Michel and Fing As 2016 Oil Spills Overview

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/301932090
Oil Spills: Causes, Consequences, Prevention, and Countermeasures
Chapter · July 2016

DOI: 10.1142/9789814699983_0007
CITATIONS READS
3 11,556
2 authors, including:
Merv Fingas
Concordia University College of Alberta
386 PUBLICATIONS 6,944 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
Working on new dispersion model View project
Oil Fates View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Merv Fingas on 03 December 2017.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

August 19, 2015 16:44 Fossil Fuels 9in x 6in b2204-ch07 1st Reading page 159
1 Chapter 7
Oil Spills: Causes, Consequences, Prevention,

and Countermeasures
2 Jacqueline Michel
3 Research Planning, Inc.
4 Columbia, South Carolina, USA
5 jmichel@researchplanning.com
6 Merv Fingas
7 Spill Science, Edmonton, AB, Canada
8 fingasmerv@shaw.ca
9 While oil is a necessary risk in a complex society, recent and avoidable major
10 oil releases have demonstrated that serious improvements in oil spill response
11 are warranted to improve effectiveness. Industry has invoked many operating
12 and maintenance procedures to reduce accidents that lead to spills. The rate
13 of spillage has decreased in the past 10 years, even with increased oil pro-
14 duction, transportation, and consumption. Despite this, spill experts estimate
15 that 30% to 50% of oil spills are either directly or indirectly caused by human
16 error, with 20% to 40% of all spills caused by equipment failure or malfunction.
17 Emerging spill risks include increased maritime activity in the Arctic, deepwa-
18 ter exploration and development, and the rapid expansion of rail transport of
19 crude oil. Oil spills have many adverse effects on the environment. However,
20 efforts for spill containment and recovery are considered to be only moderately
21 effective. Most often, spilled oil strands on the shoreline and requires cleanup
22 efforts, though care is needed to minimize additional harm that can slow overall
23 recovery.
24 1 Oil Spill Sources and Spill Rates

25 The exploration, production, and consumption of oil and petroleum prod-
26 ucts are increasing worldwide, and the threat of oil pollution increases
27 accordingly. The movement of petroleum from the oil fields to the con-
28 sumer involves as many as 10–15 transfers between many different modes
29 of transportation including tankers, pipelines, railcars, and tank trucks.
159
160 J. Michel and M. Fingas
1 Oil is stored at transfer points, terminals, and refineries along the route.
2 Accidents can happen during any of these exploration, production, and
3 transportation steps or storage times.
4 Obviously, an important part of protecting the environment is ensur-
5 ing that there are as few spills as possible. Both government and industry
6 are working to reduce the risk of oil spills, with the introduction of strict
7 new legislation and stringent operating codes. Industry has invoked many
8 operating and maintenance procedures to reduce accidents that could lead
9 to spills. In fact the rate of spillage has decreased in the past 20 years. This
10 is especially true for tanker accidents at sea. Intensive training programs
11 have been developed to reduce the potential for human error. Despite these
12 efforts, spill experts estimate that 30–50% of oil spills are either directly
13 or indirectly caused by human error, with 20–40% of all spills caused by
14 equipment failure or malfunction.1
15 1.1 Oil spill statistics

16 Oil spills are a frequent occurrence, particularly because of the extensive use
17 of oil and petroleum products in our daily lives. About 450,000 tons of oil
18 and petroleum products are used in Canada every day. The United States
19 (US) uses about 10 times this amount and, worldwide, about 20 million
20 tons are used per day. In the US, more than half of the approximately
21 four million tons of oil and petroleum products used per day is imported,
22 primarily from Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Africa. About 40% of the daily
23 demand in the US is for automotive gasoline and about 15% is for diesel
24 fuel used in transportation. About 40% of the energy used in the US comes
25 from petroleum, 25% from natural gas, and 20% from coal. In both Canada
26 and the US much of the refined oil goes into powering transportation.
27 Spill statistics are collected by a number of agencies in any country.
28 In the US, the US Coast Guard maintains a database of spills into naviga-
29 ble waters, while state agencies keep statistics on spills on land which are
30 sometimes gathered into national statistics. The US Bureau of Safety and
31 Environment (BSEE) maintains records of spills from offshore exploration
32 and production activities. The International Tanker Owners Pollution Fed-
33 eration Limited (ITOPF) has maintained a worldwide database of spills
34 from tankers, combined carriers and barges since 1974.
35 It can sometimes be misleading to compare oil spill statistics, however,
36 because different methods are used to collect the data. In general, statistics
37 on oil spills are difficult to obtain, and any data set should be viewed with
Oil Spills 161
1 caution. The spill volume or amount is the most difficult to determine or

2 estimate. For example, in the case of a vessel accident, the volume in a
3 given compartment may be known before the accident, but the remaining
4 oil may have been transferred to other ships immediately after the accident.
5 Some spill accident databases do not include the amounts burned, if and
6 when that occurs, whereas others include all the oil lost by whatever means.
7 Sometimes the actual character or physical properties of the oil lost are not
8 known, which leads to different estimates of the amount lost. Spill statistics
9 compiled in the past are less reliable than more recent data because few
10 agencies or individuals collected spill statistics before about 1975. More
11 recently, techniques for collecting statistics are continually improving.
12 Reporting procedures vary in different jurisdictions and organizations,
13 such as government or private companies. Minimum spill amounts that
14 must be reported vary according to different regulations, depending on the
15 spill source and location. For example, in the US, reporting thresholds for
16 pipelines are spills >800 liters (L) to land, but any quantity to water that
17 generates a sheen.
18 The number of spills reported also depends on the minimum size or
19 volume of the spill. In both Canada and the US, most oil spills reported
20 are more than 4,000 L (about 1,000 gallons). In Canada, there are about 12
21 such oil spills every day, of which only about one is spilled into navigable
22 waters. These 12 spills amount to about 40 tons of oil or petroleum product.
23 In the US, there are about 15 spills per day into navigable waters and an
24 estimated 85 spills on land or into fresh water.
25 Despite the large number of spills, only a small percentage of oil used in
26 the world is actually spilled. Oil spills in the year 2010 in Canada and the
27 US (basically North America) are summarized in Table 1 in terms of the
28 volume of oil spilled and the actual number of spills.1,2 Although there are
29 differences between the two countries, there are many similarities and this
30 makes the data set more viable as a predictor for many developed countries.
31 There are more spills from barges into navigable waters in the US pro-
32 portionately than in Canada because more oil is transported by barge. In
33 fact, the largest volume of oil spilled to water in the US comes from barges,
34 while the largest number of spills comes from vessels other than tankers,
35 bulk carriers, or freighters.
36 In Canada and the US, most spills take place on land, and pipeline spills
37 account for the highest volume of oil spilled. In terms of the actual number
38 of spills, most oil spills happen at petroleum production facilities, wells,
39 production collection facilities, and battery sites. On water, the greatest
Table 1: North American Spill Statistics — 2010.
Percentage of total spills

Source Volume Numbers
Land spills (85% volume, 90% numbers)

Pipelines 40 20
Wells, production and storage facilities 25 25
Storage refineries 12 25
Retail and delivery 5 10
Trucks 6 11
Rail 7 4
other 5 5
On-water spills (15% volume, 10% numbers)

Non tank vessels 25 30
Tank barges 15 10
terminals/refineries 25 30
tankers 20 20
platforms and pipelines 15 10
Types of oil spilled

Crude oil 35
Diesel and No. 2 fuel oils 20
Bunkers 15
Marine 10
Gasoline 8
Condensates 3
Waste and residuals 3
Other oils 6
1 volume of oil spilled comes from marine or refinery terminals, although the
2 largest number of spills is from the same source as in the US — vessels
3 other than tankers, bulk carriers, or freighters.
4 An important question is the amount of spillage that is likely to occur in
5 the future. There are several indications of the trend. There are government
6 data bases showing the trends on oil production.3−5 The existing statistics
7 and the projected future production rates of oil are shown in Table 2.
8 Furthermore there are studies on trends.6
9 There are significant trends that should be noted:
10 (a) In Canadian production, the amount of Bitumen being marketed is

11 rapidly increasing.7 In addition to being sold as a diluted product called
12 ‘Dilbit’, Bitumen is also being upgraded into a synthetic crude. Spills of
13 Dilbit have caused concern because some of the unique spill properties
Oil Spills 163
Table 2: Canadian and US Oil Production (In Thousands of Cubic Meters Per Year).
Annual Annual
Canada growth Predicted U.S. growth Predicted
2013 % 2020 2013 % 2020
Total crude 201,800 7.6 309,200 432,100 8 674,100

Conventional crude 53,600 5
Upgraded bitumen 54,300 6
Condensates 8,800 3
Heavy conventional Crude 26,400 2.6
Bitumen 58,700 16.2
Estimated Dilbit 79,300 19.5 188,000
est. Bakken Crude 55,000 14 109,000
1 that it has shown, namely that once weathered for a period of time, it
2 will sink in fresh water.
3 (b) In North Dakota and southern Saskatchewan, the Bakken oil field is
4 currently producing oil and the expansion of this field is quite rapid.
5 This oil is also of concern when spilled as it is very flammable and has
6 caused considerable damage in spills such as the Lac Megantic spill in
7 Quebec.8
8 (c) There is a pipeline shortage to transport the above two products
9 and these are increasingly being transported by rail, which also has
10 increased the risk of spills from this source. Spills of oil from trains are
11 believed to pose a higher risk than from pipelines.9,10
12 (d) Pipelines themselves are being built at a very rapid pace and many
13 pipelines have been modified to carry products to the North American
14 south rather than carrying other products north.11 The spills from
15 pipelines have been decreasing in size as shown in Fig. 1.6 It should be
16 noted that the number of pipeline spills might increase as a result of
17 the increasing number of pipelines.
18 (d) The volume and number of spills from tanker vessels has been con-
19 stantly decreasing over the past 20 years12 (Figs. 2 and 3). Tanker
20 spills contribute very little to the spillage in many countries.
21 Given these data and trends, the spill predicts for 2020 in North Amer-
22 ica as shown in Table 3. These same trends are relatively applicable to most
23 developed countries with the exception of Dilbit and Bakken crude.
AQ1
Fig. 1. Annual volume of crude pipeline spills; 5-year averages shown as horizontal
lines.6
Fig. 2. Number of tanker spills >7 tonnes.12

Oil Spills 165
Fig. 3. Volume of oil spilled for spills >7 tonnes.12
1 1.2 Cost of spill cleanup and prevention

