...found papers that illustrated how crude oil has affected the exposed area where Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was located. Impact of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Bioavailable Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons gave information on The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Which is the largest marine oil spill in United States history. It estimated the amount of oil spilled into the ocean the Federal government accepted estimate of 4.1 million barrels of oil and 7 million was supported by independent researchers. Furthermore, an estimated 2.1 million gallons of dispersants were applied at the ocean surface and the wellhead. This study demonstrated that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and contributed to temporary increases in the bioavailable concentration of PAHs. Additionally, the data provide measures of potential exposures to PAHs in ecologically sensitive coastal areas, accessed by large human populations, which can be incorporated into ongoing studies in a variety of fields. Oil Impacts on Coastal Wetlands: Implications for the Mississippi River Delta Ecosystem after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill summarized the general knowledge of oil spill impacts on coastal marshes. Relative to the chemistry of oil and its related toxicity; the capacity of microbial processes to degrade oil and reduce toxicity; the responses of wetland vegetation, benthic biota, and marsh-dependent fishery resources to oil; and impacts on ecosystem services on which...
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...Exxon Valdez and Tylenol Case Study DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY - DASMARIÑAS Communication Arts Department Lawrence G. Rawl, chairman and chief executive of the Exxon Corpoation was in his kitchen sipping coffee when the phone rang and received the news regarding the spilling of crude oil into the frigid waters of Prince William Sound, just outside the harbor of Valdez, Alaska. What was about to happen was the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States. These were the documented facts that media had portrayed across the United States and to the world: Exxon Valdez, a 978-foot tanker piloted by a captain whom later revealed to be drank, ran aground on a reef 25 miles southwest of the port of Valdez. The results caused a spill of 250,000 barrels, the largest spill ever in North America. The devastating results affects, 1,300 square miles of water, damaging some 600 miles of coastline and murdering as many as 4,000 Alaskan sea otters. The disaster also enshrined the name of Exxon in the all-time Public Relations Hall of Shame. (Seitel, 2000). According to the book, Exxon’s dilemma broke down into five categories. First was the hesitation of Mr. Rawl if he is going directly and personally to Alaska. In an interview Mr. Rawl has said, “We had concluded that there was simply too much for me to coordinate from New York. It wouldn’t have made any difference if I showed up and made a speech in the town forum. I wasn’t going to spend the summer there;...
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...INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Oil spill is the leakage or discharge of petroleum onto the surface of inland or coastal water. It assumes disastrous dimension when an uncontrollable well blows out or pipeline ruptures. On water surface, spreading takes place immediately, which is very harmful to various types of aquatic lives as it prevents sufficient amount of sunlight from penetrating and also reduces the land-dissolving capacity in the water. The magnitude of crude oil pollution and damage occasioned by multi-national oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is incredible (Urhobo Historical Society, 2003). It is noteworthy that the devastating consequences of the crude oil spill in the region with its eventual hazards on both aerial and terrestrial environments is tantamount to an irreversible chain effect on both the biodiversity and human safety. Abbot (2007) in her article entitled “Think Jamaica is Bad? Try Nigeria” notes that the discovery of oil has been an ecological disaster for the Niger Delta where the oil is extracted. Oil and natural resources of a country are often considered to be national assets. Oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. Animals that rely on scent to find their babies or mothers fade away due to the strong scent of the oil. This causes a baby to be...
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...February 2012 BP Oil Spill Oil rigs provide the world with the fuel that is needed to keep it running. However, it is common knowledge that they may potentially cause harm to not only living creatures but also the environment they rely on to survive. This was proven in the spring of 2010 when an oil rig off the Gulf of Mexico exploded and resulted in an oil spill. This catastrophic event opened millions of eyes to the errors that can be found in the way oil rigs are set up. It also caused people to take a closer look at whose responsibility it is to make sure all the safety codes and procedures are being followed before a drilling plan in approved. The BP disaster not only drew people’s attention to the process of oil drilling, it also had a serious impact on the economy and an even more tragic impact on the environment and wildlife around it. It also provided a perfect example of the dangers oil drilling can pose if it is done in an area not prepared to handle the consequences. On April 20, 2010 an offshore oil rig owned by BP (British Petroleum) blew up, taking the lives of 11 people before beginning to dump dangerous amounts of crude oil into the ocean and coastlines of the Gulf of Mexico. The oil rig, known as Deepwater Horizon, is believed to have dumped more than 200 million gallons of the oil before it was capped off three months later. This number however, is only an estimate due to the refusal of BP to allow accurate measures of the spilt oil to be obtained by...
