The Threats from Oil Spills: Now, Then, and in the Future (original) (raw)

A Tale of Two Spills: Novel Science and Policy Implications of an Emerging New Oil Spill Model

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil release posed the challenges of two types of spill: a familiar spill characterized by buoyant oil, fouling and killing organisms at the sea surface and eventually grounding on and damaging sensitive shoreline habitats, and a novel deepwater spill involving many unknowns. The subsurface retention of oil as finely dispersed droplets and emulsions, wellhead injection of dispersants, and deepwater retention of plumes of natural gas undergoing rapid microbial degradation were unprecedented and demanded the development of a new model for deepwater well blowouts that includes subsurface consequences. Existing governmental programs and policies had not anticipated this new theater of impacts, which thereby challenged decisionmaking on the spill response, on the assessment of natural resource damages, on the preparation for litigation to achieve compensation for public trust losses, and on restoration. Modification of laws and policies designed to protect and restore ocean resources is needed in order to accommodate oil drilling in the deep sea and other frontiers.

Environmental impacts of marine oil spill; a case study of Deepwater Horizon oil spill at the Gulf of Mexico United States of America 2010 (a review)

ChemSearch Journal, 2012

On 20thApril, 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred at the Gulf of Mexico, United States of America where large amount of oil spilled in to the water as a result of wellhead blowout from the rig. The spill marked as the largest oil spill ever in the USA and causes large impacts to the marine species and the surrounding environment which could last long after the spill. Petroleum consists of aromatic hydrocarbons (such as monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), which causes lethal and sub lethal toxic effect to the marine life and public health. The impact of the spill causes death and injury to many marine flora and fauna which could result to the disturbance of the ecosystem and may take long time before it recovers to its normal condition. Various methods were used to rescue the environment and the species but some methods (such as chemical dispersants, hot water) have side effects to wild life. Before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a number of oil spills occurre...

Consequences of oil spills: a review and framework for informing planning

As oil transportation worldwide continues to increase, many communities are at risk of oil spill disasters and must anticipate and prepare for them. Factors that influence oil spill consequences are myriad and range from the biophysical to the social. We provide a summary literature review and overview framework to help communities systematically consider the factors and linkages that would influence consequences of a potential oil spill. The focus is on spills from oil tanker accidents. Drawing primarily on empirical studies of previous oil spill disasters, we focused on several main domains of interest: the oil spill itself, disaster management, the physical marine environment, marine biology, human health, economy, and policy. Key variables that influence the severity of consequences are identified, and significant interactions between variables are delineated. The framework can be used to clarify the complexity of oil spill impacts, identify lessons that may be transferable from other oil spill disasters, develop scenarios for planning, and inform risk analysis and policy debates in localities that are seeking to understand and reduce their vulnerability to potential spill disasters. As a case study, the framework is used to consider potential oil spills and consequences in Vancouver, Canada. Major increases in oil tanker traffic are anticipated in this region, creating urgent new demands for risk information, disaster management planning, and policy responses. The case study identifies particular conditions that distinguish the Vancouver context from other historic events; in particular, proximity to a densely populated urban area, the type of oil being transported, financial compensation schemes, and local economic structure. Drawing lessons from other oil spill disasters is important but should be undertaken with recognition of these key differences. Some types of impacts that have been relatively inconsequential in previous events may be very significant in a Vancouver case.

Oil Spills: Environmental Consequences and Recovery Strategies

Petroleum perhaps is one of the most important substances to the modern society, due to its wide use in the most diverse productive sectors. Besides serving as raw material to the production of plastics and other compounds, it is the fuel source used in the production of electric energy, in industries and in the different transport sectors. However, the ecosystems located in areas of extractions, processing and distribution of petroleum end up being highly susceptible to the direct and indirect impacts of these activities, as well as those located in their transport route. As the large extraction fields are located in coastal areas, these environments are, generally, the most affected, although other ecosystems also suffer influence of the petroleum activities. Oils spills and leakages provoke immediate effects into the environment, easily viewed by the generalized mortality of animals and consequent ecosystems losses, but also provoke more persistent effects, such as alteration of ...

Analysis of Environmental and Economic Damages from British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2010

This study examines the environmental and economic damages caused by British Petroleum's (-BP‖) Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the spring and summer of 2010. 1 The process of oil exploration and production is extremely challenging, offering significant rewards that are offset by equally significant risks. The world's demand for energy is constantly growing, thereby leading to extraordinary efforts and gigantic investments by energy companies to find new supplies of oil. The $365 million Deepwater Horizon was an offshore drilling unit designed to operate in waters as deep as 8000 feet, and to drill down 30,000 feet. 2 The Deepwater Horizon was drilling an exploratory well about forty-one miles off the coast of Louisiana, when on April 20, 2010, an explosion killed eleven workers and began the release of massive amounts of oil into the Gulf. 3 The well * Professor of Economics (retired), Louisiana Tech University. In addition to numerous academic achievements, including as a Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Economics and Finance, Dr. Lawrence C. Smith's background includes work as a roughneck and derrick man on offshore oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

current concepts The Gulf Oil Spill

2011

From the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh (B.D.G.); and the Department of Psychiatry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (H.J.O.); and the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (M.Y.L.) — both in New Orleans. Address reprint requests to Dr. Goldstein at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, 130 DeSoto St., A712, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, or at bdgold@pitt.edu.