Oil SpillsBy: Aspen E. Larson, Addie S. Gross, Makayla T. Bindrup, Audrey P. Kemble, Hailey R. Lobanoff

What is an oil spill?An oil spill is an accidental release of oil into a body of water, as from a tanker,

offshore drilling rig, or underwater pipeline, often presenting a hazard to marine life and the environment. A couple of famous oil spills are the Odyssey, The Haven, The

Amoco Cadiz, deepwater horizon, atlantic empress, and the gulf war spill.

Deep Water Horizon oil spill

What effects do oil spills have on the environment?

Beaches,Marshlands,And fragile Aquatic ecosystems: Oil spills coat everything they touch so when they hit beaches, marshlands, and other ecosystems it is very difficult to remove. Once oil stops floating and sinks into the marine ecosystems it can kill plants and animals, for example in 1989 in the Exxon Valdez oil spill despite all their cleaning efforts some of the damage created by oil spills can not be removed.

Birds:Oil covered birds are one of the massive symbols of the environmental damage caused by oil spills. For example The deep water horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico happened during a prime mating and nesting season for many birds for some birds the oil caused life long effects.

Marine Mammals:Oil spills also affect marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, sea otters, ans seals. Oil can clog the blowholes of whales and dolphins, making it impossible for them to breathe properly Even when the marine animals escape the immediate effects an oil spill can still contaminate their food.

Fish:The spills also contaminate fish and their larvae or in other words fish eggs. It also kills fish and gives them other permanent effects

Affects wildlife habitats and breeding grounds:Oil effects various habitats and species such as turtles that come ashore to nest so when oil spills into the beaches their unable to lay eggs or if there are currently any eggs they could have permanent effects.

Extra Facts about Oil Spills:

Facts:-Iraqi forces initially released 300 million gallons oil into the gulf of Persian in 1991 during the gulf war.

-The Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig located in the gulf of mexico explode on April of 2010. This is one of the biggest oil spills. The explosion spilled 210 million gallons of oil

-A well located on the coast of mexico exploded and released 140 gallons of oil

-In february 1983 a well in the Iraqi field of Nowruz had a small oil spill, A later attack increased the spill size to a total of 80 million gallons

Facts:- Charges were levied by the Department of the Interior Inspector General against certain Minerals Management Service offices for taking gifts from BP during the drilling operation and for falsifying safety inspection reports.

-In the Gulf of Mexico there is a phenomenon called the “Loop Current.” This is a current that flows through the Gulf, around the Florida Keys and East Coast, as well as around Cuba and the Yucatan. That current is now carrying oil from the BP spill, creating a broader range of hazard.

Facts:- Another potential hazard of the BP oil spill in the Gulf is the location of it in what is considered to be a hurricane corridor. This not only increases the risk of the oil spreading further on water, but can introduce it to airborne travel as well.

-The owners of the Deepwater rig, Transocean Ltd., made a large profit on the disaster. Unlike the MMS office they were very aware of the risks of an accident. The company insured the rig for twice what it was worth and collected $270 million dollars when it exploded.

- BP did make moves to become more transparent by releasing their oil spill response plan. Anyone who bothered to read it questioned their commitment to either transparency, or helping to prevent future spills in the Gulf. Most of the “plan” is blank, and there are lingering references to types of wildlife concerns that aren’t even present in the regions BP has rigs. Some of them are blatantly lifted from the oil spill plan for the arctic area created after the Exxon-Valdez spill.

Booms & Skimmers

Booms & Skimmers:What are booms and skimmers? Well, booms are floating barriers around oil, made of plastic, metal, or other materials, booms slow the spread of oil and keeps it contained. A skimmer is a device that collects or vacuums up oil from the surface of the water. The best time to use skimmers is when the oil is thick and the ocean is fairly calm. Skimming and booms is a very successful process for cleaning up oil spills.

Works:Booms:

Booms are used to prevent oil from spreading further. It contains the oil and stops it from spreading. Booms contain the oil in one place so the skimmers can come and clean up the oil off the surface. Booms also have various diffrent desings. Often times a boom is placed in a narrow entrance to the ocean to prevent the oil from spreading into marshlands or other sensitive habitat. Booms are also put around oil so they can then burn it, when they do situ burning..

Skimmers:

Skimmers scoop up the oil like a vacuum, but they can only scoop it when they are in direct contact with the oil. These skimmers can remove oil from the surface before it reaches the shorelines. Booms and skimmers are used together because the booms contain the oil so the skimmers can go around and collect the oil off the surface of the water. Skimmers use belts, diskes, ro mopchaims to take the oil off the surface. The oil is then squeezed out or scraped off into a recovery tank. Some types of skimmers work best in certain areas such as a “rope-mop” skimmer that works better in water that is clogged with ice or debris.

Skimmer Device:

Cons of Skimmers:Cons:

-Skimmers in choppy water tend to pick up more water than oil

-different types of skimmers offer advantages and drawbacks depending on the type of oil being recovered, the conditions of the sea during clean up, and the presence of ice or debris in the water.

-they are also very pricy they can be between $50,000 and $60,000

Pros of Simmers:Pros:

-They pick up the oil easily

-It is extremely reliable and efficient

-Has no negative effects on the environment

-It picks up most of the oil and not a lot of water

-their yellow color makes them easy to locate in bad weather

-can be easily cleaned

Cons of Booms:Cons: -Must be used along with skimmers or absorbent pads. -They also can not absorb oil.-To reuse you must filter and clean it before putting it back in the water.

