Oil spill

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline and diesel fuel) and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil.^{[citation needed]}

Oil slick from the Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea, September 2009

Oil spills penetrate into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. Cleanup and recovery from an oil spill is difficult and depends upon many factors, including the type of oil spilled, the temperature of the water (affecting evaporation and biodegradation), and the types of shorelines and beaches involved.^[1] Spills may take weeks, months or even years to clean up.^[2]

Oil spills can have disastrous consequences for society; economically, environmentally, and socially. As a result, oil spill accidents have initiated intense media attention and political uproar, bringing many together in a political struggle concerning government response to oil spills and what actions can best prevent them from happening.^[3]

Human impact

An oil spill represents an immediate negative effects on human health, including respiratory and reproductive problems as well as liver, and immune system damage. Oil spills causing future oil supply to decline also effects the everyday life of humans such as the potential closure of beaches, parks, fisheries and fire hazards. The Kuwaiti oil fires produced air pollution that caused respiratory distress.^{[citation needed]} The Deepwater Horizon explosion killed eleven oil rig workers.^[4] The fire resulting from the Lac-Mégantic derailment killed 47 and destroyed half of the town's centre.^[5]

Spilled oil can also contaminate drinking water supplies. For example, in 2013 two different oil spills contaminated water supplies for 300,000 in Miri, Malaysia;^[6] 80,000 people in Coca, Ecuador.^[7] In 2000, springs were contaminated by an oil spill in Clark County, Kentucky.^[8]

 

Ballsh, Mallakaster, Albania 2019 17 - Crude Oil

Contamination can have an economic impact on tourism and marine resource extraction industries. For example, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted beach tourism and fishing along the Gulf Coast, and the responsible parties were required to compensate economic victims.

Environmental effects

Further information: Oil pollution toxicity to marine fish

 

A surf scoter covered in oil as a result of the 2007 San Francisco Bay oil spill

 

A bird covered in oil from the Black Sea oil spill

Animals

The threat posed to birds, fish, shellfish and crustaceans from spilled oil was known in England in the 1920s, largely through observations made in Yorkshire.^[9] The subject was also explored in a scientific paper produced by the National Academy of Sciences in the US in 1974 which considered impacts to fish, crustaceans and molluscs. The paper was limited to 100 copies and was described as a draft document, not to be cited.^[10]

In general, spilled oil can affect animals and plants in two ways: dirесt from the oil and from the response or cleanup process.^[11][12] There is no clear relationship between the amount of oil in the aquatic environment and the likely impact on biodiversity. A smaller spill at the wrong time/wrong season and in a sensitive environment may prove much more harmful than a larger spill at another time of the year in another or even the same environment.^[13] Oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing their insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water.

Animals who rely on scent to find their babies or mothers cannot do so due to the strong scent of the oil. This causes a baby to be rejected and abandoned, leaving the babies to starve and eventually die. Oil can impair a bird's ability to fly, preventing it from foraging or escaping from predators. As they preen, birds may ingest the oil coating their feathers, irritating the digestive tract, altering liver function, and causing kidney damage. Together with their diminished foraging capacity, this can rapidly result in dehydration and metabolic imbalance. Some birds exposed to petroleum also experience changes in their hormonal balance, including changes in their luteinizing protein.^[14] The majority of birds affected by oil spills die from complications without human intervention.^[15][16] Some studies have suggested that less than one percent of oil-soaked birds survive, even after cleaning,^[17] although the survival rate can also exceed ninety percent, as in the case of the MV Treasure oil spill.^[18] Oil spills and oil dumping events have been impacting sea birds since at least the 1920s^[19][20][21] and was understood to be a global problem in the 1930s.^[22]

Heavily furred marine mammals exposed to oil spills are affected in similar ways. Oil coats the fur of sea otters and seals, reducing its insulating effect, and leading to fluctuations in body temperature and hypothermia. Oil can also blind an animal, leaving it defenseless. The ingestion of oil causes dehydration and impairs the digestive process. Animals can be poisoned, and may die from oil entering the lungs or liver.

Air

In addition, oil spills can also harm air quality.^[23] The chemicals in crude oil are mostly hydrocarbons that contains toxic chemicals such as benzenes, toluene, poly-aromatic hydrocarbon and oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These chemicals can introduce adverse health effects when being inhaled into human body. In addition, these chemicals can be oxidized by oxidants in the atmosphere to form fine particulate matter after they evaporate into the atmosphere.^[24] These particulates can penetrate lungs and carry toxic chemicals into the human body. Burning surface oil can also be a source for pollution such as soot particles. During the cleanup and recovery process, it will also generate air pollutants such as nitric oxides and ozone from ships. Lastly, bubble bursting can also be a generation pathway for particulate matter during an oil spill.^[25] During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, significant air quality issues were found on the Gulf Coast, which is the downwind of DWH oil spill. Air quality monitoring data showed that criteria pollutants had exceeded the health-based standard in the coastal regions.^[26]

Ecosystems, habitat

The majority of oil from an oil spill remains in the environment, hence a spill from an operation in the ocean is different from an operation on tundra or wetland. Wetlands are considered one of the most sensitive habitats to oil spills and the most difficult to clean.^[27]

Sources and rate of occurrence

Oil spills can be caused by human error, natural disasters, technical failures or deliberate releases.^[28][29] It is estimated that 30-50% of all oil spills are directly or indirectly caused by human error, with approximately 20-40% of oil spills being attributed to equipment failure or malfunction.^[30] Causes of oil spills are further distinguished between deliberate releases, such as operational discharges or acts of war and accidental releases. Accidental oil spills are in the focus of the literature, although some of the largest oil spills ever recorded, the Gulf War Oil Spill (sea based) and Kuwaiti Oil Fires (land based) were deliberate acts of war.^[31] The academic study of sources and causes of oil spills identifies vulnerable points in oil transportation infrastructure and calculates the likelihood of oil spills happening. This can then guide prevention efforts and regulation policies^[32]

Natural seeps

Around 40-50% of all oil released into the oceans stems from natural seeps from seafloor rocks. This corresponds to approximately 600,000 tons annually on a global level. While natural seeps are the single largest source of oil spills, they are considered less problematic because ecosystems have adapted to such regular releases. For instance, on sites of natural oil seeps, ocean bacteria have evolved to digest oil molecules.^[33][34][31]

Oil tankers and vessels

Vessels can be the source of oil spills either through operational releases of oil or in the case of oil tanker accidents. As of 2007, operational discharges from vessels were estimated to account for 21% of oil releases from vessels.^[34] They occur as a consequence of failure to comply with regulations or arbitrary discharges of waste oil and water containing such oil residues.^[35] Such operational discharges are regulated through the MARPOL convention.^[36] Operational releases are frequent, but small in the amount of oil spilled per release, and are often not in the focus of attention regarding oil spills.^[34] There has been a steady decrease of operational discharges of oil, with an additional decrease of around 50% since the 1990s.^[31]