2 There are many deterrents to oil spills which include government fines and
3 the high cost of cleanup. In the US, cleanup costs average about $300 per
4 liter spilled, not counting the costs of Natural Resource Damages.13−17 If
5 one counts the natural resource damages and the socio-economic impacts,
6 this cost can rise to $900 per liter. It is important to note that cleanup costs
7 vary significantly for each spill and depends on where the oil is spilled, the
8 volume spilled, what is impacted, and the methods used to respond to
9 the oil spill. Removal of oil from shorelines is usually the most expensive
10 cleanup process. Costs to cleanup shoreline can vary between about $5/m2
11 to as high as $120/m2 depending on the situation.16
12 The cost of prevention has been studied and it has been noted that
13 a prediction of prevention costs shows a rising trend with the size of the
14 spill.17 This means that it is much more costly to prevent a very large spill
15 than a small spill.
16 1.3 Oil inputs into the sea

17 Spills are only one source oil released to the sea.18 The sources of oil released
18 into the sea for the period 1990–1999 are shown in Fig. 4. About half of the
19 oil in the sea derives from natural sources include the many natural “seeps”
20 or discharges from oil-bearing strata on the ocean floor. About 38% of the
21 oil reaching the sea is the runoff of oil and fuel from land-based sources,
Table 3: Predicted North American Spill Statistics for 2020.
Percentage of total spills

Source Volume Numbers
Land spills (85% volume, 90% numbers)

Pipelines 45 20
Wells, production and storage facilities 30 25
Storage refineries 6 25
Retail and delivery 3 10
Trucks 3 11
Rail 10 4
Other 3 5
On-water spills (15% volume, 10% numbers)

Non tank vessels 30 30
Tank barges 10 10
terminals/refineries 30 30
Tankers 10 20
Platforms and pipelines 20 10
Types of products spilled

Medium crude oil 20
Heavy crude oils 12
Light (Bakken) crude oils 3
Dilbit 7
Diesel/jet fuels 18
Bunkers 15
Marine 8
Gasoline 7
Condensates 4
Waste and Residuals 2
Other oils 4
Fig. 4. Sources of oil into the sea.18

Oil Spills 167
1 mostly from urban areas. Significant amount of lubricating oil finds its way
2 into wastewater, which is often discharged directly into the sea. About 13%
3 of oil reaching the sea comes from the transportation sector, which includes
4 tankers, freighters, barges, and other vessels.
5 1.4 Review of the top worldwide spills

6 Spill response knowledge is very empirical and past spill responses are mined
7 for lessons learned on oil spill behavior and effectiveness of countermea-
8 sures, to provide information on how to deal with future spills in similar
9 circumstances. Table 4 lists some of the top spills.
10 1.5 Summary of sources

11 Spills occur from a wide variety of sources and as a result of a large number
12 of causes. The largest source of spills on land is from pipeline spills, and sec-
13 ondly from oil production facilities. The volume of spills is approximately
14 related to the large volume of oil handled by these two sources. Non-tank
15 vessels and terminals/refineries are the largest sources of spills on water,
16 again corresponding to the frequency of activities and high volumes han-
17 dled. Trends were analyzed and shown that there is an emerging pattern
18 that will show increased risk of spills from pipelines and railroads, however,
19 the overall rankings of spill sources is likely to remain similar in the future
20 to that in the past. The most frequently spilled products are crude oils,
21 followed by light refined products such as diesel and No. 2 fuel oils.
22 2 Consequences
23 The consequences of spills are discussed for spills on land and biological
24 resources and habitats.
25 2.1 Consequences of spills on land

26 Oil spilled on land does not spread quickly unlike on water, and the effects
27 remain localized. Most types of oil will penetrate the soil and contaminate
28 organisms in the soil. A full coating of fresh crude oil or diesel fuel will kill
29 most plants and small trees on contact. Because of the usually limited area
30 of impact, however, the effects of oil on land environments are not as great
31 a concern as for marine environments.
Table 4: Selected Oil Spills and Lessons Learned.
Spill Size
name/ (tons × Nature Some lessons
Year 1000) Location Oil type of spill learned
Gulf War 800 Arabian Heavy Act of war — Largest marine

Spill/ Gulf crude spill; affected 800
1991 km of shoreline
— Long-term impacts
in sheltered areas
with no cleanup
Deepwater 500 U.S. Gulf of Light Oil well — Behaviour and fate
Horizon/ Mexico crude blowout of deep releases
2010 — Submerged oil mat
behaviour
Amoco 223 Brittany off Medium Tanker — Contamination of

Cadiz/ France crude ground- nearshore
1978 ing sediments by
natural oil
dispersion
— Aggressive cleanup
of marshes slows
recovery
Prestige/ 63 North of Heavy fuel Tanker — Long-term

2002 Spain oil breakup persistence very
heavy fuel oil
— Need safe havens
for stricken ships
Ixtoc I/1979 470 Gulf of Heavy Oil well — First use of

Mexico crude blowout environmental
sensitivity
mapping
— Value of oil spill
trajectory models
Enbridge 4 Kalamazoo Diluted Pipeline — Diluted bitumen

Pipeline/ River, bitumen rupture sinks after several
2010 Michigan days weathering
— Many lessons on
how to locate and
recover sunken oil
in rivers
Oil Spills 169
1 “Soil” is defined as the loose unconsolidated material located near the

2 surface, while “rock” is the hard consolidated material, i.e. bedrock, usu-
3 ally found beneath the soil. Most soils consist of small fragments or grains
4 that form openings or pores when compacted together. If these pores are
5 sufficiently large and interconnected, the soil is said to be “permeable” and
6 oil or water can pass through it. Sand and gravel are the most permeable
7 type of soil. The 1979 spill of 1,700,000 L from a crude oil pipeline into a
8 glacial outwash plain in Minnesota has been subject to a long-term study
9 by the US Geological Survey that has shown that the 400,000 L of crude
10 oil remaining in the gravel sediments weathered slowly and affected the
11 groundwater.19 Materials such as clay, silt, or shale are termed “impervi-
12 ous” as they have extremely small, poorly interconnected pores and allow
13 only limited passage of fluids. Soils also vary in terms of long-term reten-
14 tivity. Loam tends to retain the most water or oil due to its high organic
15 content.
16 As most soils are a heterogeneous mixture of these different types of
17 sediments, the degree of spreading and penetration of oil can vary consid-
18 erably in a given location. The types of soil are often arranged in layers,
19 with loam on top and less permeable materials such as clay or bedrock
20 underneath. If rock is fractured and contains fissures, oil can readily pass
21 through it.
22 The oil’s ability to permeate soils and its adhesion properties also vary
23 significantly. Viscous oils, such as heavy fuel oil, often form a tarry mass
24 when spilled and move slowly, particularly when the ambient temperature
25 is low. Non-viscous products, such as gasoline, move in a manner similar to
26 water in both summer and winter. For such light products, most spreading
27 occurs immediately after the spill.
28 Crude oils have intermediate adhesion properties. In an area with typ-
29 ical agricultural loam, spilled crude oil usually saturates the upper 10 to
30 20 centimeters (cm) of soil and rarely penetrates more than 60 cm. Gen-
31 erally, the oil only penetrates to this depth if it has formed pools in dry
32 depressions. If the depressions contain water, the oil may not penetrate
33 at all.
34 The fate of oil once on soil varies, and generally cleanup is slow and
35 difficult. After cleanup there is usually residual contamination which may
36 linger for years. On agricultural land, highly weathered residual oil may not
37 be a health problem and often crops can be grown in the soil the following
38 year after oil spill cleanup and tilling/nutrient addition.
1 2.2 Consequences of spills on biological resources

2 and habitats
3 2.2.1 Oil toxicity and exposure
4 Before discussing the actual effects of an oil spill on various elements of the
5 environment such as birds and fish, the types of effects will be discussed.
6 Toxic effects are classified as acute or chronic, which refers to the rate of
7 effect of the contaminant on an organism. Acute means toxic effects occur
8 within a short period of exposure in relation to the life span of the organism,
9 and are generally the result of exposures to high contaminant concentra-
10 tions. For example, acute toxicity to fish could be an effect observed within
11 four days of exposure. Chronic means occurring during a relatively long
12 period, usually 10% or more of the life span of the organism, and are gen-
13 erally the result of exposures to low contaminant concentrations. It might
14 take a significant portion of the life span for a chronic toxic effect to be
15 observable, although it could have been induced by exposure to a substance
16 that was normally acutely toxic. Chronic toxicity refers to long-term effects
17 that are usually related to changes in such things as metabolism, growth,
18 reproduction, behavior, or ability to survive.20
19 The effects of exposure to a toxic substance can be lethal or sub-lethal.
20 Lethal effect is typically described in terms of the concentration of the tox-
21 icant that causes death to 50% of a test population of the species within a
22 specified period of exposure time (typically four days). This is referred to as
23 the LC50 . For example, tests of the effects of various crude oils on Daphnia
24 magna, the water flea, show that 5 to 40 milligrams/liter (mg/L) of the oil
25 for a period of 24 hours is lethally toxic. The units of mg/L are approxi-
26 mately equivalent to parts per million (ppm). Sub-lethal means detrimental
27 to the test organism, but below the level that directly causes death within
28 the test period. Sub-lethal effect is typically described in terms of the con-
29 centration of the toxicant that causes an adverse effect or response to 50%
30 of a test population of the species within a specified period of exposure time.
31 This is referred to as the EC50 . For example, it has been found that a con-
32 centration of 2 ppm of crude oil in water causes disorientation in Daphnia
33 magna when exposed for 48 hours.
34 Oil can affect animals in many ways, including changing their reproduc-
35 tive and feeding behavior and causing tainting and loss of habitat. Oiling
36 of more highly developed animals such as birds may result in behavioral
37 changes, such as failure to take care of their nests, resulting in the loss of
Oil Spills 171
1 eggs. Even a light oiling can cause some species of birds to stop laying eggs
2 altogether.
3 Feeding behavior might also change. Seals sometimes react to oiling by
4 not eating, which compounds the negative effects of the oil. The loss of an
5 organism’s habitat due to oiling can be as harmful as direct oiling because
6 alternative habitats may not be available, and the animal can perish from
7 exposure or starvation.
8 Finally, tainting becomes a concern with fish and shellfish after an oil
9 spill.21 Tainting occurs when the organism takes in enough hydrocarbons
10 to cause an “off” flavor or “off” odor in the seafood. These organisms are
11 unsuitable for human consumption until this taint disappears, which takes
12 from days to up to a year after the exposure, depending on the species.21
13 After an oil spill, seafood samples in the area are often tested using both
14 chemical methods and sensory testing. The area is sometimes closed to com-
15 mercial fishing as a precaution, to prevent direct contamination of fishing
16 gear and catch as well as to maintain public confidence. Loss of confidence
17 in seafood safety and quality can impact seafood markets long after any
18 actual risk to seafood from a spill has subsided, resulting in serious eco-
19 nomic consequences.
20 Oil can enter organisms by several exposure routes: physical exposure,
21 ingestion, absorption, and through the food chain. Animals or birds can
22 come into direct contact with oil on the surface of water, on shorelines,
23 or on land. The effects from fouling of bird feathers or sea otter fur, can
24 lead to mortality from the loss of the ability to thermoregulate in cold
25 waters. Ingestion occurs when an organism directly consumes oil, usually
26 by accident as in the case of birds when oil is ingested as they preen or
27 groom their feathers.
28 Absorption of volatile components of oil is a common method of expo-
29 sure, especially for plants and sessile (immobile) organisms, although it also
30 occurs in birds and mammals. Fresh crude oil has a relative abundance of
31 volatile compounds such as benzene and toluene that are readily absorbed
32 through the skin or plant membrane and are toxic to the organism. After
33 a spill, organisms can also be exposed to oil that passes through several
34 organisms via the food chain. Bioaccumulation rarely occurs because the
35 components of oil are generally metabolized and excreted by fish and mam-
36 mals or eliminated by shellfish when the exposure to the oil decreases.
37 The effects of oil on the flora and fauna of a region are influenced
38 by many factors, including the relative abundance (thus how much of the
39 population may be affected), its likelihood of coming into contact with the
1 spilled oil, sensitivity to oil exposure (which varies by season, life stage,
2 physiology, etc.), and how quickly a species population would be able to
3 recover.
4 2.2.2 Aquatic environments

