Help..! About oil spills..?

Question

We have this project. I need to make this. What are the effects of oil spills? Will the oil spill trap something....? Or how would the aquatics be affected by the oil spill? How to clean oil spill without polluting? Without using hair / sprays? What are the effects? Please!! Please Suggest some ways to clean it up.

Thank you. Your informative answers are very much appreciated. Thanks again.

Answer 1

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term often refers to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters. The oil may be a variety of materials, including crude oil, refined petroleum products (such as gasoline or diesel fuel) or by-products, ships' bunkers, oily refuse or oil mixed in waste. Spills take months or even years to clean up.

Oil is also released into the environment from natural geologic seeps on the sea floor. [1] Most human-made oil pollution comes from land-based activity, but public attention and regulation has tended to focus most sharply on seagoing oil tankers. [2]

Oil spills can have serious effects on marine life, as highlighted by the photos of dead birds which regularly appear in the news after such an event. Such images fuel the perception of widespread and permanent environmental damage after every spill, and an inevitable loss of marine resources with serious economic repercussions. A science-based appraisal of the effects reveals that whilst damage occurs and may be profound at the level of individual organisms, populations are more resilient and natural recovery processes are capable of repairing the damage and returning the system to normal functions. The first stage on the road to recovery is usually a well conducted clean-up operation but in some specific habitats aggressive clean-up methods can cause more harm than good and then it is better to let natural cleaning processes take their course.

Many spill impacts have been documented in the scientific and technical literature, and although not all the effects of oil pollution are completely understood, an indication of the likely scale and duration of damage can usually be deduced from the information available. However, it can be difficult to present a balanced view of the realities of spill effects, given the often highly charged and emotional nature of a spill and its aftermath. The scientific community can become polarised into opposing camps with one side intent on quantifying every aspect of damage, and the other emphasising the capacity of the environment to recover naturally. The simple reality is that sometimes significant damage occurs, sometimes not and the aim of these pages is to draw together what general information is known about spill effects and their longevity.

The marine ecosystem is highly complex and natural fluctuations in species composition, abundance and distribution are a basic feature of its normal function. The extent of damage can therefore be difficult to detect against this background variability. Nevertheless, the key to understanding damage and its importance is whether spill effects result in a downturn in breeding success, productivity, diversity and the overall functioning of the system.

Spills are not the only pressure on marine habitats; chronic urban and industrial contamination or the exploitation of the resources they provide are also serious threats. The following sections consider some of the types of damage caused by oil spills as well as some of the benefits of conducting post-spill studies.

A wide range of tools and techniques are used to clean oil spills. Mechanical containment or recovery is the biggest defense against oil-spill damage in the United States. Containment and recovery equipment includes a variety of booms, barriers and skimmers, as well as natural and synthetic materials that absorb oil. Mechanical containment is used to capture and store spilled oil until it can be disposed of properly.

Generally, the first step is to contain the oil so that it doesn’t spread more, said Brian Stanfield, executive vice president at Acme Products Co. in Tulsa, Okla., which specializes in oil spill cleanup. A common tool for containing oil is a boom, or a floating barrier. A boom, for example, may be placed around a leaking tanker to collect the oil. Stanfield said the goal is to increase the concentration of the oil in a smaller area so it can be collected easier.

A skimmer, which is a boat that skims spilled oil from the water surface, can then be brought in to collect the biggest part of the oil. Vacuum trucks often are used to vacuum oil from the water surface or beaches. Sorbents, big sponges that absorb oil, are particularly useful on oil sheens and thin slicks too scattered for skimming.

In-situ or “in-place” burning is a method of burning freshly spilled oil, usually while it’s floating on the water. Dispersants, chemicals that act as detergents to break oil into tiny droplets and dilute a spill’s effect, are commonly used as well.

Nature's Cleaning: Microbes

Aside from all the chemicals and gadgets that humans have produced to clean up spills, nature has a way of cleaning itself. One of the most interesting techniques for cleaning spills involves speeding up a process that has been around since millions of years before man. Biodegradation is a natural process by which microbes alter and break down complex compounds into simpler substances to gain energy and nutrients. The resulting products can be carbon dioxide, water and simpler compounds that do not affect the environment.

Microbes include bacteria, archaea, fungi and protists. Viruses might also be categorized as a major type of microbe, though there is debate as to whether viruses can be considered living creatures.

hope this was infrmative enuf