As of 2007, accidental oil tank vessel spills accounted for approximately 8-13% of all oil spilled into the oceans.^[34][37] The main causes of oil tank vessel spills were collision (29%), grounding (22%), mishandling (14%) and sinking (12%), among others.^[34][38] Oil tanker spills are considered a major ecological threat due to the large amount of oil spilled per accident and the fact that major sea traffic routes are close to Large Marine Ecosystems.^[34] Around 90% of the world's oil transportation is through oil tankers, and the absolute amount of seaborne oil trade is steadily increasing.^[37] However, there has been a reduction of the number of spills from oil tankers and of the amount of oil released per oil tanker spill.^[37][31] In 1992, MARPOL was amended and made it mandatory for large tankers (5,000 dwt and more) to be fitted with double hulls.^[39] This is considered to be a major reason for the reduction of oil tanker spills, alongside other innovations such as GPS, sectioning of vessels and sea lanes in narrow straits.^[31][34]

Offshore oil platforms

 

Chemical dispersants may be deployed from boats, planes, and underwater vehicles in response to an offshore oil spill

Accidental spills from oil platforms nowadays account for approximately 3% of oil spills in the oceans.^[34] Prominent offshore oil platform spills typically occurred as a result of a blowout. They can go on for months until relief wells have been drilled, resulting in enormous amounts of oil leaked.^[31] Notable examples of such oil spills are Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc I. While technologies for drilling in deep water have significantly improved in the past 30–40 years, oil companies move to drilling sites in more and more difficult places. This ambiguous development results in no clear trend regarding the frequency of offshore oil platform spills.^[31]

Pipelines

As of 2010, overall, there has been a substantial increase of pipeline oil spills in the past four decades.^[31] Prominent examples include oil spills of pipelines in the Niger Delta. Pipeline oil spills can be caused by trawling of fishing boats, natural disasters, pipe corrosion, construction defects, sabotage, or an attack,^[35] as with the Caño Limón-Coveñas pipeline in Colombia.

Pipelines as sources of oil spills are estimated to contribute 1% of oil pollution to the oceans.^[34] Reasons for this are underreporting, and many oil pipeline leaks occur on land with only fractions of that oil reaching the oceans.

Other sources

Recreational boats can spill oil into the ocean because of operational or human error and unpreparedness. The amounts are however small, and such oil spills are hard to track due to underreporting.^[33]

Oil can reach the oceans as oil and fuel from land-based sources.^[30] It is estimated that runoff oil and oil from rivers are responsible for 11% of oil pollution to the oceans.^[34] Such pollution can also be oil on roads from land vehicles, which is then flushed into the oceans during rainstorms.^[33] Purely land-based oil spills are different from maritime oil spills in that oil on land does not spread as quickly as in water, and effects thus remain local.^[30]

Cleanup and recovery

 

A U.S. Air Force Reserve plane sprays Corexit dispersant over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Clean-up efforts after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

 

A US Navy oil spill response team drills with a "Harbour Buster high-speed oil containment system".

Cleanup and recovery from an oil spill is difficult and depends upon many factors, including the type of oil spilled, the temperature of the water (affecting evaporation and biodegradation), and the types of shorelines and beaches involved.^[1] Physical cleanups of oil spills are also very expensive. Until the 1960s, the best method for remediation consisted of putting straw on the spill and retrieving the oil-soaked straw manually.^[40] Chemical remediation is the norm as of the early 21st Century, using compounds that can herd and thicken oil for physical recovery, disperse oil in the water, or facilitate burning the oil off.^[40] The future of oil cleanup technology is likely the use of microorganisms such as Fusobacteriota (formerly Fusobacteria), species demonstrate potential for future oil spill cleanup because of their ability to colonize and degrade oil slicks on the sea surface.^[40][41]

There are three kinds of oil-consuming bacteria. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and acid-producing bacteria are anaerobic, while general aerobic bacteria (GAB) are aerobic. These bacteria occur naturally and will act to remove oil from an ecosystem, and their biomass will tend to replace other populations in the food chain. The chemicals from the oil which dissolve in water, and hence are available to bacteria, are those in the water associated fraction of the oil.

See also: Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge

Methods for cleaning up include:^[42]

• Bioremediation: use of microorganisms^[43] or biological agents^[44] to break down or remove oil; such as Alcanivorax bacteria^[45] or Methylocella silvestris.^[46]
• Bioremediation Accelerator: a binder molecule that moves hydrocarbons out of water and into gels, when combined with nutrients, encourages natural bioremediation. Oleophilic, hydrophobic chemical, containing no bacteria, which chemically and physically bonds to both soluble and insoluble hydrocarbons. The accelerator acts as a herding agent in water and on the surface, floating molecules such as phenol and BTEX to the surface of the water, forming gel-like agglomerations. Undetectable levels of hydrocarbons can be obtained in produced water and manageable water columns. By overspraying sheen with bioremediation accelerator, sheen is eliminated within minutes. Whether applied on land or on water, the nutrient-rich emulsion creates a bloom of local, indigenous, pre-existing, hydrocarbon-consuming bacteria. Those specific bacteria break down the hydrocarbons into water and carbon dioxide, with EPA tests showing 98% of alkanes biodegraded in 28 days; and aromatics being biodegraded 200 times faster than in nature they also sometimes use the hydrofireboom to clean the oil up by taking it away from most of the oil and burning it.^[47]
• Controlled burning can effectively reduce the amount of oil in water, if done properly.^[48] But it can only be done in low wind,^[49] and can cause air pollution.^[50]

 

Oil slicks on Lake Maracaibo

 

Volunteers cleaning up the aftermath of the Prestige oil spill

• Dispersants can be used to dissipate oil slicks.^[51] A dispersant is either a non-surface active polymer or a surface-active substance added to a suspension, usually a colloid, to improve the separation of particles and to prevent settling or clumping. They may rapidly disperse large amounts of certain oil types from the sea surface by transferring it into the water column. They will cause the oil slick to break up and form water-soluble micelles that are rapidly diluted. The oil is then effectively spread throughout a larger volume of water than the surface from where the oil was dispersed. They can also delay the formation of persistent oil-in-water emulsions. However, laboratory experiments showed that dispersants increased toxic hydrocarbon levels in fish by a factor of up to 100 and may kill fish eggs.^[52] Dispersed oil droplets infiltrate into deeper water and can lethally contaminate coral. Research indicates that some dispersants are toxic to corals.^[53] A 2012 study found that Corexit dispersant had increased the toxicity of oil by up to 52 times.^[54] In 2019, the U.S. National Academies released a report analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of several response methods and tools.^[55]
• Watch and wait: in some cases, natural attenuation of oil may be most appropriate, due to the invasive nature of facilitated methods of remediation, particularly in ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands.^[56]
• Dredging: for oils dispersed with detergents and other oils denser than water.
• Skimming: Requires calm waters at all times during the process.
• Solidifying: Solidifiers are composed of tiny, floating, dry ice pellets,^[57][58][59] and hydrophobic polymers that both adsorb and absorb. They clean up oil spills by changing the physical state of spilled oil from liquid to a solid, semi-solid or a rubber-like material that floats on water.^[12] Solidifiers are insoluble in water, therefore the removal of the solidified oil is easy and the oil will not leach out. Solidifiers have been proven to be relatively non-toxic to aquatic and wildlife and have been proven to suppress harmful vapors commonly associated with hydrocarbons such as benzene, xylene and naphtha. The reaction time for solidification of oil is controlled by the surface area or size of the polymer or dry pellets as well as the viscosity and thickness of the oil layer. Some solidifier product manufacturers claim the solidified oil can be thawed and used if frozen with dry ice or disposed of in landfills, recycled as an additive in asphalt or rubber products, or burned as a low ash fuel. A solidifier called C.I.Agent (manufactured by C.I.Agent Solutions of Louisville, Kentucky) is being used by BP in granular form, as well as in Marine and Sheen Booms at Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan, Alabama, to aid in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup.
• Vacuum and centrifuge: oil can be sucked up along with the water, and then a centrifuge can be used to separate the oil from the water – allowing a tanker to be filled with near pure oil. Usually, the water is returned to the sea, making the process more efficient, but allowing small amounts of oil to go back as well. This issue has hampered the use of centrifuges due to a United States regulation limiting the amount of oil in water returned to the sea.^[60]
• Beach Raking: coagulated oil that is left on the beach can be picked up by machinery.