5 When describing at the effects of oil spills, it is convenient to divide aquatic
6 resources into fish, plankton, benthic invertebrates, birds, marine mammals,
7 intertidal fauna, marine plants, and habitats. Although freshwater spills
8 have been less studied compared to marine environments, few differences
9 between similar species have been noted.
10 2.2.3 Fish
11 There is often concern about the effect of oil on fish, from both an environ-
12 mental and a commercial viewpoint, as fish are an important food source.
13 Both pelagic (mid-water) and demersal (bottom-dwelling) fish are exposed
14 primarily through uptake of aromatic hydrocarbons in the water column.
15 The concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons in oils varies as does the tox-
16 icity of the different aromatic compounds. Although lethal concentrations
17 are rarely found in open seas, such concentrations can occur in confined
18 waters such as bays and estuaries directly under or near spills. Whereas
19 high concentrations of lighter oil have caused massive fish mortality in
20 some incidents, fish are more typically exposed to sub-lethal concentra-
21 tions of hydrocarbons. The age of a fish is very important in terms of its
22 sensitivity to hydrocarbons, with adult fish tending to be less sensitive than
23 juveniles. For example, tests have shown that adult salmon are 100 times
24 less sensitive to aromatic hydrocarbons than juvenile salmon. In turn, the
25 juveniles are 70 times less sensitive than the salmon eggs. Several studies
26 have shown that fish larvae or newly hatched fish are often more sensitive
27 than fish eggs. Other variables that determine the toxicity of hydrocarbons
28 are the salinity and temperature of the water, the abundance of food, and
29 the general health of the exposed population.
30 Oil exposure can cause a range of physiological and pathological
31 changes in fish, some of which are temporary and are not a risk to health
32 or survival. Other sub-lethal effects such as the disruption of growth or
33 decreased assimilation of food may affect long-term survival. Some of the
34 effects noted on fish such as eye cataracts, structural changes of fins, and
Oil Spills 173
1 loss of body weight may be related to the stress of exposure and not directly
2 to the hydrocarbons.
3 In controlled tests, some adult fish species have been found to avoid
4 oil slicks on the surface or dissolved hydrocarbons in the water, but this
5 behavior has not been observed in open water spills. The conclusion is that
6 at least some species would avoid an oil spill on open water, if they are able
7 to escape it.
8 There is concern that oil spills could disrupt the spawning behavior of
9 anadromous species, such as salmon, that live their adult lives in salt water
10 but return to fresh water streams to spawn. Tests have shown that, while
11 salmon will sometimes avoid oil on open water, the exposure to oil may not
12 badly disrupt their ‘homing instinct’ as they tend to continue on to their
13 freshwater home streams. Experience in actual spills has not been recorded.
14 There is no evidence that hydrocarbons bioaccumulate in fish or any
15 other aquatic species. Rather, fish and other aquatic organisms tend to
16 ‘depurate’ or eliminate hydrocarbons that they have taken up.
17 Fish species that live or spend time close to the water surface, the
18 shore, or the sea floor in shallow water are the most vulnerable to oil spills.
19 Species with eggs or larvae that stay close to the surface and those that
20 feed on organisms near shorelines or on the sea bottom are at greatest
21 risk. Fish that spend most of their life stages in open waters are rarely at
22 risk.
23 2.2.4 Plankton
24 Plankton are small plants and animals that live in the water and include
25 phytoplankton and zooplankton. Phytoplankton are microscopic plants
26 such as algae and diatoms that live in the upper layer of the water as they
27 depend on light for photosynthesis. Zooplankton are microscopic animals
28 that feed primarily on phytoplankton. Plankton are important because they
29 are at the bottom of the aquatic food chain. Both phytoplankton and zoo-
30 plankton vary in their sensitivity to whole oil or hydrocarbons in the water
31 column. Plankton are killed by relatively low concentrations of oil, but are
32 present in such numbers that lost individuals are replaced quickly with little
33 detectable disturbance. Plankton also tend to eliminate low concentrations
34 of hydrocarbons within days once the exposure ends. Some sub-lethal effects
35 of oil on zooplankton include narcosis, reduced feeding, and disruption of
36 normal responses to light.
1 2.2.5 Benthic invertebrates

2 The benthos refers to the environment on the bottom of bodies of water
3 and includes plankton, fish, and other species already discussed. Benthic
4 invertebrates that dwell on or in the sea floor include polychaete worms,
5 bivalves such as clams, and many mobile crustaceans such as crabs, shrimp,
6 lobster, and amphipods. Benthic invertebrates are generally divided into
7 two groups — benthic infauna that reside within the bottom sediments
8 and benthic epifauna that live mostly on the top of the sediments. Mobile
9 forms include starfish, gastropods, and sea urchins. Fast-moving species
10 include amphipods and isopods, tiny invertebrates that are an important
11 food source for fish, bottom-feeding whales, and some species of birds.
12 Mobile species have the advantage of being able to avoid contaminated
13 areas or to quickly re-colonize them, whereas it can take years for sessile
14 (or immobile) organisms to re-colonize an area severely affected by an oil
15 spill.
16 Benthic species can be killed when large amounts of oil accumulate on
17 the bottom sediments. This can occur as a result of sedimentation, which
18 is the slow downward movement of oil with or without sediment particles
19 attached, or by precipitation down with or in plankton fecal pellets. Some-
20 times the oil itself is heavy enough to sink. High concentrations of hydro-
21 carbons in the water column have killed epifauna, particularly in shallow
22 areas or nearshore environments.
23 Several trends have been noted in the response of benthic invertebrates
24 to oil. Larval stages are much more sensitive than adults, organisms under-
25 going molting are very sensitive, and less mobile species are more affected.
26 Sub-lethal hydrocarbon concentrations cause narcosis, (death-like appear-
27 ance when the organism is not actually dead) in most benthic invertebrates.
28 The invertebrates often recover, although they may be more vulnerable to
29 predators or to being swept away by currents. In 1996, a spill of home heat-
30 ing oil off the US east coast dispersed naturally into a nearshore region.20,21
31 The high level of hydrocarbons caused by dispersion narcotized or killed
32 millions of lobsters which were carried onto the shore where those still alive
33 were killed by stranding. Many other species were also killed including surf
34 clams and other benthic invertebrates. Other sub-lethal effects of oil on
35 benthic invertebrates include developmental problems such as slow growth,
36 differential growth of body parts (deformity), changes in molting times,
37 and occasional anomalies in development of organs. Reproductive effects
38 such as smaller brood sizes and premature release of eggs, reduced feeding,
Oil Spills 175
1 and increased respiration have also been noted in laboratory tests. Benthic
2 infauna will sometimes leave their burrows, exposing themselves to preda-
3 tors. Sea stars have been found to retract their tube feet and lose their hold
4 as a result.
5 Benthic invertebrates can take up hydrocarbons by feeding on contam-
6 inated material and through direct absorption from sediments or water.22
7 Most invertebrates depurate (eliminate) hydrocarbons when the water and
8 sediment return to a clean state or if placed in a clean environment. In severe
9 oiling, however, depuration can take months. Sessile (or immobile) species
10 are obviously at a disadvantage and may perish from prolonged exposure to
11 contaminated sediments. Generally, however, all benthic species are affected
12 by a short-term dose of the hydrocarbons in oil.
13 2.2.6 Birds
14 Birds are often the most visible biota affected by oil spills, especially in
15 the aquatic environment. The two major pathways of oil exposure for birds
16 are fouling of the feathers and ingestion. Oil contaminates feathers when
17 the birds come into contact with slicks on water or shorelines. For sea
18 birds, this is particularly dangerous because when their feathers are oily,
19 their insulation and buoyancy properties are decreased. Once oiled, a bird
20 rapidly loses its body heat, especially at sea, possibly causing death. Oiled
21 sea birds may stay on land where their temperature loss is not as great. In
22 doing so, however, they are away from their source of food and may die of
23 starvation or predation.
24 Birds clean their plumage by preening and, in doing so, may ingest
25 some of the oil. Birds may also ingest oil by eating oiled prey. Oil ingestion
26 can result in three categories of toxic effects: (1) reduction in reproduction;
27 (2) destruction of red blood cells leading to anemia; and (3) increased stress
28 resulting in an increased susceptibility to disease, all of which reduce the
29 health and survival of oiled birds.
30 Contaminated birds may transfer oil to their eggs or young. It has been
31 found that only a few drops of fresh oil can kill the young in an egg. Even
32 when birds ingest only a small amount of oil, they may stop laying eggs or
33 the number of eggs may be reduced. A small amount of oil can also affect
34 the hatchability of the eggs.
35 Birds that are at most risk of impact from spilled oil include those
36 that: spend much of their time on the water, feed by diving through the
37 surface, form dense flocks during migration and overwintering, concentrate
1 in nesting colonies, or have limited populations (thus listed as endangered

