Oil spill
From Academic Kids
An oil spill is the release of oil (generally, petroleum ) into the natural environment, usually the ocean . Oil means oil of any kind or in any form and includes crude oil , oil refuse, petroleum-related products or by-products, oil mixed in waste, oily ballast, and oily bilge water.
Studies of the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill have shown that the environmental damage caused by oil spills is greater than was previously thought. It is now thought that the impact on marine life can be serious at less than one part per billion of pollution.
Oil can also be washed up on beaches, requiring a large amount of work to be cleaned up. Birds can also get oil stuck in their feathers, which can render them flightless unless washed. The oil can also poison them if they attempt to prean their feathers.
Heavier components of crude oil, such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) appear to cause the most damage; while they are relatively unreactive they persist in the water much longer than volatile components such as toluene .
Largest oil spills
Gulf War oil spill , Persian Gulf , January 23 1991
Ixtoc I oil well, S Gulf of Mexico , June 3 , 1979
Nowruz oil field, Persian Gulf , February , 1983
Atlantic Empress and Aegean Captain collision, off Trinidad and Tobago , July 19 , 1979
Castillo de Bellver , off Cape Town , South Africa , August 6 , 1983
Amoco Cadiz (BP /Amoco, USA) - Britanny , France , March 16 1978
Torrey Canyon , South England , March 18 1967
Sea Star , Gulf of Oman , December 19 , 1972
Urquiola , La Coruna, Spain , May 12 , 1976
Hawaiian Patriot , N Pacific February 26 , 1977
Othello , Tralhavet Bay , Sweden , March 20 , 1970
Other notable spills
Ordered larger to smaller:
Braer - Shetland Islands , January 5 1993
Prestige - Galicia , Spain , November 13 2002
Aegean Sea , off N Spain, December 3 , 1992
Sea Empress - Wales , February 15 , 1996
World Glory , off South Africa , June 13 , 1968
Corinthos Delaware River , Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania , January 31 1975
Burmah Agate Galveston Bay , Texas , November 1 1979
Exxon Valdez (Exxon , USA) - Prince William Sound , Alaska , March 24 1989
Keo , off MA, November 5 , 1969
Storage Tank, Sewaren NJ, November 4 , 1969
Ekofisk oil field, North Sea April 22 , 1977
Erika - Bay of Biscay , December 12 , 1999
Tasman Spirit , Karachi , Pakistan , July 28 2003
Selendang Ayu , Unalaska Island , Alaska , December 8 2004
See also
References
"The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2004"
"Oil Spill Case Histories 1967-1991" NOAA/Hazardous Materials and Response Division, Seattle WA, 1992
External links
fr:Marée noire
he:התבקעות מיכליות נפט
nl:Olievlek
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