 

Bags of oily waste from the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Equipment used includes:^[48]

• Booms: large floating barriers that round up oil and lift the oil off the water
• Skimmers: skim the oil
• Sorbents: large absorbents that absorb oil and adsorb small droplets ^[61]
• Chemical and biological agents: helps to break down the oil
• Vacuums: remove oil from beaches and water surface
• Shovels and other road equipment: typically used to clean up oil on beaches

Prevention

Further information: Offshore oil spill prevention and response

• Secondary containment – methods to prevent releases of oil or hydrocarbons into the environment.
• Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
• Double-hulling – build double hulls into vessels, which reduces the risk and severity of a spill in case of a collision or grounding. Existing single-hull vessels can also be rebuilt to have a double hull.
• Thick-hulled railroad transport tanks.^[62]

Spill response procedures should include elements such as;

• A listing of appropriate protective clothing, safety equipment, and cleanup materials required for spill cleanup (gloves, respirators, etc.) and an explanation of their proper use;
• Appropriate evacuation zones and procedures;
• Availability of fire suppression equipment;
• Disposal containers for spill cleanup materials; and
• The first aid procedures that might be required.^[63]

Research

• Adaptation of the oil bee's, e.g. Macropis fulvipes', mechanism for harvesting flower oils has led to the biomimetic development of an additional oil spill recovery method. Oil bees have oleophilic properties in their hair-like protrusions that collect and store oil. This technique has been applied to textiles that can be used to remove oil from sea water.^[64]

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) mapping

Environmental Sensitivity Indexes (ESI) are tools used to create Environmental Sensitivity Maps (ESM). ESM's are pre-planning tools used to identify sensitive areas and resources prior to an oil spill event in order to set priorities for protection and plan clean-up strategies.^[65][66] It is to date the most commonly used mapping tool for sensitive area plotting.^[67] The ESI has three components: A shoreline type ranking system, a biological resources section, and a human-use resource category.^[68]

History and development

ESI is the most frequently used sensitivity mapping tool yet. It was first applied in 1979 in response to an oil-spill near Texas in the Gulf of Mexico.^[67] To this time, ESI maps were prepared merely days in advance of one's arrival to an oil spill location. ESMs used to be atlases, maps consisting of thousands of pages that could solely work with spills in the oceans. In the past 3 decades, this product has been transformed into a versatile online tool. This conversion allows sensitivity indexing to become more adaptable and in 1995 by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) worked on the tool allowing ESI to extended maps to lakes, rivers, and estuary shoreline types.^[68] ESI maps have since become integral to  collecting, synthesizing, and producing data which have previously never been accessible in digital formats. Especially in the United States, the tool has made impressive advancements in developing tidal bay protection strategies, collecting seasonal information and generally in the modelling of sensitive areas.^[67] Together with Geographic Information System Mapping (GIS), ESI integrates their techniques to successfully geographically reference the three different types of resources.^[69]

Usage and application

The ESI depicts environmental stability, coastal resilience to maritime related catastrophes, and the configurations of a stress-response relationship between all things maritime.^[70] Created for ecological-related decision making, ESMs can accurately identify sensitive areas and habitats, clean-up responses, response measures and monitoring strategies for oil-spills.^[71] The maps allow experts from varying fields to come together and work efficiently during fast-paced response operations. The process of making an ESI atlas involves GIS technology. The steps involve, first zoning the area that is to be mapped, and secondly, a meeting with local and regional experts on the area and its resources.^[72] Following, all the shoreline types, biological, and human use resources need to be identified and their locations pinpointed. Once all this information is gathered, it then becomes digitized. In its digital format, classifications are set in place, tables are produced and local experts refine the product before it gets released.

ESI's current most common use is within contingency planning. After the maps are calculated and produced, the most sensitive areas get picked out and authenticated. These areas then go through a scrutinization process throughout which methods of protection and resource assessments are obtained.^[72] This in-depth research is then put back into the ESMs to develop their accuracy and allowing for tactical information to be stored in them as well. The finished maps are then used for drills and trainings for clean-up efficiency.^[72] Trainings also often help to update the maps and tweak certain flaws that might have occurred in the previous steps.

ESI Categories

Shoreline type

Shoreline type is classified by rank depending on how easy the target site would be to clean up, how long the oil would persist, and how sensitive the shoreline is.^[73] The ranking system works on a 10-point scale where the higher the rank, the more sensitive a habitat or shore is. The coding system usually works in colour, where warm colours are used for the increasingly sensitive types and cooler colours are used for robust shores.^[72] For each navigable body of water, there is a feature classifying its sensitivity to oil. Shoreline type mapping codes a large range of ecological settings including estuarine, lacustrine, and riverine environments.^[67] Floating oil slicks put the shoreline at particular risk when they eventually come ashore, covering the substrate with oil. The differing substrates between shoreline types vary in their response to oiling, and influence the type of cleanup that will be required to effectively decontaminate the shoreline. Hence ESI shoreline ranking helps committees identify which clean-up techniques are approved or detrimental the natural environment. The exposure the shoreline has to wave energy and tides, substrate type, and slope of the shoreline are also taken into account—in addition to biological productivity and sensitivity.^[74] Mangroves and marshes tend to have higher ESI rankings due to the potentially long-lasting and damaging effects of both oil contamination and cleanup actions. Impermeable and exposed surfaces with high wave action are ranked lower due to the reflecting waves keeping oil from coming onshore, and the speed at which natural processes will remove the oil.