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...DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY - DASMARIÑAS Communication Arts Department Lawrence G. Rawl, chairman and chief executive of the Exxon Corpoation was in his kitchen sipping coffee when the phone rang and received the news regarding the spilling of crude oil into the frigid waters of Prince William Sound, just outside the harbor of Valdez, Alaska. What was about to happen was the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States. These were the documented facts that media had portrayed across the United States and to the world: Exxon Valdez, a 978-foot tanker piloted by a captain whom later revealed to be drank, ran aground on a reef 25 miles southwest of the port of Valdez. The results caused a spill of 250,000 barrels, the largest spill ever in North America. The devastating results affects, 1,300 square miles of water, damaging some 600 miles of coastline and murdering as many as 4,000 Alaskan sea otters. The disaster also enshrined the name of Exxon in the all-time Public Relations Hall of Shame. (Seitel, 2000). According to the book, Exxon’s dilemma broke down into five categories. First was the hesitation of Mr. Rawl if he is going directly and personally to Alaska. In an interview Mr. Rawl has said, “We had concluded that there was simply too much for me to coordinate from New York. It wouldn’t have made any difference if I showed up and made a speech in the town forum. I wasn’t going to spend the summer there; I had other things to do”...
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...A Review of Literature Related to Oil Spill Dispersants 1997-2008 for Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council (PWSRCAC) Anchorage, Alaska by Merv Fingas Spill Science Edmonton, Alberta PWSRCAC Contract Number - 955.08.03 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this PWSRCAC-commissioned report are not necessarily those of PWSRCAC September, 2008 ii Abstract This report is a review of the literature on oil spill dispersants published from 1997 to August, 2008. The report identifies and focusses on recent advances in dispersant effectiveness, toxicity, and biodegradation. Other topics such as application, use, behaviour and fate are also covered. The prime motivation for using dispersants is to reduce the impact of oil on shorelines, thus the application must be successful and effectiveness high. As some oil would come ashore, discussion remains on what effectiveness is required to significantly reduce the shoreline impact. A major issue is the actual effectiveness during spills so that these values can be used in estimates for the future. The second motivation for using dispersants is to reduce the impact on birds and mammals on the water surface. The benefits of using dispersants to reduce impacts on wildlife still remain unknown. The third motivation for using dispersants is to promote the biodegradation of oil in the water column. The effect of dispersants on biodegradation is still a matter of dispute. Some papers state that dispersants inhibit...
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...VERTIMAR 2007 Symposium , 5-8 June 2007 Post-spill environmental impact assessment: approaches & needs Ivan Calvez & Loïc Kerambrun Cedre, France ntre for ocumentation, esearch and xperimentations on accidental water pollutions • Non profit organisation in charge of : – Documentation – Training – Research & Development – Contingency planning – Advice and expertise More info at www.cedre.fr Post-spill environmental impact assessment: approaches & needs. INTRODUCTION • Each major oil spill → ecological impact assessment (EIA) • Studies may differ (targets, methods, duration…) from one accident to another: - Pollution features (e.g. meteo oceanic conditions…); - Ecological concerns (sensitivity, special interest…); - Type of oil (crude vs. fuel); - Research team availability; - Fundings; - Socio-economic concerns; - ... • different context priorities... different motivations, different Post-spill environmental impact assessment: approaches & needs. INTRODUCTION What is required to assess accurately the environmental impact of oil spill: No loss of time, no loss of information • set-up the framework defining initial measures and research that can be implemented as realistically as possible in terms of human, technical and financial resources quickly decide and implement the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) programme What should be surveyed, how and to what end? • Post-spill environmental impact assessment: approaches & needs. ...
