Oil is a product used by everyone, but sometimes oil is a problem. An oil spill
is a leakage from an oceangoing tanker, pipelines, or other oil sources. Oil
spills occur very frequently, and cause enormous ecological harm. About eight
million barrels of oil are spilled each year. Tankers usually carry about
five-hundred million barrels of oil. Many oil spills, large in land or ocean
coverage, have had major impacts on the earth and it’s inhabitants. Many
animals are die and some are injured in some way. Many plants and animals are
endangered, or are now extinct. The largest oil spill to occur was when the
Exxon Valdez went aground and covered 4,800 square miles in Prince William
Sound, Alaska. This spill killed 35,000 sea birds, 10,000 otters, and at least
nine whales. The spill left pools of oil up to three feet on some beaches. In
December of 1989, an Iranian tanker leaked 70,000 tons, about 19 million gallons
of oil off of the coast of Morocco. In January 1990 a broken Exxon pipeline
leaked 567,000 gallons into the New York harbor. In June of 1990, another
260,000 gallons were spilled in New York Harbor. A tanker carrying 38 million
gallons of oil caught on fire, and leaked oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This was
a very serious threat to local shrimp nurseries and wildlife refuges. In
February of 1990, 300,000 gallons leaked from a damaged tanker off Southern
California, fouling miles of shoreline. In the Niger River delta, in Nigeria,
Shell pipelines have repeatedly burst. In 1970 oil spilled across 8 square km,
which remained contaminated for over 20 years. According to the U.S. Coast
guard, the incident rate post is only 0.5 spills per year. In fact, there have
been no large spills over 5,000 barrels from tankers in the US since 1991. The
US Coast Guard data shows that the amount of oil spilled by tankers has
decreased dramatically. Worldwide pollution from tanker spills is a relatively
minor source of marine pollution. It only represents a small fraction of the oil
released to the environment, when it is being compared to industrial waste,
non-tanker shipping, and oil seepage from natural resources. Ships are but one
part of an overall safety system that includes charting, aids to navigation, the
condition of channels, and the resources that the Coast guard can bring to
ensure standards are being met. The United States suffers from measurable
neglect in portions of it’s marine infrastructure. The Refuse Act, which was
first enacted in 1899, makes it a crime to allow refuse to enter navigable
waters. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, makes it a crime to kill certain birds.
These laws were not intended to apply to an oil spill, but prosecutors use them
to intimidate and punish individuals without an obvious connection to a spill.
The single most positive improvement that Congress can make to the legal regime,
is to amend the Refuse Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, to make them
inapplicable to oil spills covered in the Clean Water Act. Oil Spill Wildlife
Management (OSWM), in business since 1989, is a wildlife consulting firm. OSWM
offers it’s clients an alternative to the wildlife dilemma. Donjon
Environmental Marine Services is a synergistic organization created to provide
the maritime industry with responsive, and cost-effective answers to meet the
requirements of The Oil Pollution Act of 1990. Garner Environmental Services
provides a 24 hour emergency response for any type of pollution incidents.
Garner Environmental Services specializes in the management of disposal of waste
streams, and maintains a fleet if equipment and drivers to transport these waste
streams from industries on the Gulf Coast. Clean Venture Inc. is a leading
contractor in handling waste, and hazardous oil materials. Since, it’s
establishment, Clean Venture Inc., has responded to more than five thousand oil
and hazardous material spills and has performed over ten thousand projects,
ranging in size from 1,000 to 3,000,000 dollars. How can we prevent oil spills?
The US oil and natural gas industry, supplies more than 65 percent of
America’s energy. “By nearly every measure, the volume of spills in US
waters has been on a steady downward trend since 1973,” states Captain James
D. Spitzer, the chief of the US Coast Guard’s Office of Investigations. Most
spills that occur are usually small, based on data from the US Coast Guard. In
1997, more than three-fourths of the spills in US waters were under ten gallons
of oil, which is less than a car’s fuel tank can hold. From the year of 1989,
the year of the Exxon Valdez accident, the amount of oil spilled in US waters
has declined from fourteen million gallons to 1.1 million gallons spilled in
1997. Every part of the modern petroleum industry has contributed to the
progress being made. Exploration and production facilities use advanced
materials and techniques, with plenty of back up safety systems. Pipelines use
computers, electromagnetic instruments, and ultrasonic devices to detect weak
spots, so they can be repaired before it is to late and a leak develops. Marine
terminals and vessels are being made differently. Tankers are being built with
double hulls. Storage tanks are constructed of special materials to withstand
corrosion. People play important roles in prevention, by signing petitions,
striking companies, and some boycott, which isn’t successful because oil is an
everyday use. Everyone can become a part of the conservation and prevention of
oil spills.