Biological resources

Within the biological resources, the ESI maps protected areas as well as those with bio-diverse importance. These are usually identified through the UNEP-WCMC Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool. There are varying types of coastal habitats and ecosystems and thus also many endangered species that need to be considered when looking at affected areas post oil spills. The habitats of plants and animals that may be at risk from oil spills are referred to as "elements" and are divided by functional group. Further classification divides each element into species groups with similar life histories and behaviors relative to their vulnerability to oil spills. There are eight element groups: birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, habitats and plants, wetlands, and marine mammals and terrestrial mammals. Element groups are further divided into sub-groups, for example, the ‘marine mammals’ element group is divided into dolphins, manatees, pinnipeds (seals, sea lions & walruses), polar bears, sea otters and whales.^[68][74] Necessary when ranking and selecting species is their vulnerability to the oil spills themselves. This not only includes their reactions to such events but also their fragility, the scale of large clusters of animals, whether special life stages occur ashore, and whether any present species is threatened, endangered or rare.^[75] The way in which the biological resources are mapped is through symbols representing the species, and polygons and lines to map out the special extent of the species.^[76] The symbols also have the ability to identify the most vulnerable of a species life stages, such as the molting, nesting, hatching or migration patterns. This allows for more accurate response plans during those given periods. There is also a division for sub-tidal habitats which are equally important to coastal biodiversity including kelp, coral reefs and sea beds which are not commonly mapped within the shoreline ESI type.^[76]

Human-use resources

Human-use resources are also often referred to as socio-economic features, which map inanimate resources that have the potential to be directly impacted by oil pollution. Human-use resources that are mapped within the ESI will have socio-economic repercussions to an oil spill. These resources are divided into four major classifications: archaeological importance or cultural resource site, high-use recreational areas or shoreline access points, important protected management areas, and resource origins.^[68][75] Some examples include airports, diving sites, popular beach sites, marinas, hotels, factories, natural reserves or marine sanctuaries. When mapped, the human-use resources the need protecting must be certified by a local or regional policy maker.^[72] These resources are often extremely vulnerable to seasonal changes due to ex. fishing and tourism. For this category there are also a set of symbols available to demonstrate their importance on ESMs.

Estimating the volume of a spill

By observing the thickness of the film of oil and its appearance on the surface of the water, it is possible to estimate the quantity of oil spilled. If the surface area of the spill is also known, the total volume of the oil can be calculated.^[77]

	Film thickness			Quantity spread
Appearance	inches	mm	nm	gal/sq mi	L/ha
Barely visible	0.0000015	0.0000380	38	25	0.370
Silvery sheen	0.0000030	0.0000760	76	50	0.730
First trace of color	0.0000060	0.0001500	150	100	1.500
Bright bands of color	0.0000120	0.0003000	300	200	2.900
Colors begin to dull	0.0000400	0.0010000	1000	666	9.700
Colors are much darker	0.0000800	0.0020000	2000	1332	19.500

Oil spill model systems are used by industry and government to assist in planning and emergency decision making. Of critical importance for the skill of the oil spill model prediction is the adequate description of the wind and current fields. There is a worldwide oil spill modelling (WOSM) program.^[78] Tracking the scope of an oil spill may also involve verifying that hydrocarbons collected during an ongoing spill are derived from the active spill or some other source. This can involve sophisticated analytical chemistry focused on finger printing an oil source based on the complex mixture of substances present. Largely, these will be various hydrocarbons, among the most useful being polyaromatic hydrocarbons. In addition, both oxygen and nitrogen heterocyclic hydrocarbons, such as parent and alkyl homologues of carbazole, quinoline, and pyridine, are present in many crude oils. As a result, these compounds have great potential to supplement the existing suite of hydrocarbons targets to fine-tune source tracking of petroleum spills. Such analysis can also be used to follow weathering and degradation of crude spills.^[79]

Largest oil spills

Main article: List of oil spills

Crude oil and refined fuel spills from tanker ship accidents have damaged vulnerable ecosystems in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, France, the Sundarbans, Ogoniland, and many other places. The quantity of oil spilled during accidents has ranged from a few hundred tons to several hundred thousand tons (e.g., Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Atlantic Empress, Amoco Cadiz),^[80] but volume is a limited measure of damage or impact. Smaller spills have already proven to have a great impact on ecosystems, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill because of the remoteness of the site or the difficulty of an emergency environmental response.^[81]

Oil spills in the Niger Delta are among the worst on the planet and is often used as an example of ecocide.^{[82][83][84][85][86]} Between 1970 and 2000, there were over 7,000 spills. Between 1956 and 2006, up to 1.5 million tons of oil were spilled in the Niger Delta.^[86]

Oil spills at sea are generally much more damaging than those on land, since they can spread for hundreds of nautical miles in a thin oil slick which can cover beaches with a thin coating of oil.^{[citation needed]} These can kill seabirds, mammals, shellfish and other organisms they coat. Oil spills on land are more readily containable if a makeshift earth dam can be rapidly bulldozed around the spill site before most of the oil escapes, and land animals can avoid the oil more easily.^{[citation needed]}

Largest oil spills

Spill / Tanker	Location	Date	Tonnes of crude oil (thousands)^[a]	Barrels (thousands)	US Gallons (thousands)	References
Kuwaiti Oil Fires^[b]	Kuwait	January 16, 1991 – November 6, 1991	136,000	1,000,000	42,000,000	^[87]^[88]
Kuwaiti Oil Lakes ^[c]	Kuwait	January 1991 – November 1991	3,409–6,818	25,000–50,000	1,050,000–2,100,000	^[89]^[90]^[91]
Lakeview Gusher	Kern County, California, USA	March 14, 1910 – September 1911	1,200	9,000	378,000	^[92]
Gulf War oil spill ^[d]	Kuwait, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf	January 19, 1991 – January 28, 1991	818–1,091	6,000–8,000	252,000–336,000	^[90]^[94]^[95]
Deepwater Horizon	United States, Gulf of Mexico	April 20, 2010 – July 15, 2010	560–585	4,100–4,900	189,000–231,000	^[96]^[97]^[98]^[99]^[100]
Ixtoc I	Mexico, Gulf of Mexico	June 3, 1979 – March 23, 1980	454–480	3,329–3,520	139,818–147,840	^[101]^[102]^[103]
Atlantic Empress / Aegean Captain	Trinidad and Tobago	July 19, 1979	287	2,105	88,396	^[104]^[105]^[106]
Fergana Valley	Uzbekistan	March 2, 1992	285	2,090	87,780	^[107]
Nowruz Field Platform	Iran, Persian Gulf	February 4, 1983	260	1,900	80,000	^[108]
ABT Summer	Angola, 700 nmi (1,300 km; 810 mi) offshore	May 28, 1991	260	1,907	80,080	^[104]
Castillo de Bellver	South Africa, Saldanha Bay	August 6, 1983	252	1,848	77,616	^[104]
Amoco Cadiz	France, Brittany	March 16, 1978	223	1,635	68,684	^[104]^[107]^[109]^[110]
Taylor Energy	United States, Gulf of Mexico	September 23, 2004 – Present	210–490	1,500–3,500	63,000–147,000	^[111]
Odyssey	off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada	November 10, 1988	132	968	40,704	^[112]
Torrey Canyon	England, Cornwall	March 18, 1967	119	872	36,635	^[113]

