| | | Oil Slicks

From WikiVerde

1 Oil Slicks
2 Damage To The Environment
3 What can Be Done To Prevent Oil Slicks?
4 Past Spills - Cause And Effect
5 Sources

Oil Slicks

Oil slicks are found on the tops of seas and oceans. This oil covers the water with a thick covering of petroleum or crude oil. Many of the oil slicks are caused by tanker ships carrying the oil that have accidents, bad weather, or problems with proper functioning and it causes them to overturn. This spills the oil into the water underneath. Because of the scientific fact that oil and water do not mix together, the oil sits on top of the water and spreads out for miles and miles.

How Many Accidents Occur Each Year?

Many of the oil spills that occur each year will show up in the media around the world if they are large enough. Surprisingly, there are thousands that occur each year. It has to be of considerable size for the media to broadcast it.

Who Determines How Bad An Oil Slick Is?

All oil slicks are difficult to clean up and are not predictable once they occur. The oil may spread, move, get thinner, get thicker, go farther out in the water, or move towards land. The weather, water current, tides, what type of oil it is, the direction of the wind, and whether or not there are icebergs will help to determine the problems that will occur with a particular spill. The faster the humans can get in to begin cleanup, the better it will be for the environment.

What Is Used To Clean It Up?

Certain agencies are now equipped with the materials they need to get in and begin cleanup. The best defense in the war against an oil spill is the floating boom. They will help to grab or move the slick into position. They also have the ability to squeeze the oil spill into a specific area to stop it from going any further. This gives the cleanup workers a more controlled area to work with.

Certain times may call for the oil to be set on fire and burned off the water. This may be a more efficient way to remove the spill in terms of time but it is not a good idea because of the toxic fumes it releases in the air. If the oil is removed manually from the water, it can either be disposed of or refined to be used again for fuel.

Certain soaps and cleansers are used to remove the oil from the surrounding rocks and also the animals effected. It can be a traumatic experience as these chemicals are not all environmentally safe. The soap used on the animals, in most cases, does not harm the animal.

Damage To The Environment

The oil in an oil slick can cause sever damage to the environment around it and also to the animals that live in and around the water. Even things like algae are affected. The oil sticks to everything it touches and becomes hard to remove. This means the rocks, foliage, animals, and even the air can be affected by the toxic damage of an oil slick.

When oil attaches itself to the marine animals, it can prevent the whales and dolphins from breathing normally. It can also stop the outer coat on other animals from keeping their temperature correct and they can freeze to death. Birds that get the oil on their feathers are not able to fly and are in danger of being killed by predators. The worst thing for the animals to do is to clean them as the oil gets into their system and poisons them.

What can Be Done To Prevent Oil Slicks?

Since oil spills are usually caused by problems with the large vessels that carry it from the oil refineries to land, it would make sense to take better measures to ensure that the oil stays in the tanker where it belongs. This means reinforcing the tankers with a stronger outer covering and to make sure each tanker is in proper working order before it sets out.

Since natural disasters are also a factor in oil spills, the problem of cleaning it up needs to be addressed. Bette cleanup efforts need to be in place as this problem is so prominent. Fast response times and better cleanup equipment is necessary.

Past Spills - Cause And Effect

As stated before, the problem of oil spills is not reported by the media unless it is of considerable size. This means that more spills have occurred than either you or I have information about. Listed below are some of those spills and their cause and effect from the disaster.

The Gulf War Spill was listed as the worst in the history of the world. This spill occurred in 1991 during the Gulf War. The animals and wildlife were damaged considerably. Kuwait and Iraq were the hardest hit. IT was estimated that over 462 million gallons were spilled and reached a size of 42 miles. The slick was 5 inches thick on the top of the water.

Ixtox had the next sever oil spill in history that occurred in 1980. This oil spill was the result of the Mexican government owned Pemex company. They were in the midst of drilling a two mile deep well when a malfunction occurred in the rig and the pressure was not regulated within the pipes. The rig blew and oil started blowing out. It then caught fire and the entire oil platform collapsed. It took several months for this spill to be put under control. Over 30 thousand barrels were sent out into the Gulf per day. Thousands of endangered baby sea turtles were airlifted to safety as a result.

The third oil spill happened the year before in 1979. This was caused by the Atlantic Express Oil Tanker and Mother Nature. A tropical rainstorm caused this ship and the Aegean Captain tanker to collide spilling over 287 thousand tons of oil into the water. These two spills in combination with each other are recorded as the fourth largest spill in history. These two ships were also the cause of other smaller spills in the past as well.