany environmental. Noaa studies documenting the impacts of the deepwater. Many species of wildlife, including some that are threatened or endangered, live along the gulf coast and could be impacted by the spill. Oil has been part of the natural environment for millions of years. The use of a variety of media including fictional and nonfictional texts, video from actual oil spills, and the modeling of an oil spill and its subsequent clean up provide ample opportunity for students to obtain information about how humans can both damage and cleanup earths resources. The authors discuss the harmful cumulative effects dolphins experienced as they inhaled, aspirated, ingested andor absorbed oil over repeated exposures. Oil spill pollution environmental pollution centers. Producing and characterizing bacillus subtilis biosurfactants with potentially lower environmental impact for salt water applications lamsal, buddhi. This study examines the environmental and economic damages caused by british petroleums deepwater horizon oil spill in the spring and summer of 2010. 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.
Ultimately, this information will be used in the pertinent environmental impact statements and in the development of deepwater oilspill response plans. These issues have received little attention so fara 2. Potential environmental impacts of oil spills in greenland. Oil spills and its environemental impact slideshare. The population level, or how oil spills may impact a group of living things of the same species. Environmental impacts of oil exploration and exploitation in the niger delta of nigeria. Drilling for oil, both on land and at sea, can have a number of effects on the environment. The report was commissioned by milieudefensie friends of the earth netherlands. Assessing impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico date.
Environmental impact of the deepwater horizon oil spill. Impact of oil spills on marine life in the gulf of mexico. However, efforts for spill containment and recovery. Environmental impacts of oil exploration and exploitation. The impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill stretched beyond the.
Oil spill research strategy 1 introduction the environmental protection agencys epa oil spill research program has been in existence since 1990, following the exxon valdez oil spill and enactment of the oil pollution act of 1990 opa90. All of them analyzed effects induced by oil spilled from erika. However, there is little firm evidence that seabirds suffer longterm effects from individual oil spills. Affinitybased hydrocyclone filter for oilwater separation and oil spill cleanup.
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