1. One metric ton (tonne) of crude oil is roughly equal to 308 US gallons or 7.33 barrels approx.; 1 oil barrel (bbl) is equal to 35 imperial or 42 US gallons. Approximate conversion factors. 2014-06-21 at the Wayback Machine
2. Estimates for the amount of oil burned in the Kuwaiti Oil Fires range from 500,000,000 barrels (79,000,000 m³) to nearly 2,000,000,000 barrels (320,000,000 m³). Between 605 and 732 wells were set ablaze, while many others were severely damaged and gushed uncontrolled for several months. It took over ten months to bring all of the wells under control. The fires alone were estimated to consume approximately 6,000,000 barrels (950,000 m³) of oil per day at their peak.
3. Oil spilled from sabotaged fields in Kuwait during the 1991 Persian Gulf War pooled in approximately 300 oil lakes, estimated by the Kuwaiti Oil Minister to contain approximately 25,000,000 to 50,000,000 barrels (7,900,000 m³) of oil. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, this figure does not include the amount of oil absorbed by the ground, forming a layer of "tarcrete" over approximately five percent of the surface of Kuwait, fifty times the area occupied by the oil lakes.^[89]
4. Estimates for the Gulf War oil spill range from 4,000,000 to 11,000,000 barrels (1,700,000 m³). The figure of 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 barrels (1,300,000 m³) is the range adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the United Nations in the immediate aftermath of the war, 1991–1993, and is still current, as cited by NOAA and The New York Times in 2010.^[93] This amount only includes oil discharged directly into the Persian Gulf by the retreating Iraqi forces from January 19 to 28, 1991. However, according to the U.N. report, oil from other sources not included in the official estimates continued to pour into the Persian Gulf through June, 1991. The amount of this oil was estimated to be at least several hundred thousand barrels, and may have factored into the estimates above 8,000,000 barrels (1,300,000 m³).

The economic impact of oil spills

Oil spills can have devastating environmental impacts; however, we cannot allow these to overshadow their often equally detrimental economic consequences.^[114] These disasters do not only pose immediate threats to marine ecosystems, but also leave lasting impacts on local and regional economies. This section will explore the multifaceted economic repercussions of oil spills, specifically considering: the decline in tourism, the reduction in fishing, and the impact on port activity.

Decline in tourism

In the short term, an oil spill will prevent tourists from partaking in usual recreational activities such as swimming, boating, diving, and angling.^[115] As such, the area will witness a decline in tourism. This will negatively impact several industries. Firstly, the hotels, restaurants, and bars in the immediate vicinity will have significantly fewer customers. Local car park owners and shopkeepers will be affected too. Then, this decline in tourists will cause further damage to travel agencies, tour guides, and transport companies.^[116] The beaches will likely stay shut for several days whilst clean-up operations take place, and there may be disruption caused by an increase in clean-up vehicles.^[115] Overall, several businesses will be negatively impacted by the spill in the short term, which can lead to further long-term damage should companies be forced to reduce staff or shut down entirely.

Often, this process is intensified by disproportionate media attention. Usually, the affected area returns to normal relatively soon after an oil spill, as the clean-up process is fast.^[115] However, media stories will drive future tourists away, as they work to degrade the popular image of a destination with exaggerated stories of oil on beaches and deserted hotels.^[115] This aggravates the economic losses, as people continue to choose to travel elsewhere. Such a scenario is particularly damaging for regions which are very reliant on the tourism industry.^[117] For example, the Brazilian Northeast can be very vulnerable to drops in tourism, thus, they were badly impacted following a 2500 tonne crude oil spill from an unknown tanker in 2019.^[118]

Similarly, tourism in Ibiza was severely impacted in 2007. Just 20 tonnes of oil were spilled from the Don Pedro in July 2007, a relatively limited volume compared with other spills. Whilst this caused just a small amount of environmental damage, the economic damage was disproportionately large. Most beaches were reopened within a week, just a dozen seabirds were affected, and there were no reports of injured sea mammals. Nonetheless, 27 percent of hotels in Ibiza were negatively affected, with two thirds of these being seafront hotels. Thus, 32 claims were made by tourist firms, equating to approximately 1.5 million euros of compensation.^[119] This provides a clear example of an oil spill resulting in massive economic disaster. Furthermore, following the world’s largest oil spill, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010,^[120] the U.S. Travel Association estimated 23 billion dollars’ worth of associated costs for affected tourist infrastructure.^[121]

Reduction in fishing

After the Deepwater Horizon crisis,^[122] the Gulf of Mexico suffered an estimated 1.9-billion-dollar loss in revenue from fishing. This is because fishing closures were imposed due to fears of the safety of seafood,^[123] there was also a decline in demand, as seafood restaurants and markets suffered such severe losses that many were forced to shut.^[115] Usually, the Gulf sees an average of 106,703 fishing trips per day,^[124] equating to 1 million metric tonnes of annual fishery landings.^[125] Therefore, the necessary fishing ban following the disaster was highly damaging. Similarly, following the sinking of the Prestige oil tanker near Galicia, Spain, in November 2002, 77,000 tonnes of crude oil were spilled into the ocean. This disaster has had severe economic consequences, alongside the environmental damage. Large zones were cordoned in which fishing was banned, with these bans lasting for more than eight months. This affected several groups, including fishermen, ship owners, and the companies who bought and sold the fish. Several compensatory actions were introduced, including tax benefits and aid. This resulted in expenses of approximately 113 million euros in an attempt to compensate for the halt in fishing activity.^[126] The examples of the Deepwater Horizon and the Prestige clearly illustrate the severe economic consequences when oil spills prevent commercial fishing.

Water pollution due to oil spills can be severe, often resulting in the death or injury of many sea creatures, including birds, sea mammals, fish, algae, and coral.^[127] The impact on fish caught in the spill has both immediate and longer-term impacts. Immediately, the fish are tainted with oil, and they cannot be used commercially due to safety reasons. Then, the oil can spread and sink below the water’s surface. If fish swallow the oil, they are also inconsumable due to the health risk posed to humans.^[128] Therefore, massive economic damage is caused to the fishing industry following an oil spill, as the stock is vastly reduced. Furthermore, the oil can cause damage to the equipment and boats of fishermen. Clean-up operations can also interrupt usual fishing routes, and sometimes fishing bans are imposed.^[129] This further illustrates the damaging economic effects of oil spills on commercial fishing, which is particularly detrimental for regions whose economy relies heavily on fishing.

The impact on port activity

Ports are major hubs for economic activity; thus, an oil spill in or near a port can have significant consequences.^[130] During and following a spill, all boats entering or leaving the port must be closely managed in order to prevent further spread. Furthermore, specialist cleaning contractors must be hired to effectively clean the various port structures.^[115] Oil spills are relatively regular occurrences in ports, as small spills often happen due to the large volume of boats, and these are not as well documented in the media as larger events are.^[131] However, these spills must still be dealt with, and they can still have damaging economic repercussions.^[132] Both the incident and the response require expensive and time-consuming management which is disruptive to port activity.^[133] Furthermore, special care must be taken during clean-up operations to ensure that the oil does not get stuck under the quayside, as this could act as a continual source of oil contamination.^[134] This can also be seen with sea defenses; should the oil penetrate deep into the structures, they may become a source of secondary pollution.^[115] Therefore, it is crucial for ports to manage and mitigate any oil spills, in order to limit the damage to ships and shipping operations. Otherwise, should large disruption occur, the economic damage can be extensive due to costly clean-up processes and delayed shipments.

Summary

The economic impact of oil spills on tourism, fishing, and ports is substantial and important to assess. Coordinated efforts are necessary to mitigate these impacts, including effective clean-up measures, public relations campaigns to restore the image of affected areas, and support for businesses and communities that must bear the economic downturn.

See also

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oil spill.