Pros of booms:Pros:

-Booms help reduce the potential pollution to shorelines and help make recovery easier.-Booms are temporary floating barriers that help contain the oil really well-Without containment booms, oil could spread further into the water supply and have negative effects on the environment.

Booms:Booms are used to contain oil, and keep it from spreading father into the ocean so the skimmers can come and collect the oil. Also completely surrounding the oil when the situ burning is done.

Skimmers:Skimmers are used after the booms are placed. Then skimmers scoop up the oil and collected it in the boom (Like a Vacuum). Skimmers are devices placed on the bottom of a boat.

Different types of skimmers:Skimmer type Use Price

Drum skimmer Creeks, rivers, lakes Starting from $2,700

Weir skimmer Lakes, dams, offshore Starting from $60,000

Self-launching skimmer Offshore, nearshore Pricing on request

Suction skimmer Calm water, shallow pools,

nearshore

Starting from $2,600

Different types of booms -Foam filled containment Booms: used near shore, offshore, streams, canals, calm water, and fast currents.

-Inflatable and Self-inflating Booms: used on rivers, beaches, harbours, ports, offshore open water, and deep water.

-Fire Booms: used offshore, open water, and deep sea

-Trash and Debris Booms: used in rivers, lakes, Harbours, and calm water

Different types of booms continued...-Canadyne Fence Boom: used in sheltered calm water, low current conditions

-Canadyne RiverBoom: used in Port, Harbours, Inland waters, Rivers, High currents

-Canadyne Contractor Boom: used in Port, Harbours, Inland waters with low currents and wave action.

Why are Skimming and Booming most effectiveSkimming and Booming is more effective because they are very fast and efficient. Plus they don’t pick up a lot of water when sucking up the oil. Also it does not have a harmful effective on the environment the skimming and booming is used in. Also you can be reused over and over again with a cleaning and with filtration.In conclusion that is why skimming and booming is most effective

Why are Booms & Skimmers best?We think that booms and skimmers are best, because they don't have a large impact on the environment, it is very simple and productive. Compared to situ burning the skimmers and booms are much better for the environment, many scientists argue that oil spills should be left to disperse alone but we think that booms and skimmers are the best solution to oil spills as of the technology we have now. They are also very fast and efficient and skimmers scoop up oil very quickly when they come into direct contact with the oil. Skimmers are usually placed on the bottom of boats so they can move around the oil spill efficiently. It also does not cause air pollution like situ burning does. So the few first reasons they are the best are because they are efficient and don't cause pollution.

Why are skimmers and booms the best?-continued...Booms and skimmers are also the best because they have also been very successful in the past and is prone to work again. Skimmers can also take in a large amount of oil at one time. Oil skimmers are a great idea for these reasons, they don't harm the marine life, they don't release any types of gases into the air, and they are very efficient. Although it really depends on the type of oil spill how large it is and how thick, and where it is. Based on those components we can choose which solution would be best for the clean up. But we still think that booms and skimmers can work in any oil spill and are the best and most efficient way to clean them up.

Credits

Credits:Research: Aspen, Hailey, Makayla, Addie, Audrey

Citing: Addie, Audrey

Slides: Aspen, Audrey,Makayla, Addie

Grammar and Spelling check: Addie, Hailey

Sources:

-“Oil Skimmer Price Guide: How Much Will an Oil Skimmer Cost?” The Application and Benefits of Weir Skimmers | SpillProhttps://spillpro.com.au/information-and-news/oil-skimmer-price-guide-how-much-will-an-oil-skimmer-cost

-Skimmers.” YouTube, YouTube, 9 Jan. 2014,https://youtu.be/LbsnZO8JMvQ

Sources Continued...

- West, Larry. “Major Oil Spills Can Damage the Environment in 5 Areas.” Thoughtco.,Dotdash,https://www.thoughtco.com/environmental-consequences-of-oil-

spills-1204088

-ExxonValdezOilSpill,https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/oil-spills/spill-containment-methods.html

Sources Continued...

-“30 Interesting Facts About Oil Spill.” Conserve Energy Future, 25 Dec. 2016,https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/interesting-oil-spill-facts.php -

-“Skimmers.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 23 Jan. 2017,https://www.epa.gov/emergency-response/skimmers

Sources Continued....

-“Home.” Spill Containment Blog,https://www.absorbentsonline.com/spill-containment-boom/oil-spill-containment-boom.htm

-”Cleaning up the oil spill”,Science Learning Hub, January 30, 2019, https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1140-cleaning-up-the-oil-spill

Sources Continued...-Booms.” Home,http://www.oilspillprevention.org/oil-spill-cleanup/oil-spill-cleanup-toolkit/booms

-What Are the Types of Containment Boom?” The Application and Benefits of Weir Skimmers https://spillpro.com.au/information-and-news/what-are-the-types-of-containment-boom

-“Home.” Spill Containment Blog, https://www.absorbentsonline.com/booms.htm

Sources continued...-Khamees, Adel Al. “Different Types of Floating Oil Booms.” Marine Insight, Marine Insight, 21 July 2017,https://www.marineinsight.com/environment/different-types-of-floating-oil-booms/

-“Benefits of Oil Skimming.” Greener Ideal, 27 Aug. 2014,https://greenerideal.com/news/environment/1125-benefits-of-oil-skimming/

-“Foam Floatation Booms.” Canadyne, http://www.canatec.com/foam-floatation-booms/

Let's all work to stop oil spills and clean them up!