Oil Spill Blog

In the recent past, due to extensive industrialization and urbanization oil spill contamination has become a primary concern. One of the most extensive contaminations through oil spills, especially crude oil spills is soil contamination. Crude oil being a complex mixture of organic molecules contains hydrocarbons and is prone to radical chemical, physical, and biological changes and easily penetrates into the soil.

Soil contamination through an oil spill cause deleterious effects, such as health hazards due to underground water contamination, change in soil pH, inhalation of the vaporized toxins from the contaminated soil and also eco-system destruction by making the soil unfit for agriculture. Vegetation contamination and destruction of essential microorganisms in the soil lead to virtual detrimental changes in the primary food chain as well.

Research to prevent soil contamination has led to various methods of oil spill containment. Few such methods are:

• In situ Treatment Methods: Using biological means, such as oil degradation by micro-organisms or chemical-physical process such as incineration are sone of the in situ treatment methods for oil spill cleanup. The drawback with these techniques is that they work better on sandy soils than on soils that contain clay.

• In situ Bioremediation: Oxygen and nutrients are injected into the contaminated soil to enhance the indigenous bacteria to break down the hydrocarbons and convert them into a nutrient source. Oil Gone Easy Home S-200 can be the best option for oil spill containment as this oil spill cleaner makes use of the bioremediation technology in the oil spill cleanup process.

• Air sparging: Also known as venting, this process involves vaporizing of extractions of the contaminants from the soil and the ground water.

• In situ steam injection: It is basically a thermal treatment method, where steam at a very high temperature and compressed air are injected into the contaminated soil for oil spill containment.

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Water pollution is the contamination or adulteration of the water bodies, such as rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and ground water by number of human activities. Since water is essential for all our basic needs, water pollution is a threat to us. Many communicable diseases spread through unclean water, which even results in death.

Although there are different factors that contribute to water pollution, listed below are the most dangerous causes of water pollution.

• Factories and nuclear plants play a major role in polluting the water. Wastes from factories include toxins, such as lead, mercury, and other contaminants. These chemicals are very harmful and can lead to serious health hazards.

• Nonpoint sources are one of the major causes of water pollution. Oil spills from cars, trucks, and other vehicles on land get mixed with rainwater and runoff into streams and lakes polluting them. These nonpoint sources are very difficult to monitor and control, so it falls on each individual to make sure that their vehicles used does not in any way contribute to further pollution. Proper maintenance of vehicles and oil spill cleanup using eco-friendly products, such as Oil Gone Easy S-200 will help to a great extent.

• Fertilizers and pesticides used in agricultural farms, homeowners lawns, and roadsides are a threat to the natural water source. When runoff into local streams or rivers or when drained down into groundwater, they contaminate the water completely.

• Mining is another major reason for water pollution. Heavy metals and sulfur components which are buried in the earth are exposed during mining and during rainfall these toxic chemicals are exposed, which ultimately result in “acid rain drainage”

• Surprising though it may seem, air pollution is also a cause of water pollution. Pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, nitric acid, and mercury, when deposited out of air results in nutrient pollution and acidification of lakes.

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One of the largest oil spill disasters occurred in the Galician coast of Spain in 2002. Prestige, an oil tanker carrying 77,033 metric tons of oil, sank when one of its tanks burst, spilling more than 20 million gallons of oil into the sea.

The marine ecosystem of Galicia rich in coral reefs comprising different species of sharks and birds was greatly affected. The polyaromatic hydrocarbons contained in the spilled oil poisoned plankton, fish eggs, and crustaceans and caused carcinogenic effects in fish and animals. The fishing industry also suffered heavy losses as offshore fishing had to be put on hold for the next 6 months.

As part of the massive oil spill cleanup efforts, underwater oil spill containment operations were carried out. First the leakage was reduced to 20 liters a day by sealing the cracks in the hull. Later the oil was pumped into aluminum shuttles by drilling small holes in the wreck.

Oil Gone Easy S-200, an eco-friendly product was used to clean up the beaches that were affected by the Prestige oil spill. This product uses the bioremediation process to help convert polluting hydrocarbons into harmless byproducts using the microorganisms present in the environment, thus cleaning up the oil spill in an environmentally-friendly way.

The field survey on the use of S-200 in Cantabrian coast in northern Spain by the Department of Microbiology, University of Barcelona revealed that S-200 had increased the biodegradation rate of high molecular weight hydrocarbons like benzenes. Surprisingly, there was a significant reduction of harmful diasteranes and C-27 sterane components.

The pollution caused by the Prestige oil spill will continue to affect marine population in the coming decade. The main cause of oil spills is human apathy and negligence. As it causes severe damage to the ecosystem everyone should take due care to protect Mother Nature.

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The oil spill that occurred on January 28, 1969 in Buzzard’s Bay off Cape Cod, when a barge ran aground resulted in the spilling of 200,000 gallons of oil. Like other oil spills, this too had a severe ecological impact. Not only was the seabird population affected, even shorebirds and diving birds faced enormous problems.

But, what makes one talk about this oil spill even today is the fact that, even after four decades of this oil spill, researchers have found compelling evidence that the aftereffects of this spill still exists even after extensive oil spill cleanup.

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy have found evidence that the marine environment still contains oil, even though the surface sediments appear fine. The study revealed that though the top two inches or the lower three inches of the core didn’t contain any petroleum residue, the central section of the sediment core had petroleum hydrocarbons similar in concentration to those found in the 1969 Oil Spill.

Several other studies have further proved that wildlife and salt marsh too are facing the aftermath of this oil spill. It has taken a huge toll on the sea grass beds and fiddler crabs of Wild Harbor’s marshland. There has been a significant change in the population, burrowing behavior, escape response, and feeding rate of fiddler crabs in Wild Harbor. When compared to the fiddler crabs in nearby Great Sippewissett marsh, these crabs dug short burrows because of residual oil. It has also been proven that the harmful oil residues in the sediments have hindered microbial degradation in these salt marshes.

These findings show how devastating oil spills can be. So, it gives us all the more reason to take steps to not only prevent oil spills, but also do a thorough job of oil spill containment and oil spill cleanup.

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