• Automated Data Inquiry for Oil Spills
• Environmental issues with petroleum
• Environmental issues with shipping
• LNG spill
• Storm oil
• Low-temperature thermal desorption
• National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan
• Ohmsett (Oil and Hazardous Materials Simulated Environmental Test Tank)
• Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (in the US)
• Oil well
• Penguin sweater
• Project Deep Spill, the first intentional deepwater oil and gas spill
• Pseudomonas putida (used for degrading oil)
• S-200 (fertilizer)
• ShoreZone
• Spill containment
• Tarball

References

1. . Commondreams.org. 2004-03-22. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
2. NOAA Ocean Media Center (2010-03-16). "Hindsight and Foresight, 20 Years After the Exxon Valdez Spill". NOAA. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
3. Wout Broekema (April 2015). "Crisis-induced learning and issue politicization in the EU". Public Administration. 94 (2): 381–398. doi:10.1111/padm.12170.
4. Welch, William M.; Joyner, Chris (May 25, 2010). "Memorial service honors 11 dead oil rig workers". USA Today.
5. "Lac-Megantic devastation". Fire Fighting in Canada. 2013-09-09. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
6. . Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
7. "Ecuador oil spill threatens Brazilian water supply". 2013-06-12. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
8. "Kentucky Crude Oil Spill may reach river, contaminate drinking water". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
9. "Oil For Fuel". Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909–1954). 1923-03-23. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
10. "The Seven Seas are an Open Sewer (oil spill impacts 1974)". The Tribune. 1974-06-01. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
11. Bautista, H.; Rahman, K. M. M. (2016). "Review On the Sundarbans Delta Oil Spill: Effects On Wildlife and Habitats". International Research Journal. 1 (43): 93–96. doi:10.18454/IRJ.2016.43.143.
12. Sarbatly R.; Kamin, Z. & Krishnaiah D. (2016). "A review of polymer nanofibres by electrospinning and their application in oil-water separation for cleaning up marine oil spills". Marine Pollution Bulletin. 106 (1–2): 8–16. Bibcode:2016MarPB.106....8S. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.03.037. PMID 27016959.
13. Bautista, H.; Rahman, K. M. M. (2016). "Effects of Crude Oil Pollution in the Tropical Rainforest Biodiversity of Ecuadorian Amazon Region" (PDF). Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences. 8 (2): 249–254.^{[dead link]}
14. C. Michael Hogan (2008)., Magellanic Penguin 2012-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, It can take over 1 year to solve the problem of an oil spill. GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg.
15. Dunnet, G.; Crisp, D.; Conan, G.; Bourne, W. (1982). "Oil Pollution and Seabird Populations [and Discussion]". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B. 297 (1087): 413–427. Bibcode:1982RSPTB.297..413D. doi:10.1098/rstb.1982.0051.
16. Untold Seabird Mortality due to Marine Oil Pollution 2001-02-16 at the Wayback Machine, Elements Online Environmental Magazine.
17. "Expert Recommends Killing Oil-Soaked Birds". Spiegel Online. May 6, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
18. Wolfaardt, AC; Williams, AJ; Underhill, LG; Crawford, RJM; Whittington, PA (2009). "Review of the rescue, rehabilitation and restoration of oiled seabirds in South Africa, especially African penguins Spheniscus demersus and Cape gannets Morus capegnsis, 1983–2005". African Journal of Marine Science. 31 (1): 31–54. Bibcode:2009AfJMS..31...31W. doi:10.2989/ajms.2009.31.1.3.774. S2CID 84039397.
19. "A Naturalist's Jottings". Frankston and Somerville Standard (Vic. : 1921–1939). 1925-08-14. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
20. "Penguin guard stands watch". Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861–1954). 1954-07-03. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
21. Urbina, Ian (April 5, 2019). "England: The Magic Pipe | #TheOutlawOcean". YouTube.
22. "Oil Menace to Sea Birds". Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872–1947). 1934-08-23. p. 33. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
23. Middlebrook, A. M.; Murphy, D. M.; Ahmadov, R.; Atlas, E. L.; Bahreini, R.; Blake, D. R.; Brioude, J.; de Gouw, J. A.; Fehsenfeld, F. C.; Frost, G. J.; Holloway, J. S.; Lack, D. A.; Langridge, J. M.; Lueb, R. A.; McKeen, S. A.; Meagher, J. F.; Meinardi, S.; Neuman, J. A.; Nowak, J. B.; Parrish, D. D.; Peischl, J.; Perring, A. E.; Pollack, I. B.; Roberts, J. M.; Ryerson, T. B.; Schwarz, J. P.; Spackman, J. R.; Warneke, C.; Ravishankara, A. R. (28 December 2011). "Air quality implications of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (50): 20280–20285. doi:10.1073/pnas.1110052108. PMC 3528553. PMID 22205764.
24. Li, R.; Palm, B. B.; Borbon, A.; Graus, M.; Warneke, C.; Ortega, A. M.; Day, D. A.; Brune, W. H.; Jimenez, J. L.; de Gouw, J. A. (5 November 2013). "Laboratory Studies on Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from Crude Oil Vapors". Environmental Science & Technology. 47 (21): 12566–12574. Bibcode:2013EnST...4712566L. doi:10.1021/es402265y. PMID 24088179.
25. Ehrenhauser, Franz S.; Avij, Paria; Shu, Xin; Dugas, Victoria; Woodson, Isaiah; Liyana-Arachchi, Thilanga; Zhang, Zenghui; Hung, Francisco R.; Valsaraj, Kalliat T. (2014). "Bubble bursting as an aerosol generation mechanism during an oil spill in the deep-sea environment: laboratory experimental demonstration of the transport pathway". Environ. Sci.: Process. Impacts. 16 (1): 65–73. doi:10.1039/C3EM00390F. PMID 24296745.
26. Nance, Earthea; King, Denae; Wright, Beverly; Bullard, Robert D. (13 November 2015). "Ambient air concentrations exceeded health-based standards for fine particulate matter and benzene during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill". Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. 66 (2): 224–236. doi:10.1080/10962247.2015.1114044. PMID 26565439.
27. "Moratorium on Oil and Gas Leasing In Lake Pontchartrain: An Analysis" (PDF). The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. 2010.
28. "Background on Oil Spills. Cause and Response". Congressional Digest. 89 (6): 165–166. June 2010. ISSN 0010-5899.
29. "How do oil spills happen?". Office of Response and Restoration. February 5, 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
30. Michel, Jacqueline; Fingas, Merv (2016). "Chapter 7: Oil spills: Causes, Consequences, Prevention and Countermeasures". In Crawley, Gerard M (ed.). Fossil Fuels. Marcus Enterprise LLC, USA & University of South Carolina, USA. p. 160. doi:10.1142/9789814699983_0007. ISBN 978-981-4699-99-0.
31. Jernelöv, Arne (2010). "The Threats from Oil Spills: Now, Then and in the Future". Ambio. 39 (5–6): 353–366. Bibcode:2010Ambio..39..353J. doi:10.1007/s13280-010-0085-5. PMC 3357709. PMID 21053719.
32. Bertolini, Massimo; Bevilacqua, Maurizio (2006). "Oil pipeline spill cause analysis A classification tree approach". Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering. 12 (2): 186–198. doi:10.1108/13552510610667192.
33. Dell'Amore, Christine; Nunez, Christina (March 25, 2014). "3 Surprising Sources of Oil Pollution in the Ocean". National Geographic. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
34. Burgherr, Peter (2007). "In-depth analysis of accidental oil spills from tankers in the context of global spill trends from all sources". Journal of Hazardous Materials. 140 (1–2): 245–256. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.07.030. PMID 16942835.