2 or threatened).
3 In many spills, cleaning stations are set up to rehabilitate oiled birds.
4 Although veterinary rehabilitation techniques have improved greatly in the
5 past few years, success rates are still poor as it is very stressful for a wild
6 bird to be captured and handled. Only very sick birds can generally be
7 captured, thus many of the birds brought to the treatment centers are often
8 near death. Survival after cleaning varies by degree of oiling and species,
9 with high survival rates reported for penguins and gulls, moderate survival
10 rates for sea ducks, and low survival rates for shorebirds and pelicans.
11 2.2.7 Marine mammals

12 The effects of oil spills on marine and other aquatic mammals vary with
13 species.23 Seals, sea lions, walruses, whales, dolphins, and porpoises are
14 discussed here, as well as the effects on polar bears and otters. Although
15 these latter two species are not actually marine mammals, they spend much
16 of their time in or near the water. All of these animals are highly visible and
17 cause much public concern when oiled. Seals, sea lions, and walruses are
18 particularly vulnerable to oiling because they haul out, often in very large
19 numbers on the shorelines of small islands, rocks, or remote coasts with few
20 options for new territory. For example, in 2011, 30,000 walruses were hauled
21 out on a 1.6 km of beach in the Chukchi Sea, Alaska. Factors that influence
22 the sensitivity of marine mammals to oil exposure include: whether they
23 rely on fur or blubber for thermoregulation; whether they form dense groups
24 on land or in water; how and on what they feed; and inhalation risks.
25 External oiling of young seals or sea lions generally causes death
26 because their coats are not developed enough to provide insulation in an
27 oiled state. Oil is often absorbed or ingested and mothers may not feed
28 their young when they are oiled. After a large oil spill in South America,
29 about 10,000 baby seals perished when the beaches of their island were
30 contaminated by oil (Fig. 5). Not many adult seals perished at the same
31 site, and those who did probably drowned. Most of the oiled young seals
32 died by starvation after their mothers refused to feed them.
33 Older seals, sea lions, and walruses can take a large amount of oil-
34 ing without causing death. If lightly oiled, adult seals survive and the
35 oil is slowly lost. Oiling of both adult and young causes the fur to lose
36 waterproofing and buoyancy. It is not known if seals or their relatives would
37 avoid oil if they could, as this has not been observed at spill sites.
Oil Spills 177
Fig. 5. Oiled seals on a rocky shoreline, in this spill in Uruguay, approximately 10,000
seals perished, mostly young seals.
1 Brief exposure of seals, sea lions, and walruses to volatile oil causes
2 eye irritation and longer exposure can cause more permanent eye damage.
3 Several studies on ingested oil have shown that hydrocarbons accumulate
4 in the blubber, liver, kidney, and other organs, although the levels diminish
5 within a few weeks. Long-term effects have not been observed and are dif-
6 ficult to measure because of the difficulty of approaching relatively healthy
7 seals, sea lions, and walruses.
8 Whales, dolphins, and porpoises can be exposed to oil in the water
9 column or on the surface when they come up to breathe. Despite this,
10 it has been difficult to determine if these species have been killed as a
11 result of a spill. This is probably due to a number of factors. The most
12 famous case is the disappearance of seven killer whales (out of a stable
13 group of 36 that had been monitored since 1984) shortly after the 1989
14 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska; by 1990, another six whales disappeared.
15 Thus, the total lost from the group was about 33%.24 However, during most
16 spills, these species are not considered to be at significant risk. Oil does
17 not adhere to the skins of these mammals and, as they are highly mobile,
18 they are not likely to be exposed for a long period of time. There is little
19 information on the effect of ingested oil on whales and their kin, nor is there
1 any evidence that hydrocarbons would be absorbed from water. However,

2 during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, dolphins from a coastal bay with
3 heavy and persistent oiling had much higher incidences and severity of
4 disease compared to those from an unoiled area, suggesting that chronic
5 exposures could have long-term effects on coastal dolphins.25
6 Polar bears spend much of their time near or in water, swimming
7 between ice floes hunting seals. The potential for oiling is moderate. It was
8 found that polar bears that are oiled ingest oil through grooming them-
9 selves, resulting in death or severe illness. Unfortunately, polar bears are
10 attracted to oil, particularly lubricating oil which they will actually drink.
11 This generally causes temporary illness, but in the case of an oil spill, it
12 could result in death. Few studies have been done of the sub-lethal effects
13 of oil on polar bears as they are difficult to study.
14 Otters live on or near shorelines and spend much of their time on the
15 water or feeding on shellfish gathered in nearshore waters; they must con-
16 sume the equivalent of up to one-third of their body weight per day. Oil
17 adheres to the otters’ fur causing heat loss, which is the most pronounced
18 effect of oiling. Otters attempt to groom themselves after oiling and thus
19 ingest oil, compounding their difficulty.
20 Oiled otters are often caught and taken to rehabilitation centers for
21 cleaning by trained specialists. If rescued and treated soon enough, some
22 otters can be saved. Such rehabilitation is difficult and expensive, however,
23 as animals may have to be kept for a month before release. In addition, many
24 animals die after their release, possibly as a result of human handling.
25 2.2.8 Intertidal fauna

26 Intertidal fauna include animals that live in the shoreline zone between
27 the high and low tides. These organisms are the most vulnerable to oil
28 spills because they and their habitat are frequently coated during oil spills
29 that strand onshore. Typical fauna include the mobile crabs, snails, and
30 shrimp, sessile (immobile) barnacles and mussels, and sedentary limpets,
31 periwinkles, and tube worms. Heavy oiling will generally kill most species.
32 The area does re-colonize after the spill with the mobile species returning
33 first, but recovery takes months and sometimes years. Re-colonization by
34 plants and sessile species is the major factor in site restoration.
35 As with other aquatic organisms, light oiling affects the immobile
36 species most and most species will take up oil. Mussels and crabs in partic-
37 ular have been studied for their response to oil. Sub-lethal effects include
Oil Spills 179
1 reduced growth and reproduction rate and accumulation of hydrocarbons.

2 Both mussels and crabs will depurate hydrocarbons when oil exposures
3 decrease. Crabs also show premature or delayed molting. Mussels reduce
4 production of attachment threads, often causing the creature to let go of
5 its hold on its feeding surface. Other intertidal fauna show similar behavior
6 as a result of light oiling.
7 Shoreline cleaning techniques have a direct effect on the recovery of
8 an intertidal area. Very intrusive techniques such as washing with hot or
9 high-pressure water can remove attached animals and food sources and
10 thus delay recovery, despite removing all of the oil. Intertidal fauna are
11 not highly affected by non-volatile residual oil unless they are coated with
12 it. Recovery is fastest in those areas where oil is removed rapidly after
13 a spill using a non-intrusive technique such as cold water, low-pressure
14 washing.
15 2.2.9 Marine plants

16 Marine plants cover a wide spectrum of plant families and algae. Inter-
17 tidal algae, macroalgae, and sea grasses are of particular interest during
18 oil spills. Intertidal algae are an important food source for much of the
19 intertidal fauna and, like the fauna, can be severely affected by an oil spill.
20 Although readily killed by even a moderate oil spill, intertidal algae are
21 usually the first biota to recover after a spill. These algae grow on rock and
22 sediment surfaces and will not re-colonize if these surfaces are still heav-
23 ily oiled with a light oil. Algae will re-establish on oil-coated rocks if the
24 oil is weathered. Like intertidal fauna, algae are also vulnerable to intru-
25 sive cleaning techniques such as washing with hot or high-pressure water.
26 In fact, more algae are killed by these techniques than by oil. Sub-lethal
27 effects include reduced reproduction and respiration rates and changes in
28 color.
29 Macroalgae include two common groups of plants in North America,
30 Fucus and kelp, both of which include many species and sub-species. Fucus,
31 which often inhabit the lower intertidal and nearshore subtidal zones, are
32 not particularly susceptible to oiling because a mucous coating prevents the
33 oil from adhering to the plant. A heavy oil will cover Fucus, however, and
34 cause death or sub-lethal effects. Kelp generally lives in deeper water and
35 is rarely coated with oil. Both Fucus and kelp will absorb hydrocarbons in
36 the water column, but their effect, including death, depends on the length
37 of time that the concentrations are present. A dose of a few hours will
1 cause only slight and sub-lethal effects, while a moderate concentration

