Oil Spill

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 die and some are injured in some way. Many plants and animals are endangered, or are now extinct.
One of the well-known oil spills 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 s

A number of advanced response mechanisms are available for controlling oil spills and minimizing their impacts on human health and the environment. The key to effectively combating spills is careful selection and proper use of the equipment and materials best suited to the type of oil and the conditions at the spill site. Most spill response equipment and materials are greatly affected by such factors as conditions at sea, water currents, and wind. Damage to spill-contaminated shorelines and dangers to other threatened areas can be reduced by timely and proper use of containment and recovery equipment.

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.

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.

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 its 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 wildlife consulting firm. OSWM offers its clients an alternative to the wildlife dilemma.