35. Mu, Lin; Wang, Lizhe; Yan, Jining (2019). "Emergency Response System for Marine Oil Spill Accidents". Information Engineering of Emergency Treatment for Marine Oil Spill Accidents. Taylor & Francis Group: CRC Press. pp. 1–30. ISBN 9780429289101.
36. "MARPOL Annex I – Prevention of Pollution by Oil". International Maritime Organization. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
37. Galieriková, Andrea; Materna, Matúš (2020). "World Seaborne Trade with Oil: One of Main Cause for Oil Spills?". Transportation Research Procedia. 44: 297–304. doi:10.1016/j.trpro.2020.02.039. S2CID 216537436.
38. Yamada, Yasuhira (October 2009). "The Cost of Oil Spills from Tankers in Relation to Weight of Spilled Oil". Marine Technology. 46 (4): 219–228. doi:10.5957/mtsn.2009.46.4.219.
39. "Construction Requirements for Oil Tankers - Double Hulls". International Maritime Organization. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
40. Staff (8 October 2022). "Oil on the waters". Notebook—50 years ago. Science News (Paper). Vol. 202, no. 7. p. 4.
41. Gutierrez T, Berry D, Teske A, Aitken MD (2016). "Enrichment of Fusobacteria in Sea Surface Oil Slicks from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill". Microorganisms. 4 (3): 24. doi:10.3390/microorganisms4030024. PMC 5039584. PMID 27681918.
42. Oil spill cleanup technology Patents and patent applications November 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
43. "The Environmental Literacy Council – Oil Spills". Enviroliteracy.org. 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
44. "Biological Agents – Emergency Management – US EPA".
45. Kasai, Y; et al. (2002). "Predominant Growth of Alcanivorax Strains in Oil-contaminated and Nutrient-supplemented Sea Water". Environmental Microbiology. 4 (3): 141–47. doi:10.1046/j.1462-2920.2002.00275.x. PMID 12000314.
46. . www.oilandgastechnology.net. April 30, 2014. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
47. "S-200 | NCP Product Schedule | Emergency Management | US EPA". Epa.gov. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
48. "Emergency Response: Responding to Oil Spills". Office of Response and Restoration. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2007-06-20.
49. Mullin, Joseph V; Champ, Michael A (2003-08-01). "Introduction/Overview to in Situ Burning of Oil Spills". Spill Science & Technology Bulletin. In-Situ Burning of Spilled Oil. 8 (4): 323–330. doi:10.1016/S1353-2561(03)00076-8.
50. . Library.thinkquest.org. Archived from the original on 2007-01-24. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
51. . International Tanker Operators Pollution Federation Limited. Archived from the original on 2013-11-14. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
52. "Spill Response – Dispersants Kill Fish Eggs". journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 10 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
53. Barry Carolyn (2007). . Science News. 172 (5): 67. doi:10.1002/scin.2007.5591720502. Archived from the original on 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
54. "Dispersant makes oil 52 times more toxic – Technology & science – Science – LiveScience – NBC News". NBC News. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
55. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2019). The Use of Dispersants in Marine Oil Spill Response. doi:10.17226/25161. ISBN 978-0-309-47818-2. PMID 32379406. S2CID 133873607.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
56. Pezeshki, S. R.; Hester, M. W.; Lin, Q.; Nyman, J. A. (2000). "The effects of oil spill clean-up on dominant US Gulf coast marsh macrophytes: a review". Environmental Pollution. 108 (2): 129–139. doi:10.1016/s0269-7491(99)00244-4. PMID 15092943.
57. "A slick idea" by Cara Murphy Beach Reporter Manhattan Beach section ll/14/1992
58. "Zapping Oil Spills with Dry Ice and Ingenuity" by Gordon Dillow Los Angeles Times South Bay section page 1 2/24/1994
59. If only they'd tried the chilled-soup solution in Alaska" by John Bogert Daily Breeze (Torrance CA) local section page B1 2/17/1994
60. Fountain, Henry (2010-06-24). "Advances in Oil Spill Cleanup Lag Since Valdez". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
61. Cherukupally, P.; Sun, W.; Wong, A. P. Y.; Williams, D. R.; Ozin, G. A.; Bilton, A. M.; Park, C. B. (2019). "Surface-engineered sponges for recovery of crude oil microdroplets from wastewater". Nature Sustainability. 3 (2): 136–143. Bibcode:2019NatSu...3..136C. doi:10.1038/s41893-019-0446-4. S2CID 209381281.
62. "Quebec tragedy unlikely to slow oil shipments via rail". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
63. "Oil Spill Response Procedure" (PDF). Chemstore UK. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
64. Comanns, Philipp (May 2018). "Passive water collection with the integument: mechanisms and their biomimetic potential". Journal of Experimental Biology. 221 (10). doi:10.1242/jeb.153130. PMID 29789349. S2CID 46893569.
65. "Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Maps". Retrieved 2010-05-27.
66. "NOAA's Ocean Service Office of Response and Restoration". Response.restoration.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
67. Jensen, John R.; Halls, Joanne N.; Michel, Jacqueline (1998). "A Systems Approach to Environmental Sensitivity lndex (ESI) Mapping for Oil Spill Contingency Planning and Response". Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing: 1003–1014.
68. NOAA (2002). Environmental Sensitivity Index Guidelines, version 3.0. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS OR&R 11. Seattle: Hazardous Response and Assessment Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 129p.
69. "Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Maps and Data | response.restoration.noaa.gov". response.restoration.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
70. Buckley, R.C. (1982). "Environmental sensitivity mapping - what, why and how". Minerals and the Environment. 4 (4): 151–155. doi:10.1007/BF02085976. S2CID 129097590.
71. van Bernem, Karl-Heinz (2001). "Chapter 7: Conceptual Models for Ecology-Related Decisions". Models in Environmental Research. Springer. pp. 127–145.
72. IPIECA, IMO, OGP. (2012). Sensitivity mapping for oil spill response (OGP Report Number 477).
73. Gundlach, E.R. and M.O. Hayes (1978). Vulnerability of Coastal Environments to Oil Spill Impacts. Marine Technology Society. 12 (4): 18–27.
74. NOAA (2008). Introduction to Environmental Sensitivity Index maps. NOAA Technical Manual. Seattle: Hazardous Response and Assessment Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 56p.
75. IMO/IPIECA (1994). Sensitivity Mapping for Oil Spill Response. International Maritime Organization/ International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association Report Series, Volume 1. 22p.
76. IPIECA, IMO (1994). Sensitivity Mapping for Oil Spill Response, (IMO/IPIECA report series). Volume 1, p.28
77. Metcalf & Eddy. Wastewater Engineering, Treatment and Reuse. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 98.
78. Anderson, E.L., E. Howlett, K. Jayko, V. Kolluru, M. Reed, and M. Spaulding. 1993. The worldwide oil spill model (WOSM): an overview. Pp. 627–646 in Proceedings of the 16th Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program, Technical Seminar. Ottawa, Ontario: Environment Canada.
79. Wang, Z.; Fingas, M.; Page, D.S. (1999). "Oil spill identification". Journal of Chromatography A. 843 (1–2): 369–411. doi:10.1016/S0021-9673(99)00120-X.
80. www.scientificamerican.com 20150-04-20 How BP's Blowout Ranks among Top 5 Oil Spills in 1 Graphic