2 over a few days could cause more serious damage and even death. Both
3 plants will show sub-lethal effects of frond loss, color changes, reproduc-
4 tive slowdown, reduced growth, and accumulation of hydrocarbons. Both
5 plants will also slowly depurate hydrocarbons in clean water. As these
6 plants make up the habitat for complex ecosystems including many forms
7 of animals and other algae, the entire ecosystem can be affected if they are
8 damaged. Recovery for both types of plants and their habitats may take
9 years.
10 Seagrasses generally inhabit the lower intertidal and nearshore subti-
11 dal zones and are extensive in many locations around the world. They are
12 highly productive ecosystems and provide nursery habitat and shelter for
13 many commercially and recreationally important fish and shellfish. Inter-
14 tidal seagrasses are sensitive to oil coating of the blades, whereas subtidal
15 seagrasses are exposed via uptake of oil from the water column. Direct coat-
16 ing of the blades can result in bleaching, yellowing, and die-off of the blades,
17 and a reduction in biomass. The beds usually survive as long as the roots
18 are not damaged. However, uptake of hydrocarbons from the water column
19 can cause mortality at high concentrations and sub-lethal effects at low
20 concentrations. Slicks passing over seagrass beds are likely to have short-
21 term impacts; greatest impacts have occurred where the beds are exposed
22 to chronic exposures of oil being mobilized from heavily oiled adjacent habi-
23 tats. Because many of the fauna in seagrass beds are either sedentary (thus
24 cannot escape exposures) or early life stages (which are highly sensitive to
25 oil in the water column), the greatest impacts are to these resources rather
26 than the seagrass bed itself.
27 2.2.10 Marshes
28 Marshes support a rich and diverse flora and fauna, serving as important
29 nesting, breeding, spawning, rearing, and feeding habitats for many species
30 of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, shellfish, and other inverte-
31 brates. They also provide many ecological services, including primary pro-
32 duction, food-web support, nutrient recycling, water filtration, sediment
33 and storm water retention, shoreline stabilization, storm-surge protection,
34 and soil development. Salt marshes are especially vulnerable to oil spills
35 because they are flooded at high tide and their complex surface traps large
36 quantities of oil. It is also difficult to get into a marsh to assess the damage
37 and clean up the oil (Fig. 6).
Oil Spills 181
Fig. 6. Manual removal and raking of thick oil and heavily oiled vegetation from a
marsh during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
1 The effects of oil on a marsh depend on the following factors:
2 • Oil type is one of the major factors determining the degree and type of
3 impacts on marshes. Lighter oils are more acutely toxic than heavier oils.
4 When spilled offshore, light oils seldom cause extensive damage because
5 they spread into thin slicks. However, where large amounts of oil strand
6 on the shoreline, such as large spills in inland waterbodies, small spills in
7 small waterbodies, or spills directly into marshes, the marsh vegetation
8 and fauna can be severely affected.
9 • Heavy refined oils and most crude oils affect marshes through physical
10 smothering of both leaves and soils. The oil weathering prior to landfall
11 reduces the initial toxicity of the oil.
12 • The extent of oiling on the vegetation is a key factor. If only the stems
13 or parts of the leaves are oiled, often the marshes recover quickly, usually
14 within one growing season.
15 • Exposure to waves and currents that speed oil removal is another key
16 factor. The residence time of oil on a shoreline increases as the energy of
17 waves and currents decrease.
1 • Impacts are more persistent when oil penetrates into the marsh soils
2 or forms a thick layer on the marsh surface. Persistence increases with
3 deeper penetration, with soils high in organic matter, and for sites that
4 are sheltered from natural removal processes.
5 • Too aggressive cleanup efforts can delay recovery due to trampling from
6 foot traffic, erosion of the marsh surface during flushing, and vegetation
7 cutting under certain conditions.
8 • Other factors include the degree of contamination of the soils, time of
9 year, and different sensitivities among plant species.
10 The recovery rate of oiled marshes varies according to these factors.

11 Figure 7 shows the estimated “years to recovery” for 33 spills and field
12 experiments for lightly to heavily oiled marshes. For most spills, recovery
13 occurred within 1–2 growing seasons, even in the absence of any treatment.
14 Recovery is longest for spills in cold climates, sheltered settings, where thick
15 oil is stranded on the marsh surface, spills of light refined oils that are
16 heavily stranded in the marsh, and when intensive cleanup was conducted.
17 Recovery is shortest for spills in warm climates, where there was light to
18 heavy oiling of the vegetation only, where spills were of medium crude oils,
19 and where less intensive cleanup efforts were conducted.
20 2.2.11 Mangroves
21 Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow along much of the shorelines
22 in the tropics. They do not require salt water to grow, but are generally
23 restricted to the intertidal zone because there is less competition with fresh-
24 water plants. Like marshes, they provide habitat and a source of food for
25 many important fauna, maintain water quality, and protect the coastal zone
26 from storm damage. As an adaption to growing in water-saturated, low oxy-
27 gen soils, mangroves have shallow root systems; some species have extensive
28 above-ground roots and small pores that absorb oxygen from the air at low
29 tide. If these roots are oiled and most of the breathing pores are plugged,
30 the mangrove may die within a few weeks to several months. Impacts from
31 oil spills can last decades because of the longer time for mangroves to reach
32 maturity. Sub-lethal impacts include loss of leaves, production of deformed
33 roots, slower growth, and reduced seedling survival, all of which can reduce
34 the ability of the mangroves to withstand other non-spill stressors.27 The
35 many other animals supported by a mangrove forest are also at risk from
36 spilled oil, from both direct contact and habitat loss or degradation. Because
Oil Spills 183
Fig. 7. Years to recovery for spills and a few field experiments coded by oil type, from
shortest to longest recovery. Shading is used to identify those spills where intensive
treatment was conducted. Dashes and question marks are used to represent potential
time to recovery based on results of the most recent data.26
1 mangroves are highly susceptible to spilled oil, cleanup options are of very
2 limited effectiveness. Because mangroves have slow recovery rates, they are
3 often priority areas for protection in the event of a spill.
4 2.2.12 Coral reefs

5 Coral reefs occupy a large part of the seas in the tropics of the Pacific and
6 the Caribbean. They are the most diverse and complex marine communi-
7 ties, supporting thousands of fish, algae, and invertebrate species. Studies
8 and actual spills have shown that moderate concentrations of dissolved or
1 dispersed hydrocarbons can kill both the coral and its occupants. Damage
2 depends on the depth, with coral that is near the surface (down to about 6
3 m) being particularly vulnerable to oil. The time of year is critical because
4 coral reproduction often occurs during a mass spawning event over a few
5 nights, and the early life stages are particularly sensitive to oil.28 Many
6 coral reef-associated fish and invertebrates have small home ranges and are
7 residents of the reef, thus they may not be able to avoid oil exposures. Many
8 of the animals can repopulate the area relatively rapidly; however, since the
9 coral is their primary support, full recovery depends largely on the recovery
10 or re-colonization of the coral. Once dead, the coral itself can be very slow
11 to recover. Oil also has several sub-lethal effects on coral, such as slowed
12 growth or respiration and unnatural coloration. Infant free-swimming coral
13 are particularly sensitive to oil and have no membrane to prevent oil adsorp-
14 tion into their bodies. Even the smallest amount of dissolved or dispersed
15 oil is lethal to this life form of coral.
16 2.3 Damage assessment and restoration

17 One of the consequences of the Exxon Valdez oil spill was the passage of
18 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) in the US. OPA 90 included reg-
19 ulations on how damages to natural resources were to be assessed so as
20 to restore the environment and compensate the public for injury or loss of
21 natural resources and services as a result of the spill and the consequent
22 response actions. These regulations specify a process whereby the injury
23 to natural resources and services is quantified in a way that allows the
24 selection and scaling of various restoration alternatives, which in general
25 include restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, or acquisition of the equiv-
26 alent resources and/or services. Restoration can be “primary” — meaning
27 that actions are taken on site to restore the specific injured resource back
28 to what it would be if the spill had not occurred. Examples include planting
29 of vegetation that died as a result of the spill and protection of shorebird
30 nesting sites on oiled shorelines to reduce losses from predators and human
31 disturbances. Restoration can also be “compensatory” — meaning that
32 actions are taken to compensate for the interim losses (usually at another
33 location) while the species or habitat recovers. Examples include restora-
34 tion of degraded wetlands or creation of new wetlands (preferably within
35 the general area of the oiled wetlands) and protection of summer nesting
36 habitats to increase the population of seabirds that were killed in their
37 wintering area.
Oil Spills 185
1 Various methods are used to determine both the injury to natural

2 resources and the preferred restoration actions including Habitat Equiv-
3 alency Analysis (HEA) and Resource Equivalency Analysis (REA). These
4 equivalency methods are based on the principle that compensatory restora-
5 tion can be achieved through “replacement” of equivalent habitats and
6 resources. These methods avoid having to determine the monetary value
7 of a resource by focusing on cost-effective habitat restoration options. For
8 example, the M/V Athos 1 spilled about 1,000,000 L of a heavy crude oil
9 into the Delaware River near Philadelphia in November 2004. The nat-
10 ural resource trustees (federal and state agencies) conducted studies to
11 determine both the injury to natural resources and appropriate restora-
12 tion actions to restore these injuries as shown in Table 5. The Damage
13 Assessment and Restoration Plan provides a detailed explanation of how the
14 restoration projects were scaled to compensate for the injured resources).29
15 In September 2010, the trustees were awarded US$27,500,000 to support
16 the restoration projects.
17 Though natural resource damage assessment is an established process
18 in the US, other nations are also moving towards application of similar
19 approaches. The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC
20 Fund) are three intergovernmental organizations (the 1971 Fund, the 1992
21 Fund, and the Supplementary Fund) that provide compensation for oil pol-
22 lution damage resulting from spills of persistent oil from tankers worldwide.
23 The IOPC Fund will pay for what they term “reinstatement of the envi-
24 ronment” in addition to the standard costs of property damage, cleanup
25 costs, and economic losses by fishermen and the tourism sector. The IOPC
26 Fund will compensate the costs of measures to reinstate the environment
27 that accelerate the natural recovery process, prevent further damage as a
28 result of the spill, do not result in damage to other resources, are technically
29 feasible, and are not out of proportion to the extent and duration of the
30 damage and the benefits likely to be achieved.
31 3 Oil Spill Prevention and Countermeasures