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...everyone knew that Tylenol was associated with the scare and J&J’s market value fell by one billion dollars as a result. History repeated for Johnson & Johnson. The incident reenacted itself in 1986, but the company has learned its lesson and is not willing to suffer the same consequences. It acted rapidly and recalled every Tylenol products from every market – not just those which are in the affected state. Not only that, the company also stated that the product would not be re-established on the market until something had been done to provide better product protection. Thus, Johnson & Johnson developed the “tamperproof” packaging that would make it difficult for a similar incident to occur in the future. Another example is the tragic oil...
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...Case Study Johnson and Johnson & Exxon Lucille Marjorie C. Curitana BMC I-2 Prof. Hero Hernandez Background Information Oriental Nicety, formerly Exxon Valdez ("valdez" pronounced val-deez), Exxon Mediterranean, SeaRiver Mediterranean, S/R Mediterranean, Mediterranean, and Dong Fang Ocean is an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Soundspilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil in Alaska. On March 24, 1989, while owned by the former Exxon Shipping Company, and captained by Joseph Hazelwood bound for Long Beach, California, the vessel ran aground on the Bligh Reef resulting in the second largest oil spill in United States history. The size of the spill is estimated at 40,900 to 120,000 m3 (10,800,000 to 32,000,000 US gal), or 257,000 to 750,000 barrels. In 1989, Exxon Valdez oil spill was listed as the 54th largest spill in history. The tanker is 301 meters long, 50 meters wide, 26 meters depth (987 ft, 166 ft, 88 ft), weighing 30,000 tons empty and powered by a23.60 MW (31,650 shp) diesel engine. The ship can transport up to 235,000 m³ (1.48 million barrels / 200,000 t) at a sustained speed of30 km/h (16.25 knots). Its hull design is of the single-hull type. It was built by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California. A relatively new tanker at the time of the spill, she was delivered to Exxon in December 1986. An oil tanker from Exxon which named Exxon...
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...Gulf Oil Spill Grand Canyon University: Economics for Public Administrators ADM-614 September 10, 2014 Gulf Oil Spill The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimated that 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico over a span of 87 days. This catastrophic environmental disaster is known as the Gulf Oil Spill occurred on April 20, 2010 about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. An oil drilling rig (Deepwater Horizon) leased by British Petroleum (BP) ignited and exploded spewing 42,000 gallons of oil a day into the Gulf. Two days later the rig sank increasing the spill rate to 210,000 gallons of oil a day. Analysis – Government intervention The U.S. Government named BP as the responsible party in the incident; BP was found negligent in communication and safety practices, the company was held accountable for all cleanup costs resulting from the oil spill. Individuals and businesses that incurred damages as a result of the oil spill were able to submit claims for cleanup cost, property damages, loss of earnings or profits, and for physical injuries or death. The private industry and public sector both sectors failed in many aspects: inspection measures were not properly in place, safety updates and recommendations were not followed and sufficient resources were not provided to enforce safety guidelines and inspection requirements. Randall Holcombe’s book Public Sector affirms that government has a role to play in the market economy;...
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...Oil spills affect various places including the Arctic waters. There have been numerous oil spills all over the world including the United States, Nigeria, and China and are threats of more occurring. There have been several oil spills to occur in the United States but two of the most well known major oil spills in happen here are the Exxon oil spill and the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In March of 1989 an oil tanker called Exxon Valdez created a massive oil spill after running into a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska (Fontugne 2015). Over eleven million gallons of crude oil was poured into Alaskan waters. Due to increased fossil fuel exploration, such as fracking, in various places near Arctic waters, including Alaska,...