81. "oil spill | Definition, Causes, Effects, List, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
82. "'Ecocide' movement pushes for a new international crime: Environmental destruction". NBC News. 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
83. "Fighting ecocide in Nigeria". theecologist.org. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
84. "UNPO: Ogoni: An Ecocide in the Making?". unpo.org. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
85. "How an ecocide law could prevent another Nigerian oil disaster". The Guardian. 2011-08-22. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
86. "Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it". The Guardian. 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
87. United States Department of Defense Environmental Exposure Report: Oil Well Fires (updated August 2, 2000)
88. CNN.com, Kuwait still recovering from Gulf War fires 2012-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, 3 January 2003.
89. United States Geological Survey, Campbell, Robert Wellman, ed. 1999. Iraq and Kuwait: 1972, 1990, 1991, 1997. Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change. U.S. Geological Survey. http://earthshots.usgs.gov, revised 14 February 1999. February 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
90. United Nations, Updated Scientific Report on the Environmental Effects of the Conflict between Iraq and Kuwait 2010-07-28 at the Wayback Machine, 8 March 1993.
91. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center News, 1991 Kuwait Oil Fires, 21 March 2003.
92. Harvey, Steve (2010-06-13). "California's legendary oil spill". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
93. Gulf Oil Spill Is Bad, but How Bad?, last updated 20 May 2010.
94. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Report To Congress United States Gulf Environmental Technical Assistance From January 27 – July 31 1991
95. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and Restoration, Emergency Response Division, Incident News: Arabian Gulf Spills 2010-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, updated 18 May 2010.
96. Campbell Robertson /Clifford Krauss (2 August 2010). "Gulf Spill Is the Largest of Its Kind, Scientists Say". The New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
97. CNN (1 July 2010). "Oil disaster by the numbers". CNN. Retrieved 1 July 2010. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
98. Consumer Energy Report (20 June 2010). . Consumer Energy Report. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
99. "Big Oil Plans Rapid Response to Future Spills". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
100. Khatchadourian, Raffi (March 14, 2011). "The Gulf War". The New Yorker.
101. . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
102. Fiest, David L.; Boehm, Paul D.; Rigler, Mark W.; Patton, John S. (March 1981). "Ixtoc 1 oil spill: flaking of surface mousse in the Gulf of Mexico". Nature. 290 (5803): 235–238. Bibcode:1981Natur.290..235P. doi:10.1038/290235a0. S2CID 4312522.
103. Patton, John S.; Rigler, Mark W.; Boehm, Paul D.; Fiest, David L. (1981). "Ixtoc 1 oil spill: flaking of surface mousse in the Gulf of Mexico". Nature. 290 (5803): 235–238. Bibcode:1981Natur.290..235P. doi:10.1038/290235a0. S2CID 4312522.
104. . International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
105. . Centre de Documentation de Recherche et d'Expérimentations. Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
106. . Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
107. . The Mariner Group. Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
108. "Oil Spills and Disasters". Retrieved 2008-11-16.
109. . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
110. [1] May 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
111. "A 14-year-long oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico verges on becoming one of the worst in U.S. history". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
112. Information Services (7 May 2010). . International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF). Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
113. Bell, Bethan; Cacciottolo, Mario (2017-03-17). "Black tide: When the British bombed an oil spill". Retrieved 2020-01-09.
114. Alvernia, Utomo and Herdiansyah (2021). "Studies of fishermen's economic loss due to oil spills". IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.
115. ITOPF (2011). "Effects of Oil Pollution on social and economic activities". Technical Information Paper 12.
116. ITOPF. "Economic Effects". Retrieved 9 December 2023.
117. ITOPF. "Economic Effects". Retrieved 9 December 2023.
118. Carlos De Santana Ribeiro, Barreiro De Souza, Paulo Domingues and Souza Magalhães (2020). "Blue water turns black: economic impact of oil spill on tourism and fishing in Brazilian Northeast". Current Issues in Tourism. 24 (8).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
119. Cirer-Costa, Joan Carles (2015). "Tourism and its hypersensitivity to oil spills". Marine Pollution Bulletin. 91 (1): 65–72.
120. Rafferty, J. P. "9 of the Biggest Oil Spills in History". Encyclopedia Brittania. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
121. Ritchie, Crotts, Zehrer and Zolsky (2014). "Understanding the Effects of a Tourism Crisis: The Impact of the BP Oil Spill on Regional Lodging Demand". Journal of Travel Research. 53 (1): 12–25.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
122. Rafferty, J. P. "9 of the Biggest Oil Spills in History". Encyclopedia Brittania. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
123. Gracia, Murawski and Vázquez-Bader (2019). "Impacts of Deep Oil Spills on Fish and Fisheries". Deep Oil Spills: 414–430.
124. Nelson, Grubesic and Rose (2017). "A Geospatial Evaluation of Oil Spill Impact Potential on Coastal Tourism in the Gulf of Mexico". Deep Oil Spills.
125. Gracia, Murawski and Vázquez-Bader (2019). "Impacts of Deep Oil Spills on Fish and Fisheries". Deep Oil Spills: 414–430.
126. Surís-Regueiro, Garza-Gil and Varela-Lafuente (2007). "The Prestige oil spill and its economic impact on the Galician fishing sector". Disasters. 31 (2): 201–215.
127. Alvernia, Utomo and Herdiansyah (2021). "Studies of fishermen's economic loss due to oil spills". IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.
128. Alvernia, Utomo and Herdiansyah (2021). "Studies of fishermen's economic loss due to oil spills". IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.
129. ITOPF. "Economic Effects". Retrieved 9 December 2023.
130. O'Brien (2006). "Oil spills in ports". Ports and Harbours: 34–35.
131. O'Brien (2006). "Oil Spills in ports". Ports and Harbors: 34–35.
132. Sarder, Chad and Richard (2011). "Modeling Logistical & Economical Impact of Oil Spill on the Gulf Coast". Proceedings of the 2011 Industrial Engineering Research Conference.
133. Sarder, Chad and Richard (2011). "Modeling Logistical & Economical Impact of Oil Spill on the Gulf Coast". Proceedings of the 2011 Industrial Engineering Research Conference.
134. Sarder, Chad and Richard (2011). "Modeling Logistical & Economical Impact of Oil Spill on the Gulf Coast". Proceedings of the 2011 Industrial Engineering Research Conference.

Further reading

• Nelson-Smith, Oil Pollution and Marine Ecology, Elek Scientific, London, 1972; Plenum, New York, 1973
• Oil Spill Case Histories 1967–1991, NOAA/Hazardous Materials and Response Division, Seattle, WA, 1992
• Ramseur, Jonathan L. Oil Spills: Background and Governance, Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC, September 15, 2017