32 3.1 Prevention
33 Equipment, procedures, and worker training are the three key components
34 of oil spill prevention systems. How they are implemented vary by potential
35 spill sources.
36 Regulated facilities are required by the US Environmental Protection
37 Agency to have Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC)
Table 5: Natural Resources Injuries and Restoration Projects for the M/V Athos 1
Spill of 1,000,000 L of Heavy Crude Oil into Delaware Bay in 2004.29
Natural resources injuries Restoration projects
• Shoreline — 1,729 acres were very • Restore 7.0 acres of freshwater tidal
lightly, lightly, moderately, or heavily wetland to benefit 56 acres within
oiled. John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
• Tributaries — Six tributaries, with a to compensate for tributary losses.
total area of 1,899 acres, were exposed • Create roughly 78 acres of oyster reef
to very light to moderate oiling. in the Delaware River to compensate
for injuries to aquatic resources, diving
• Aquatic habitats — 412 acres were
birds, and gulls.
exposed to Athos oil.
• Birds — 11,869 estimated dead • Remove three dams and a remnant
(includes direct and indirect losses, a bridge pier; open up an additional 2.6
majority of which were swans and miles of habitat to anadromous fish,
geese). and restore about 10 acres of riparian
habitat along the creek edges.
• Recreational services — An estimated
41,709 trips on the river were affected • Restore 62.5 acres of degraded wetland
by the spill, with an estimated lost and create 35 acres of wet meadow and
value of $1,313,239. 100 acres of grassland.
• Restore shoreline through the
demolition of existing structures,
import of fill material, grading of a 0.9
acre site.
• Excavate two shallow wetland ponds in
former agricultural areas, convert 16
acres of agricultural lands to
cool-season grass pasture, and establish
24 acres of food plots by modifying
existing agricultural practices.
• Implement three projects to improve
recreational opportunities.
1 plans that prevent oil discharges to navigable waters and adjoining shore-
2 lines. Such plans require operators to identify and analyze potential spill
3 hazards and previous spills, identify and ensure availability of resources
4 to remove, to the maximum extent practicable, a worst-case discharge,
5 and describe training, testing, unannounced drills, and response actions
6 of persons on the vessel or at the facility. The US Coast Guard has similar
7 requirements for marine transportation-related facilities.
8 Double hull tankers are thought to offer a higher level of oil spill pre-
9 vention because both hulls must be penetrated to cause a release of cargo.
10 A double hull design on average reduced the size of oil spills from tanker
Oil Spills 187
1 vessels by 62% and from tank barges by 20% for spills investigated by
2 the US Coast Guard from 2001 to 2008.30 Use of single-hull tankers for
3 the transport of oil was phased out worldwide as of 2010 under regu-
4 lations of the International Maritime Organization, though such tankers
5 may continue to operate until 2015 if they satisfy certain condition assess-
6 ments. Flag states may grant life extensions to certain types of single hull
7 tankers; however, port states are permitted to deny entry to their ports
8 and offshore terminals to single hull tankers operating under such life
9 extensions. Single hull tankers are prevented from carrying heavy grade
10 oils.
11 Industry, agencies, and organizations are dealing with three emerging
12 oil spill risks: oil and gas development and maritime transportation in the
13 Arctic; deepwater offshore oil and gas development; and the rapid expansion
14 of rail transportation of crude oil. Prevention actions for each of these are
15 summarized below.
16 As the Arctic become increasingly accessible as a result of climate
17 change, offshore oil and gas operations, maritime shipping, and tourism
18 are all expected to increase in the near future. The Arctic is estimated to
19 contain 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30% of the world’s undis-
20 covered gas reserves.31 There has been a 118% increase in maritime transit
21 through the Bering Strait between 2008 and 2012.32 The Emergency Pre-
22 vention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Working Group is one of six
23 working groups of the Arctic Council, which was established in 1996 to
24 foster international co-operation on environmental protection and sustain-
25 able development in the Arctic. The EPPR Working Group identified the
26 following recommendations and best practices for the prevention of marine
27 oil pollution in the Arctic:33
28 • Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Systems: A well-

29 integrated HSE system adapted to Arctic conditions will lead to safer
30 operations. A strong safety culture, characterized by healthy attitudes
31 towards reducing risk and preventing accidents at all levels in the orga-
32 nization is needed.
33 • Common International Standards: There is a lack of consistency
34 between standards and national requirements, as well as inconsistent
35 enforcement of rules and regulations among Arctic nations. A combi-
36 nation of prescriptive and goal-based requirements is needed.
37 • Monitoring: An improvement in monitoring methods and technology
38 (i.e. satellites, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, subsurface vehicles) would
1 provide more accurate data on weather and ice conditions, detect acci-
2 dents and spill incidents, and deter illegal actions.
3 • Risk Analysis: Identifying hazards and conducting a risk analysis of
4 the specific operation and implementing risk-mitigating measures are key
5 actions in preventing oil spills.
6 • Technology Development and Best Practice Sharing: Easy access
7 to information regarding previous experience, best available technologies,
8 best practices, and sharing results of Research and Development projects
9 is of high priority.
10 • Oil and Gas Facilities: Oil and gas facilities and associated equipment
11 should be adequately winterized, certified for operations in sub-freezing
12 temperatures and potential interaction with sea ice, and should incorpo-
13 rate leak detection and in-line inspection systems for pipelines.
14 • Qualified Personnel and Continuous Improvement of Skills: Lack
15 of competence and a need for robust Arctic-specific training requirements
16 were identified as needs to ensure the ability to work in remote areas as
17 well as the continuous improvement of skills.
18 The risks of deepwater oil and gas exploration and development were
19 demonstrated by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, where an esti-
20 mated 800 million L of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico during the
21 well blowout. Thus, industry has developed new technologies in blowout
22 prevention systems as well as a focus on safe operating processes, training,
23 and drills. In 2012, BSEE issued rules for Increased Safety Measures for
24 Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (30 CFR Part 250)
25 that:
26 • Establishes new casing installation requirements;

27 • Establishes new cementing requirements;
28 • Requires independent third-party verification of blind-shear ram capa-
29 bility;
30 • Requires independent third-party verification of subsea blow out preven-
31 tion stack compatibility;
32 • Requires new casing and cementing integrity tests;
33 • Establishes new requirements for subsea secondary blow out prevention
34 intervention;
35 • Requires function testing for subsea secondary blow out prevention inter-
36 vention;
Oil Spills 189
1 • Requires documentation for blow out prevention inspections and main-

2 tenance;
3 • Requires a Registered Professional Engineer to certify casing and cement-
4 ing requirements; and
5 • Establishes new requirements for specific well control training to include
6 deepwater operations.
7 The use of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” has dramatically increased

8 US energy production, with crude oil production approaching its highest
9 level in decades. Much of this new oil production is in the mid-continent
10 with the Bakken field in North Dakota that, as of 2014, was producing over
11 1,000,000 barrels per day.34 The production of oil from Canadian oils and sis
12 expected to double by 2020.7 These shifts in crude oil production areas have
13 changed the patterns and means of oil transportation to refineries. Because
14 the capacity of existing pipelines has been strained by this increased pro-
15 duction, producers have turned to transport by rail. In 2014, transport of
16 oil by railcar to refineries on the West, East, and Gulf of Mexico coasts is
17 expected to reach 650,000 carloads or roughly 450 million barrels.10 Efforts
18 to prevent oil spills from rail transportation are focused on tank car design,
19 prevention of derailments, and railroad operations. New tank car design
20 standards are under development to include an outer steel jacket around
21 the tank car and thermal protection, full-height head shields, and high-
22 flow capacity pressure relief valves; there is a plan to aggressively phase
23 out older-model tank cars used to move flammable liquids that cannot be
24 retrofitted to meet these standards, In February 2014, a rail operations
25 safety initiative was agreed to between the railroads and the US govern-
26 ment to institute new voluntary operating practices for moving crude oil
27 by rail. These measures include:
28 • Addition of braking power to allow train crews to apply emergency brakes

29 from both ends of the train in order to stop the train faster.
30 • Increased track inspections, with at least two high-tech track geometry
31 inspections each year on main line routes over which trains with 20 or
32 more loaded cars of crude oil are moving.
33 • Use of Rail Traffic Routing Technology to aid in the determination of
34 the safest and most secure rail routes for trains with 20 or more cars of
35 crude oil.
36 • Reduced train speeds to 40 mph through urban areas
37 • Installation of additional wayside wheel bearing detectors.
1 3.2 Countermeasures
2 3.2.1 Containment on water
3 Containment of an oil spill refers to the process of confining the oil, either
4 to prevent it from spreading to a particular area, to divert it to another
5 area where it can be recovered or treated, or to concentrate the oil so it
6 can be recovered or burned.1 Containment booms are the basic and most
7 frequently used piece of equipment for containing an oil spill on water.
8 Booms are generally the first equipment mobilized at a spill and are often
9 used as long as the oil persists on the water surface. While many pipeline
10 spills occur on land, most of the oil ends up in water bodies and, as such,
11 booms are frequently used.
12 A boom is a floating mechanical barrier designed to stop or divert the
13 movement of oil on water. Booms resemble a vertical curtain with portions
14 extending above and below the water line. Booms are constructed in sec-
15 tions, usually 15 or 30 meters (m) long, with connectors installed on each
16 end so that sections of the boom can be attached to each other, towed,
17 or anchored. The three basic types of booms are fence and curtain booms,
18 which are common, and shoreline seal booms, which are seldom used.
19 Booms are used to enclose floating oil and prevent it from spreading,
20 to protect biologically sensitive areas, to divert oil to areas where it can
21 be recovered or treated, and to concentrate oil and maintain an adequate
22 thickness so that skimmers can be used or other cleanup techniques, such
23 as in-situ burning, can be applied. Booms are used primarily to contain
24 oil, although they are also used to deflect oil. When used for containment,
25 booms are often arranged in a U configuration. The U-shape is created by
26 the current pushing against the centre of the boom. The critical requirement
27 is that the current in the apex of the ‘U’ does not exceed 0.35 m per second
28 (m/s) or 0.7 knots, which is referred to as the critical velocity.1 This is the
29 speed of the current flowing perpendicular to the boom, above which oil
30 will be lost from the boom by entrainment into the water and under the
31 boom (see Fig. 8 Top). If used in areas where the currents are likely to
32 exceed 0.35 m/s, such as in rivers and estuaries, booms must be deployed
33 at an angle to the current. The oil can then be deflected out of the strong
34 currents to areas where it can be collected or to less sensitive areas (see
35 Fig. 8 Bottom).
36 If strong currents prevent the best positioning of the boom in relation
37 to the current, several booms can be deployed in a cascading pattern to
38 progressively move oil toward one side of the watercourse. This technique
Oil Spills 191
Fig. 8. Top: Boom failure because of high currents. Bottom: Proper boom deployment
that diverts oil out of the stronger currents in the river to an area of slower currents for
collection.
1 is effective in wide rivers or where strong currents may cause a single boom
2 to fail. When booms are used for deflection, the forces of the current on the
3 boom are usually so powerful that stronger booms are required and they
4 must be anchored along their entire length.
5 A boom’s performance and its ability to contain oil are affected by
6 water currents, waves, and winds. Either alone or in combination, these
7 forces often lead to boom failure and loss of oil. The most critical factor
8 is the current speed relative to the boom. Failures will occur when this
9 exceeds 0.35 m/s (0.7 knots).1
10 3.2.2 Oil recovery on water

11 Recovery is the next step after containment in an oil spill cleanup oper-
12 ation. Even in the case of land spills, the oil most often flows to a water
13 body from where it is recovered. An important objective of containment is
14 to concentrate oil into thick layers to facilitate recovery. In fact, the con-
15 tainment and recovery phases of an oil spill cleanup operation are often
16 carried out at the same time. As soon as booms are deployed at the site
17 of a spill, equipment and personnel are mobilized to take advantage of the
18 increased oil thickness, favorable weather, and less weathered oil. After oil
19 spreads or becomes highly weathered, recovery becomes less viable and is
20 sometimes impossible.
21 Skimmers are mechanical devices designed to remove floating oil from
22 a water surface. They vary greatly in size, application, and capacity, as well
23 as in recovery efficiency. Skimmers are classified according to the area where
24 they are used, for example, inshore, offshore, in shallow water, or in rivers,
25 and by the viscosity of the oil they are intended to recover.
26 Most skimmers function best when the oil slick is relatively thick. The
27 oil must, therefore, be collected in booms or against a shoreline or float-
28 ing ice before skimmers can be used effectively. The skimmer is placed
29 wherever the oil is most concentrated in order to recover as much oil as
30 possible (Fig. 9). Weather conditions at a spill site have a major effect on
31 the efficiency of skimmers. Depending on the skimmer type, most will not
32 work effectively in waves greater than 1 m in height or in currents >0.5 m/s.
33 Most skimmers do not operate effectively in water with ice or debris such as
34 branches, seaweed, and floating waste. Some skimmers have screens around
35 the intake to prevent debris or ice from entering, conveyors or similar devices
36 to remove or deflect debris, and cutters to deal with sea weed. Very viscous
37 oils, tar balls, or oiled debris can clog the intake or entrance of skimmers
38 and make it impossible to pump oil from the skimmer’s recovery system.
Oil Spills 193
Fig. 9. A boom and skimmer being used together to collect and recover oil.
1 Skimmers are also classified according to their basic operating princi-