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...Bioremediation Methods for Oil Spills Contents I. Introduction II. History of Bioremediation 1. ‘Courtship’ Period (Pre-1989) 2. ‘Honeymoon’ Period (1989-1991) 3. ‘Establishment’ Period (since 1992) III. The Biological and Chemical Processes of Bioremediation 1. Biodegradation a. Biological Process b. Degrading Species c. Chemical Process d. Need for Bioremediation 2. Bioremediation a. Seeding with Microbial Cultures b. Environmental Modification IV. Recent Applications of Bioremediation Techniques and their Effectiveness 1. Amoco Cadiz 2. Exxon Valdez 3. Mega Borg 4. Apex Barges 5. Arabian Gulf War V. Conclusion Bibliography Bioremediation Methods for Oil Spills Abstract. The increasing number of marine oil spills asks for effective solutions for the environment. Bioremediation techniques have become a major mechanism for removing oil residues on the affected shorelines. Among the different techniques to enhance natural biodegradation by indigenous microorganisms, seeding of new bacteria and fertilizing the indigenous populations have attracted the most interest. The application of nutrients as nitrogen and phosphorus in the form of fertilizers have shown to be most effective in accelerating the biodegradation process and at the same time to be environmentally safe. I. Introduction Since the freighter Pallas caused the worst oil pollution of the tidel shallows in the North Sea...
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...A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BP OIL SPILL RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS PLAN FOR THE DEEP HORIZON – WHY DID IT FAIL? Toni Josina Elfrieda Beukes* May 2012† ABSTRACT: Based on events that unfolded in the U.S. in the weeks and subsequently months of the Macondo well blow-out, it is clear that neither industry nor government was equipped to deal with a spill the scale and complexity of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. As one of its key recommendations to President Obama for addressing the causes and consequences of the spill, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in its final report, stated the need for “strengthening oil spill response, planning and capacity”. Industry best practice dictates that quickness and accuracy are key requirements for effective oil spill response and preparedness planning (OSRPP); yet it took nearly three months to seal the Macondo well. This paper is accordingly concerned with the reasons for the apparent failure of the BP oil spill response plan. This failure will be considered in light of current international environmental regulations on OSRPP and applicable United States legislation, whilst assessing the BP oil spill response plan’s compliance therewith. The study will also consider some theory in the development of OSRPP by looking specifically at risk assessment tools and applying key criteria to the BP oil spill response plan to determine its adequacy and appropriateness for its operations in the GOM. What...
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...BP Oil Spill | Case Study Analysis | | Disclaimer: To start things off, I would like to mention that the BP Oil Spill is an extremely complicated case and its impact could be felt in every corner of the world. Therefore, my case study is only the tip of the iceberg and should not be used to judge the entire controversy. In addition, all statistics and information have been obtained from other sources. Enjoy! | | By: Haikang Zhu | For: Professor Bill WoofClass: Mgmt 1040 DDate: December 9th, 2010 | | BP (British Petroleum) is a global oil and gas company based in London, England. To date, it is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world in terms of revenues. Bp has operations in over 80 countries, produces around 3.8 million barrels of oil per day and has approximately 22,400 service stations worldwide. One major controversy that has been following every single oil and gas companies is the sustainability of offshore drillings and their impacts on the environment and the potential problems that might occur. Unfortunately for BP, On April 20th 2010, the dreaded problem occurred. The drilling rig known as the Deepwater Horizon Rig exploded, immediately killing 11 men and injuring 17 others. The incident took place in the Gulf of Mexico and is the worst environment disaster in the history after the Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska. The oil spill stemmed from a sea-floor sea gusher and was the result of the explosion of the drilling...
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...BA3 Short-Term Effects of an Oil Spill on Marsh-Edge Fishes and Decapod Crustaceans Summary 1- The article is about the Barataria Bay estuary in the state of Louisiana. The article talks about the short term effects of an oil spill in the estuary. The article then goes on to explain how out of all the organisms located in the estuary fish were the most mobile and left the area when the spill occurred. Decapods and crustaceans on the other hand are far less mobile and were left behind to endure the spill. The authors then explain how overall the ecosystem recovered relatively fast. The article then dives into how louisiana handles over fifteen percent of all the oil going into the United States. The article goes further and explains that Louisiana is home to twenty six percent of the united states fisheries which is dominated mostly by crustaceans. The authors then explain that since the oil and fisherie industries operate in the same space it damages the organisms that the fisherie thrives off of. In this particular passage the author explains that the harm is done when these organisms either get smothered in the oil or accidentally ingest it. This source is...
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