Oil Spill Awareness

Thank you, for listening!

Solutions

We think a solution could be that people/companies should be more cautious when handling oil or any other industrial fluids. Many people know that with a simple collision oil or other industrial fluids can spill, which can cause some damage. If we are more careful when handling fluids we could reduce the chances of a spill. When a spill does occur, we should be quick and clean it up before it reaches habitats and the shoreline of ponds/oceans. We should also create more effective ways to clean up oil spills that cause less pollution and less damages to the earth.

What damage cannot be repaired?

Some damage that cannot be repaired is wildlife. When oil spills, it affects many animals and plants. When oil spills onto animals, the animal begins to lose body heat causing it to die within a couple of days. Wildlife is key in food chains and with many animals dieing, the food chain begins to collapse.

What is the process of cleaning the environment?

Has this happened before in my community?

The process of cleaning up the environment is:

1. Leave the oil alone so that it breaks down by natural means. If there is no possibility of the oil polluting coastal regions or marine industries, the best method is to leave it to disperse by natural means.

2. Contain the spill with booms and collect it from the water surface using skimmer equipment.

3. Use dispersant to break up the oil and speed its natural bio degradation. Dispersant acts by reducing the surface tension that stops oil and water from mixing.

4. Introduce biological agents to the spill to hasten bio degradation. Most of the components of oil washed up along a shoreline can be broken down by bacteria and other microorganisms into harmless substances such as fatty acids and carbon dioxide. This action is called bio degradation.

Who should be responsible for cleaning it up?

Introduction

Yes, in my neighborhood some of these actions have happened. In 2009, near Williams Parkway and North Park Drive, an oil truck spilled 1500 liters of oil all over roads, grass and even people property. The incident occurred when the truck had taken a sharp turn causing it to crash into a Ram truck which not only spilt oil but, it lead to the death of two people. This example shows the carelessness of people when driving.

We feel that the owner of the company of the ship/truck should be responsible to clean up the mess because they were the cause of the mess therefore, they should clean it up. They should also be fined a lot of money for spilling the contaminants all over natural vegetation and perhaps even other people's property. Their insensible actions should have a penalty which will cause them to be more mindful in the future.

How do these spills occur?

Today we will be talking about oil spill awareness. Our topic is:

• A poorly maintained or damaged oil or natural gas pipeline spews its contents onto its surroundings.

Did you know, nearly 100 million gallons of oil spill into the oceans and waterways each year? Oil spills can cause huge amounts of damage to the water and animals that live in the water. When you hear oil spill, you probably think about all of the commercials that feature small animals covered in oil, but do you really know what causes the spill? Oil spills can be caused by a couple things. These can include:

•People making mistakes or being careless.

•Equipment breaking down.

•Natural disasters such as hurricanes.

•Deliberate acts by terrorists, countries at war, vandals, or illegal dumpers

What are the costs?

The costs can vary depending on the size of the spill. Roughly, costs are approximately $3.7 to $3.8 billion. In 2010 dollars, this is about $6.8 billion—or $630 per gallon of oil spilled. This ignores the cost of the oil, litigation costs to Exxon, punitive damages, etc.

Oil Spill Awareness