2 ples: oleophilic surface skimmers; weir skimmers; suction skimmers or vac-
3 uum devices; elevating skimmers; and submersion skimmers. Over time,
4 all skimming systems become less effective because of the oil’s spread into
5 thinner slicks and weathering into more a viscous liquid.
6 Sorbents are materials that recover oil through either absorption or
7 adsorption. They play an important role in oil spill cleanup and are used
8 in the following ways: to clean up the final traces of oil spills on water or
9 land; as a backup to other containment means, such as sorbent booms; as
10 a primary recovery means for very small spills; and as a passive means of
11 cleanup. An example of such passive cleanup is when sorbent booms are
12 anchored off lightly oiled shorelines to absorb any remaining oil released
13 from the shore and prevent further contamination or re-oiling of the shore-
14 line.
15 Sorbents can be natural or synthetic materials. Natural sorbents are
16 divided into organic materials, such as peat moss or wood products, and
17 inorganic materials, such as vermiculite or clay. Sorbents are available in
18 a loose form, which includes granules, powder, chunks, and cubes, often
19 contained in bags, nets, or socks. Sorbents are also available formed into
20 pads, rolls, blankets, and pillows. The use of synthetic sorbents in oil spill
1 recovery has increased in the last few years. These sorbents are often used
2 to wipe other oil spill recovery equipment, such as skimmers and booms,
3 after a spill cleanup operation. Sheets of sorbent are often used for this
4 purpose.
5 Sorbent booms are deployed on the water when the oil slick is relatively
6 thin, i.e. for the final “polishing” of an oil spill, to remove small traces of
7 oil or sheen, or as a backup to other booms. Sorbent booms can be placed
8 off a shoreline to recover oil that is mobilized by wave or tidal action; this
9 strategy is often used for marshes where other response options are likely
10 to cause additional harm. They are not absorbent enough to be used as a
11 primary countermeasure technique for any significant amount of oil.
12 Chemical Agents. Treating the oil with specially formulated chemi-
13 cals is another option for dealing with oil spills.1 An assortment of chemical
14 spill-treating agents is available to assist in cleaning up oil. Approval must
15 be obtained from appropriate authorities before these chemical agents can
16 be used. In addition, these agents are not always effective and the treated
17 oil may still have toxic effects on aquatic and other wildlife. Dispersants are
18 chemical spill-treating agents that promote the formation of small droplets
19 of oil that are dispersed throughout the top layer of the water column by
20 wave action and currents. These small oil droplets are less likely to resur-
21 face into slicks; instead, they are subject to dilution, transport by currents,
22 and natural weathering process that include dissolution, microbial degra-
23 dation, and sedimentation. The use of dispersants remains a controversial
24 issue, and special permission is required in most jurisdictions. Generally, in
25 freshwater or land applications, their use is banned.
26 Dispersants have a relatively narrow window of effectiveness because
27 oil becomes less dispersible as it weathers, mostly due to an increase in
28 viscosity. There must be sufficient mixing energy from waves or currents,
29 and the wind must not be too strong to prevent the dispersant droplets from
30 landing on the oil slick. There are many restrictions on when and where
31 dispersants may be used as an oil spill countermeasure, including water
32 depth (usually >10 m), distance from shore (often >5 km), season, no spray
33 over birds, sea turtles, or marine mammals, and duration of application. The
34 use of dispersants is considered as part of an trade-off assessment of the
35 impacts of the dispersed oil versus the impacts of the untreated oil slick on
36 sensitive resources, as shown in Fig. 10. The advantages and disadvantages
37 of the use of chemical dispersants are summarized in Table 6.
38 In-situ burning is an oil spill cleanup technique that involves con-
39 trolled burning of the oil at or near the spill site.1 The major advantage
Oil Spills 195
Fig. 10. Schematic of the tradeoffs to be considered in the use of chemical dispersants.
Table 6: Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Chemical Dispersants on an Oil Spill.
Advantages Disadvantages
• Removes surface oil and dilutes oil into • Temporarily increases the
the water column bioavailability of toxic oil fractions
• Facilitates natural oil biodegradation • Temporarily increases localized risks
• Reduces exposure to workers particularly to entrained aquatic
recovering oil at the surface species (eggs, plankton, less mobile
animals)
• Minimizes impacts on shoreline
habitats • Cannot be used under certain weather
conditions
• Minimizes impacts on populations with
• Cannot be used on all oil types and are
long life-spans (birds, mammals,
less efficient on weathered oils
turtles)
1 of this technique is its potential for removing large amounts of oil over an
2 extensive area in less or about the same time than other techniques but
3 with the distinct advantage of being a final solution. The technique has
4 been used at actual spill sites for some time, especially on land (including
1 wetlands) and in ice-covered waters where the oil is contained by the ice.
2 During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it was
3 used extensively and removed 6% of oil from the water surface.35
4 3.2.3 Shoreline cleanup

5 Oil spilled on water be it at sea or inland, is seldom completely contained
6 and recovered and some of it eventually reaches the shoreline or margin of
7 a water body.1 It is more difficult and time-consuming to clean up shoreline
8 areas than it is to carry out containment and recovery operations at sea.
9 Physically removing oil from some types of shoreline can also result in
10 more ecological and physical damage than if oil removal is left to natural
11 processes. The decision to initiate cleanup and restoration activities on
12 oil-contaminated shorelines should be based on careful evaluation of socio-
13 economic, aesthetic, and ecological factors. These include the behavior of oil
14 in shoreline regions, the types of shoreline and their sensitivity to oil spills,
15 the assessment process, shoreline protection measures, and recommended
16 cleanup methods. Similarly some of the shoreline types are related to land
17 types and the same cleanup applies.
18 The type of shoreline or similar land surface is crucial in determin-
19 ing the fate and effects of an oil spill as well as the cleanup methods to
20 be used. In fact, the shoreline’s basic structure and the size of material
21 present are the most important factors in terms of oil spill cleanup. There
22 are many types of shorelines, all of which are classified in terms of sensitiv-
23 ity to oil spills and ease of cleanup. The shoreline types in order of increas-
24 ing sensitivity are: exposed bedrock and man-made solid structures, sand
25 beaches, mixed sand and gravel beaches, gravel beaches, riprap, exposed
26 tidal flats, sheltered rocky shores, peat, sheltered tidal flats, marshes, man-
27 groves, swamps, and low-lying tundra. These types occur on both seashore
28 and freshwater shores.
29 Many methods are available for removing oil from shorelines or land
30 forms. All of them are costly and take a long time to carry out. The selection
31 of the appropriate cleanup technique is based on the type of substrate,
32 the depth of oil penetration or burial in the sediments, the amount and
33 type of oil and its present form/condition, the ability of the shoreline to
34 support foot and vehicular traffic, the environmental, human, and cultural
35 sensitivity of the shoreline, and the prevailing ocean and weather conditions.
36 Some recommended shoreline cleanup methods are natural recovery,
37 manual removal, flooding or washing, use of vacuums, mechanical removal,
Oil Spills 197
Table 7: Recommendations for Response Options in Oiled Marshes by Oil

Group.26
Oil group descriptions Oil group

I — Gasoline products Response method I II III IV
II — Diesel-like products and Natural recovery A A B B
light crudes Barriers/Berms B B B B
III — Medium grade crudes and Manual oil D C B B
intermediate products Removal/Cleaning
Mechanical oil D D C C
IV — Heavy crudes and residual removal
products Sorbents — A A B
The following codes compare the Vacuum — B B B
relative environmental impact of Debris removal — B B B
each response method for each Sediment D D D D
oil type: reworking/Tilling
A = The least adverse habitat Vegetation D D C C
impact. cutting/Removal
Flooding (deluge) B B B B
B = Some adverse habitat impact. Low-pressure, B B B B
C = Significant adverse habitat Ambient-water
impact. flushing
Shoreline cleaning — — B B
D = The most adverse habitat agents
impact. Nutrient enrichment — B B C
I = Insufficient information to Natural microbe — I I I
evaluate impact or seeding
effectiveness. In-situ burning — B B B
1 tilling and aeration, sediment reworking, sorbents, and chemical cleaning

2 agents. Surface-washing agents are intended to be applied to shorelines or
3 surfaces to increase the amount of oil released from the surface, or to reduce
4 the pressure and temperature of flushing. Only those agents that cause the
5 released oil to float are used for use on the shoreline, so that the released
6 oil can be recovered. Other agents are essentially industrial cleaners that
7 may be appropriate for cleaning equipment when removed from the water,
8 but not on shorelines.
9 Numerous guides have been developed to assist responders in selecting
10 the most appropriate cleanup method depending on the type and degree of
11 oiling, the habitat type, and environmental considerations. Table 7 shows
12 a matrix for selection of cleanup methods for marshes.
13 Sometimes the best response to an oil spill on a shoreline may be to
14 leave the oil and monitor the natural recovery of the affected area. This
1 would be the case if more damage would be caused by cleanup than by leav-
2 ing the environment to recover on its own. This option is suitable for small
3 spills in sensitive environments and on a beach that will recover quickly
4 on its own such as on exposed shorelines and with non-persistent oils such
5 as diesel fuel on impermeable beaches. This is not an appropriate response
6 if important ecological or human resources are threatened by long-term
7 persistence of the oil.
8 3.2.4 Cleanup of oil spills on land

