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Sources and Causes of Oil Spills
Published in M.R. Riazi, Oil Spill Occurrence, Simulation, and Behavior, 2021
The UN Glossary of Statistical Terms defined oil spill as follows (OECD, 2001):An oil spill is oil, discharged accidentally or intentionally, that floats on the surface of water bodies as a discrete mass and is carried by the wind, currents and tides. Oil spills can be partially controlled by chemical dispersion, combustion, mechanical containment and adsorption. They have destructive effects on coastal ecosystems. Oil spills into rivers, seas and oceans are often caused by accidents in pipeline and storage facilities, refineries, tankers, drilling rigs and offshore production activities. These accidents are caused by human errors, equipment failure, natural disasters such as hurricanes and deliberate acts such as war, illegal dumper and terrorism. (OECD 2001)
Evaluation of Water and Its Contaminants
Published in William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel, Reversibility of Chronic Disease and Hypersensitivity, Volume 5, 2017
William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution (Figure 3.17). The term is usually applied 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, diesel) and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil.
Recent Advancements in Microbial Degradation of Xenobiotics by Using Proteomics Approaches
Published in Vineet Kumar, Vinod Kumar Garg, Sunil Kumar, Jayanta Kumar Biswas, Omics for Environmental Engineering and Microbiology Systems, 2023
Neha Sharma, Smriti Shukla, Kartikeya Shukla, Ajit Varma, Vineet Kumar, Menaka Devi Salam, Arti Mishra
This class include a number of hydrocarbons derived from crude oil, including polyaromatic compounds, heterocyclic aromatics, n-alkanes, and some aliphatic compounds (Agrawal et al. 2021). These compounds are released during drilling of wells and transportation and are highly hazardous. PAHs are also a class of organic hydrocarbons. They are also hazardous because of their low degradability rate and highly persistent nature (Mishra et al. 2019). These compounds are generally derived from natural and man-made activities. All crude oil derivatives contain saturated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, and a portion of trace metals. Petroleum hydrocarbons are categorized into two groups, which include aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Biodegradation of hydrocarbon can occur aerobically as well as anaerobically. Aerobic degradation can occur by a variety of bacteria with ring fission, while anaerobic degradation occurs via syntrophy in which the activity of one microbe is dependent on other microbes. In the environment, these compounds are released by spilling of petroleum products, release of industrial effluents, and various anthropogenic activities. Oil enters the soil and adsorbs to its particles during land contamination. It results in the decrease in soil quality. Hydrocarbons can cause contamination by entering groundwater (Xu et al. 2018). They have harmful effects on aquatic life. Oil breaks down into small drops because of airflow and forms emulsion in the water body. Its presence in the aquatic body stops the transfer or uptake of oxygen by aquatic life. In case of a large amount of oil spillage, various problems occur. It is necessary to degrade or remove these oil spills. Microbes can easily degrade oil spills if it is in a small amount. But their large amount can become recalcitrant and highly toxic. Because they are water-insoluble and have toxic properties, it becomes difficult to degrade them. Oil spills can cause immediate and widespread toxic effects on the environment. The widespread contamination occurs by oil spills and can have social, community, and environmental impacts (Murphy et al. 2016).
A quantitative liability risk assessment of oil spills in oil ports: the case of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
Published in Maritime Policy & Management, 2022
Huiling Zhong, Yishu Lin, Tsz Leung Yip
To illustrate oil spills as criminal acts, the spill size (3 tonnes), number of casualties (1) and total spill cost (300,000 RMB) metrics are shown in bold in Table 5. The results indicate that (1) based on the criminal standards for the spill size, except that in the loading machine (with size DN150) partial rupture scenario, the oil spills in the other scenarios would result in legal crimes. (2) Based on the criminal standard for the number of casualties, except that in the loading machine (with size DN400) total rupture scenario, the oil spills in the other scenarios would not result in crimes. (3) Based on the criminal standard for the total spill cost, the oil spills in every scenario would violate criminal laws.
Remediation of Oil-contaminated Sediments Using Microemulsions: A Review
Published in Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, 2021
Suelem Dela Fonte, Cibele Silva, Luiz Carlos Santos, George Simonelli
Oil spills occur through leaks, inadequate treatments in deposits and distribution stations, through blow-outs in tubes and pumps, due to inadequate equipment and piping conditions, during transportation and others (Li et al. 2016). Oil spills can result in contamination of different types of sediment, such as soil or sand. In onshore operations, these impacts can be contained more quickly than in offshore operations. Oil spills have severe impacts on marine animals, microbiota activity, local tourism, health, food, and others. The degree of toxicity depends on some factors, such as the chemical composition of the oil, exposure time, and concentration (Turner and Renegar 2017). The size of the petroleum carbon chain also affects toxicity proportionately (Kuppusamy et al. 2020). However, low molecular weight hydrocarbons (C5−C10) also suffer ecotoxicological risks, mainly due to the inhalation of these components by animals and humans (Kuppusamy et al. 2020). In offshore operations, contamination by hydrocarbons can also reach the beaches when these contaminants are brought by the current to the coast.
Kinetics of bioremediation of crude oil contaminated soil using organic and inorganic particulates
Published in Petroleum Science and Technology, 2018
The contamination of soil by crude oil and petroleum products has become a serious problem to the environment because of the potential consequences on the eco system and human health (Onwurah et al., 2007). Oil spillage and effluents from petrochemical and petroleum industries are a major source of environmental pollution which have degraded the environment and impacted negatively on people living in these areas. The most rational way of decontamination of the environment is by application of methods based mainly on metabolic activities of micro-organisms (Obahiagbon and Aluyor, 2009). The short term effects of these oil spills include animal and plant fatality and disruption of the food chain and ecosystem, while the long term effects include birth defects and alterations in genetics, (Nwilo and Badejo, 2005).