Oil Spill Blog

Global Program of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from the Land-based Activities (GPA) is an intergovernmental program that addresses linkages between water sheds and coastal environment. GPA is designed to provide practical guidance to national and regional authorities and help devise and implement actions to prevent, reduce, control, and eliminate marine degradation caused by land-based activities.

GPA was adopted by 109 governments in the year 1995. The European commission adopted the GPA and declared their commitment to protect and preserve the marine environment from harmful land-based activities.

Coastal waters and deep oceans are being polluted by contaminants like heavy metals, nuclear wastes, hydrocarbons, and other chemicals due to marine oil spills. Agricultural and industrial waste runoffs are also major sources of marine water pollution.

A global level action plan is required to clean up marine oil spills and prevent further accidents. GPA is being used as a valuable tool to increase the resilience of marine and coastal environment to changes in climate.

This action program also provides a comprehensive, multi-sectoral, and flexible approach to oil spill cleanups. GPA is proving to be an effective tool to stop devastation to marine life by oil spills and discharges. Oil spill cleanup is very essential to stop the destruction of marine life and in turn boost the fishing and tourism industry.

Bio degradable eco-friendly products should be used to clean up marine oil spills. Oil spill cleanup can be done using Oil Gone Easy Marine S-200, which is an oil eating liquid. This biodegradable product has been accredited by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Oil Gone Easy Marine S-200 has natural occurring microorganisms, which splits up hydrocarbons in oil into harmless compounds. This product is non irritating, non toxic, and non inflammable, which makes it very safe for use. Oil Gone Easy Marine S-200 can also be applied on rubber, metal, wood or fiberglass without any damage.

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Several studies have been conducted by researchers the world over to address the various aspects of oil behavior during marine oil spills and oil spills on land. There may be many reasons for oil spills, but to ensure a successful oil spill response, it is very important to know the behavior of oil in different circumstances.

In marine oil spills the most common type of oil spilled is crude oil. When marine oil spills occur, the oil disperses rapidly in the same direction as the wind causing long and narrow slicks. The lighter fractions of the oil evaporate at a faster rate, whereas the denser particles tend to sink to the seabed, causing widespread harm to the aquatic life. Due to the wave action some oil even mixes with the water and emulsifies. The hierarchies on the food chain, from sea plankton to the largest of whales are greatly affected.

In contrast, on land, the lightest of oils prove to be a larger problem, as these oils seep through the soil at a much faster rate. This poses a risk to the purity of groundwater. The heavier and denser oils have higher viscosity and cannot penetrate through the ground easily. In cases of oil spills on land, spreading does not take place, so there will not be any evaporation of the lighter fractions or emulsification. The chance of the oil mixing with gravel, vegetation and other soil is also at hand.

The crucial steps in a response action plan include speedy response times, efficient control of widespread dispersion both on land and on sea, skimmers and pumps to take care of the resulting debris, and a temporary storage facility. Oil spill cleanup is one of the most important steps in any response plan. Oil Gone Easy S-200 is an eco-friendly oil spill cleaner that biodegrades any kind of oil, on any surface without causing any environmental harm.

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Here is a list of 10 major oil spills in history that caused severe oil pollution and irreparable damage to the ecosystem.

1. Amoco Cadiz – The Amoco Cadiz ran aground on Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, France on March 16, 1978 due to stormy weather. Approximately 200 miles of the coastline was polluted as the entire cargo of 68.7 million gallons of oil was spilled into the sea.

2. Arabian Gulf Spills – About 900 million barrels of oil spilled into the Arabian Gulf as the Iraqi army destroyed tankers, oil terminals, and oil wells in Kuwait during the Gulf war in January 1991, resulting in one of the largest oil spill disasters ever.

3. Exxon Valdez – In what is regarded as the largest oil spill disaster in American history, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 24, 1989, spilling 10.8 million gallons of oil. The cleanup alone cost $2.5 billion.

4. Ixtoc I – The exploratory well blew out on June 3, 1979 in the Gulf of Mexico and by the time the well was brought under control, 140 million gallons of oil had spilled. This is rated as No. 2 on the list of worst oil spill incidents on record.

5. Burmah Agate – The Burmah Agate collided with the Mimosa in Galveston harbor on November 1, 1979 to cause one of the most infamous marine oil spills.

6. Atlantic Empress – The Greek oil tanker Atlantic Empress was involved in two major oil spills when it collided with the Aegean Captain off Trinidad and Tobago during a tropical rainstorm on July 19, 1979. The spills together are the largest ship-based spill and the fourth largest total oil spill in history.

7. Argo Oil Merchant - On December 15, 1976 the Argo Merchant ran aground on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts spilling 7.7 million US gallons of fuel oil, enough to heat 18,000 homes for a year.

8. Prestige Oil Spill – The largest environmental disaster ever in Spain, the sinking of the oil tanker Prestige off the Galician coast on November 13, 2002 caused considerable damage to the local fishing industry.

9. Barge Bouchard 155 – Three ships, the barge Bouchard 155, the freighter Balsa 37, and the barge Ocean 255, collided in Tampa Bay, Florida, on August 10, 1993. The Bouchard 155 alone spilled an estimated 336,000 gallons of No.6 fuel oil.

10. Southeast Queensland – The cleanup efforts were estimated at a staggering A$100,000 dollars a day in one of the recent oil spill disasters, which occurred on March 11, 2009 off the coast of southeast Queensland.

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