However, the nature of accidental releases is that they highly pollute small areas and have the potential to devastate the biota locally. There are several routes by which oil can get back to humans from accidental spills, e. Although advances have been made in the prevention of accidents, this does not apply in all countries, and by the random nature of oil spill events, total prevention is not feasible.
Therefore, considerable world-wide effort has gone into strategies for minimising accidental spills and the design of new remedial technologies. This paper summarizes new knowledge as well as research and technology gaps essential for developing appropriate decision-making tools in actual spill scenarios. Since oil exploration is being driven into deeper waters and more remote, fragile environments, the risk of future accidents becomes much higher.
The innovative safety and accident prevention approaches summarized in this paper are currently important for a range of stakeholders, including the oil industry, the scientific community and the public. Ultimately an integrated approach to prevention and remediation that accelerates an early warning protocol in the event of a spill would get the most appropriate technology selected and implemented as early as possible — the first few hours after a spill are crucial to the outcome of the remedial effort.
A particular focus is made on bioremediation as environmentally harmless, cost-effective and relatively inexpensive technology. Greater penetration into the remedial technologies market depends on the harmonization of environment legislation and the application of modern laboratory techniques, e.
Ivshina, M. Kuyukina, A. Krivoruchko, A. Elkin, S. Makarov, C. Cunningham, T. Oil spills have major environmental and economic effects. Oil spills can also affect human health. These effects can depend on what kind of oil was spilled and where on land, in a river, or in the ocean. Other factors include what kind of exposure and how much exposure there was. Despite massive clean-up efforts following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, for example, a study conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA found that 26, gallons of oil were still trapped in the sand along the Alaska shoreline.
Oil-covered birds are a universal symbol of environmental damage wreaked by oil spills. Some species of shore birds might escape by relocating if they sense danger in time, but sea birds that swim and dive for their food are most likely to be covered in oil following a spill.
Oil spills also damage nesting grounds, potentially causing serious long-term effects on entire species. Even a small amount of oil can be deadly to a bird. Oil spills frequently kill marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, seals, and sea otters. Oil coats fur of otters and seals, leaving them vulnerable to hypothermia. Even when marine mammals escape the immediate effects, an oil spill can contaminate their food supply.
Marine mammals that eat fish or other food exposed to an oil spill may be poisoned by oil and die or experience other problems. The Exxon Valdez oil spill killed 2, sea otters, harbor seals, and up to 22 killer whales. Oil spills often take a deadly toll on fish, shellfish, and other marine life, particularly if many fish eggs or larvae are exposed to oil.
Long-term damage to species and their habitats and nesting or breeding grounds is one of the most far-reaching environmental effects caused by oil spills. Ultimately, the severity of environmental damage caused by an oil spill depends on many factors, including the amount of oil spilled, type and weight of oil, location of the spill, species of wildlife in the area, timing of breeding cycles and seasonal migrations, and even the weather at sea during and after the oil spill.
Environmental Protection Agency. More than 1 million gallons of mixed crude oil were released from the Murphy refinery tank. The flooding enabled the spreading of spilled oil over larger areas, affecting about 1, homes in several residential neighborhoods. The effects of oil spills on humans may be direct and indirect, depending on the type of contact with the oil spill.
Direct exposure to oil spills — occurs close to where people live or work and where they may come in contact with oil spill components:. Indirect exposure to oil spills - even when people live in places far from where the actual oil spill took place:.
The main oil spill effects include a variety of diseases, negative economic impact, pollution with crude oil or petroleum products distillates such as: gasoline, diesel products, jet fuels, kerosene, fuel oil, as well as heavy distillates like hydraulic and lubricating oils and the aesthetic issues that affect the residents of the affected areas in multiple ways.
The negative economic impact is a major effect of oil spill pollution. It can affect the community where the oil spill occurred in a number of ways, among which the following are the most important:. The aesthetic and recreational impact is related to the visible effects of oil spill pollution oil slick, sheens appearing on coast waters, shoreline, and beaches, wetlands, etc.
When more serious, the complete closure of such recreational areas may occur, at least temporary, until the spill is removed and the cleanup process ends.
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