EFFECT OF OIL SPILLS ON OCEANS

Oil wastes that enter the oceans come from many

sources,Some being accidental spills or leaks,and some being

the resultsOf chronic and careless habits in the use of oil and

oil products.It is estimated the approximately 706 million

gallons of waste oil enter the ocean every year,with over half

coming form land drainage and waste disposal;for

example,from the improper disposal of used motor oil

PREVALANCE DURING DRILLING VS TRANSPORTAION

 Offshore oil spills or leaks may occur during various stages

of well drilling or workover and repair operations.
 Three stages can occur while oil is being produced from
offshore wells,handled and temporarily stored,or when oil
is being transported offshore;either by
flowline,underwater pipeline or tanker.
 The amount of oil spilled or leaked during off shore
production operations is relatively significant.
  Oil wastes from offshore drilling operations may come
from disposal of oil based drilling fluid water,deck runoff
etc.
 Disposal of offshore production waste can also pollute the
ocean,as can deck runoff water,leaking storage
tanks,flowline and pipeline leaks and the wells themselves.
 Oil spills form ships and tankers include the transportation
fuel used by the vessels themselves or their cargos as
crude oil,fuel oil or heating

OIL SPILL BEHAVIOUR.

 When oil is spilled in the ocean,it initially spreads in the

water (primarily on the surface) , depending on its relative
density and composition.The oil slick formed may remain
cohesive.
 Oil that contains volatile organic compounds partially
evaporates,losing between 20 and 40 percent of its mass
and becoming denser and more flammable.
 A percentage of oil may dissolve in the water.The oil
residue also can disperse almost invisibly in the water to
form a thick mouses with the water.
 Part of the oil waste may sink with suspended particulate
matter,and the remainder eventually congeals into sticky
 tar balls.Over time,oil waste weathers and disintegrates by
means of phospholysis and biodegradation.The rate of
biodegratation depends on the availability of
nutrients,oxygen and other certain factors.
OIL SPILL INTERACTION AND SHORELINE.

 If reaches the shoreline on coast,it interacts with

sediments such as beach sand and gravel oil waste ,rocks
and boulders ,vegetations and terrestrial habitats of both
wildlife and humans causing erosion as well as
contamination.
 Waves,water currents,and wind move the oil in to shore
with the suface and tide.Beach sand and gravel saturated
with oil,oil may be unable to protect and nurture normal
vegetation.
 Rocks and boulders coated with sticky residue interfere
with recreational uses of the shoreline and can be toxic to
coastal wildlife.
EXAMPLES OF LARGE SPILLS.

 The largest oil spill recorded on record put 240 million

gallons of oil into the ocean near kuwatt and Saudi Aabia
when several tankers,port facilities, and storage tanks
were destroyed during war operations.
 The blowout of the Ixtor exploratory well offshore Mexico
in 1979,the second largest accidental oil spill,gushed 140
million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico..

By comparison,the wreck of the Exxon valley tanker in
1989 spilled 11 million gallons of oil into Prince Williom
soumd offshore Alasks,and ranks fifty third on the list of oil
spills involving more than 10 million gallons.

The number of large spills averaged 24.1 per year from
1970 to1979, but decreased to 6.9 per year from 1990
through 2000.
EFFECT ON WILDLIFE
wild life than fish and the creatures,including
mammals,reptiles,amphibians and birds that live in or near
the ocean are also poisoned by oil waste. The hazards for
wildlife include basic effects of exposure for
ingestion,injuries such as smothering and detoration of
thermal insulation, and damge to their reproductive systems
and behaviours. Long term ecological effects that
contaminate or destroy the marine organic substrate and
therby interact the food chain are also harmful to the wildlife
so species population may change or disappear.

CLEAN UP AND RECOVERY

 The technique used to clean up oil spill depends on oil
characteristics and the type of environment involved for
example open,measures include containment and removal
of limit immediate surficial and wildlife damage to
degradation and normal weathering process individuals of
large size wild life species are sometimes rescued and
cleaned but microstyled species are basically ignored.
 Oil spill conatainment measures to clean up and reverse
the oil are selected and applied on the basis may inter
factors including ecological protection,socioeconomic
effects and health effects.it is important to have
contingency plans in place in order to deploy pollution
control personal and equipment efficeiently.