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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Osmeña: Oil spill and ocean pollution
By Antonio V. Osmeña
Estatements
There is some evidence that crude oil spills may cause less damage than those of refined oil.
Several studies on the effect of crude oil spills have been conducted. Among such incidents are the 1969 oil well blowout off the coast in Santa Barbara, California; that in the North Sea in 1977; the 1979 Pemex blowout in the Gulf of Mexico; the 1967 Torrey Canyon tanker accident off the shore of England; and the breakup of the Amoco Cadiz in 1978.
Studies reveal that most forms of marine life recovered almost completely within three years.
In contrast, spills of lighter types of oil —especially refined oil—near shore or in estuarine zones, where sea life is most abundant, have much more damaging effects on species. The effects of the oil spill off West Falmouth, Massachusetts in 1969 was still being detected 10 years later.
Henceforth, the Philippine government should not allow travel of oil tankers that are not built with double hull to reduce chances of a spill and to separate oil cargo from ballast water.
Each year, over six billion kilograms of oil and petroleum products are added to the oceans. According to a report by the Department of the Interior, about 15 percent of the annual input into United States’ oceanic waters comes from natural seeps of crude petroleum from deposits below the ocean bottom.
Human activities account for the remaining 85 percent that are discharged in the form of crude petroleum (oil as it comes out of the ground) and refined petroleum (obtained by distillation and chemical processing of crude petroleum).
River and urban runoff, mostly from the disposal of lubricating oil from machines and automobile crankcases, account for about 41 percent of the annual input.
Spills from oil tankers and routine discharges of oil from tankers during loading, unloading and cleaning account for 20 per cent; ruptures or blowouts of offshore oil wells can be blamed for 0.05 percent.
Tanker accidents and blowouts, however, can become a more important source of ocean pollution today as more oil is drilled and transported to meet world energy demand. As even larger supertankers are being built, just one serious tanker accident can release vast quantities of oil.
By mid-1984, the largest tanker accident was the breakup of the supertanker Amoco Cadiz. It released more than 254 million liters of oil, polluting 322 kilometers of European coastline and caused economic losses in fisheries, oyster farming, tourism industry and ocean biota. The cleanup cost millions of dollars.
The US federal district judge ruled that Standard Oil Company of Indiana (Amoco), which operated the tanker, was liable for most of the up to $2-billion in damages caused by the spill.
The judge found that Amoco had been negligent with respect to the design, operation, maintenance, repair and crew training of the tanker.
There is considerable dispute, uncertainty and conflicting evidence concerning the short-term and long-term effects of oil on ocean ecosystems.
The effects of oil spill are difficult to predict because they depend on a number of factors, including the type of oil spilled (crude or refined), the amount spilled, distance of the spill from the shore, the time of year, weather, tidal currents and wave action.
Crude oil and refined oil are collections of hundreds of substances with widely differing properties. Some oil components find their way into the fatty tissues of some fish and shellfish, making the fish unfit for human consumption because of their oily taste.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WEEK. All chemical engineers are urged to participate in the Chemical Engineering Week celebration. Presidential Proclamation 1001 has declared Sept. 16 to 23 as Chemical Engineering Week. Those interested can get more information from the Department of Science and Technology in Banilad, Cebu City.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 30, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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