9 When dealing with oil spills on land, cleanup operations should begin as
10 soon as possible. It is important to prevent the oil from spreading by
11 containing it and to prevent further contamination by removing the source
12 of the spill. It is also important to prevent the oil from penetrating the
13 surface and possibly contaminating the groundwater.
14 Berms or dikes can be built to contain oil spills and prevent oil from
15 spreading horizontally. Caution must be exerted, however, that the oil does
16 not back up behind the berm and permeate the soil. Berms can be built with
17 soil from the area, sand bags, or construction materials. Berms are removed
18 after cleanup to restore the area’s natural drainage patterns. Sorbents can
19 also be used to recover some of the oil and to prevent further spreading. The
20 contaminated area can sometimes be flooded with water to slow penetration
21 and possibly float oil to the surface, although care must be taken not to
22 increase spreading and to ensure that water-soluble components of the oil
23 are not carried down into the soil with the water. Shallow trenches can be
24 dug as a method of containment, which is particularly effective if the water
25 table is high and oil will not permeate the soil. Oil can either be recovered
26 directly from the trenches or burned in the trenches. After the cleanup,
27 trenches are filled in to restore natural water levels and drainage patterns.
28 Suction hoses, pumps, vacuum trucks, and certain skimmers and sor-
29 bents are generally effective in removing excess oil from the surface, espe-
30 cially from ditches or low areas. The use of sorbents can complicate cleanup
31 operations, however, as contaminated sorbents must be disposed of appro-
32 priately. Sorbents are best used to remove the final traces of oil from a water
33 surface. Any removal of surface soil or vegetation also entails replanting.
34 Mechanical recovery equipment, such as bulldozers, scrapers, and front-
35 end loaders, can cause severe and long-lasting damage to sensitive environ-
36 ments. These devices can be used in a limited capacity to clean oil from
37 urban areas, roadsides, and possibly on agricultural land. The unselective
Oil Spills 199
1 removal of a large amount of soil leads to the problem of disposing of the

2 contaminated material. Contaminated soil must be treated, washed, or con-
3 tained before it can safely be disposed of in a landfill site. This could cost
4 thousands of dollars per ton.
5 4 Conclusions and Outlook

6 Oil spills will occur as long as we continue to explore for, produce, and
7 consume oil. Major spills trigger a renewed focus on oil spill prevention and
8 improved response capabilities for that spill scenario. For example, after
9 the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico, indus-
10 try and government spent much effort on blow out prevention and control,
11 and on subsea dispersant injection systems. In 2014, there is now a shift
12 to focus on inland spill prevention and response to address concerns with
13 the evolving risks from pipeline and rail transportation of both oil sand
14 and Bakken crude. However, over time, the lessons learned appear to fade,
15 funding drops off, and prevention and readiness capabilities decrease, until
16 the next major spill. Many spills are preventable; spill prevention requires a
17 combination of systems, equipment, and trained people. Systems and equip-
18 ment must be continuously updated and tested. People must be retrained
19 and exercised using the systems and equipment in simulated emergencies.
20 There have been incremental improvements in spill response technologies,
21 but no major advances. Spills will likely continue to be cleaned mostly by
22 manual and mechanical methods.
AQ2
23 References
AQ3 24 1. M. F. Fingas, The Basics of Oil Spill Cleanup (Taylor and Francis, New York,
25 2012).
26 2. D. S. Etkin, Spill occurrences: A world overview, in Oil Spill Science and
27 Technology (Gulf Publishing Company: New York, 2011), pp. 7–48.
28 3. National Energy Board of Canada website. Available at: http://www.
29 neb-one.gc.ca/clf-nsi/rnrgynfmtn/sttstc/crdlndptrlmprdct/stmtdprdctn-eng.
30 html, 2014.
31 4. US Government Energy website. Available at: http://www.eia.gov/dnav/
32 pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRFPUS1&f=M, (2014). AQ4
33 5. US Government Energy website. Available at: http://www.eia.gov/dnav/
34 pet/pet crd crpdn adc mbbl a.htm (2014).
35 6. D. S. Etkin, Risk of crude and bitumen pipeline spills in the United States:
36 Analyses of historical data and case studies (1968–2012), AMOP Proceedings
37 (2014).
1 7. Reuters, Alberta oil sands production likely to double by 2022-regulator.

2 Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08 (2013).
3 8. Lac-Mégantic derailment, Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
4 wiki/Lac-M%C3%A9gantic derailment (2014).
5 9. Federal Data Show, More oil spilled from trains in 2013 than in previous
6 4 decades. Available at: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/01/20/215143/
7 more-oil-spilled-from-trains-in.html#storylink=cpy (2014).
8 10. Congressional Research Service, US rail transportation of crude oil: Back-
9 ground and issues for Congress. Available at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/
10 misc/R43390.pdf (2014).
11 11. Pipeline & Gas Journal’s 2013 Worldwide Construction Report. Available at:
12 http://www.pipelineandgasjournal.com/pipeline-gas-journal%E2%80%99s -
13 2013-worldwide-construction-report?page=show (2014).
14 12. ITOPF, Oil Tanker Spill Statistics 2013. Available at: http://www.itopf.com/
15 information-services/data-and-statistics/statistics/index.html (2014).
16 13. D. Etkin, Estimating cleanup costs from oil spills, Proc. International Oil
17 Spill Conference, American Petroleum Institute, Washington, DC (1999).
18 14. D. Etkin, Basic oil spill cost estimation model: Model structure and prelimi-
19 nary algorithms, Report for Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine
20 Environmental Technology NOAA/Oil Spill Response, Research & Develop-
21 ment (2003).
22 15. D. Etkin, Estimation of shoreline response cost factors, Proc. Interna-
23 tional Oil Spill Conference, American Petroleum Institute, Washington, DC,
24 pp. 1,243–1,253 (2003).
25 16. D. Etkin, Cost analysis for vessel-sourced oil spills of $1,000,000 or more in us
26 waters from 1990 through to the present, Report prepared for the US General
27 Accounting Office (2007).
28 17. N. P. Ventikos and F. S. Sotiropoulos, Disultility analysis of oil spills, graphs
29 and trends, Marine Pollution Bull. 81 (2014), pp. 116–123.
30 18. National Research Council, Oil in the Sea (National Academy Press, Wash-
31 ington, DC, 2003).
32 19. Bemidji Crude-Oil Research Project. Available at: http://mn.water.usgs.gov/
33 projects/Bemidji/(2014).
20. G. Shigenaka, Effects of oil in the environment, in Oil Spill Science and Tech-
AQ5 34
35 nology, ed. M. Fingas (Gulf Publishing Company, New York), pp. 985–1024
36 (2011).
37 21. M. Spaulding, Recent spill experiences: The North Cape spill, AMOP 1487
38 (1996).
39 22. R. Yender, J. Michel, and C. Lord, Managing seafood safety after an oil
40 spill, Seattle: Hazardous Materials Response Division, Office of Response
41 and Restoration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seat-
42 tle (2010).
43 23. J. R. Geraci and D. J. S. Aubin, Sea Mammals and Oil:Confronting the Risks
44 (Academic Press, San Diego, 1990), p. 282.
45 24. O. Matkin, E. L. Saulitis, G. M. Ellis, P. Olesiuk, and S. D. Rice, Ongoing
46 population-level impacts on killer whales Orcinus Orca following the “Exxon
Oil Spills 201
1 Valdez” oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, Marine Ecology Progress
2 Series 356 (2008), pp. 269–281.
3 25. L. H. Schwacke, C. R. Smith, F. I. Townsend, R. S. Wells, L. B. Hart,
4 B. C. Balmer, T. K. Collier, S. De Guise, M. M. Fry, L. J. Guillette, Jr.,
5 S. V. Lamb, S. M. Lane, W. E. McFee, N. J. Place, M. C. Tumlin, G. M. Yli-
6 talo, R. S. Zolman, and T. K. Rowles, Health of common bottlenose dolphins
7 (Tursiops truncatus) in Barataria Bay, Louisiana following the Deepwater
8 Horizon oil spill, Environ. Sci. & Technol. 48 (2014), pp. 4209–4211.
9 26. J. Michel and N. Rutherford, Impacts, recovery rates, and treatment options
10 for spilled oil in marshes, Marine Pollution Bull. 82 (2014), pp. 19–25.
11 27. R. Hoff, Oil Spills in Mangroves: Planning & Response Considerations
12 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and
13 Restoration, Seattle, 2010).
14 28. R. Yender and J. Michel, Oil Spills in Coral Reefs: Planning & Response
15 Considerations (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of
16 Response and Restoration, Seattle, 2010).
17 29. DARRP, NOAA’s Damage assessment, remediation, and restoration program
18 (DARRP). Available at: http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/northeast/athos/.
19 30. T. L. Yip, W. K. Talley, and D. Jin, The effectiveness of double hulls in reduc-
20 ing vessel-accident oil spillage, Marine Pollution Bull., 62 (2011), pp. 2427–
21 2432.
22 31. US Geological Survey, An estimate of undiscovered conventional oil and
23 gas resources of the world. Available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3042/
24 fs2012-3042.pdf (2012).
25 32. US Coast Guard, Arctic Strategy (US Coast Guard Headquarters, Washing-
26 ton, DC, 2013).
27 33. EPPR, Summary Report and Recommendations on the Prevention of Marine
28 Oil Pollution in the Arctic (2013).
29 34. EIA, US Energy Information Administration, Available at: http://www.eia.
30 gov/.
31 35. The Federal Interagency Solutions Group, Oil Budget Calculator Science and
32 Engineering Team, Oil Budget Calculator, A Report to the National Incident
33 Command, November 2010. Available at: http://www.restorethegulf.gov/
34 sites/default/files/documents/pdf/OilBudgetCalc Full HQ-Print 111110.pdf.
View publication stats

Michel and Fing As 2016 Oil Spills Overview

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Michel and Fing As 2016 Oil Spills Overview

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

Oil Spills: Causes, Consequences, Prevention, and Countermeasures

Chapter · July 2016

Working on new dispersion model View project

Oil Fates View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Oil Spills: Causes, Consequences, Prevention,

24 1 Oil Spill Sources and Spill Rates

160 J. Michel and M. Fingas

15 1.1 Oil spill statistics

Oil Spills 161

1 caution. The spill volume or amount is the most diﬃcult to determine or

162 J. Michel and M. Fingas

Table 1: North American Spill Statistics — 2010.

Percentage of total spills

Land spills (85% volume, 90% numbers)

On-water spills (15% volume, 10% numbers)

Types of oil spilled

10 (a) In Canadian production, the amount of Bitumen being marketed is

Oil Spills 163

Total crude 201,800 7.6 309,200 432,100 8 674,100

Estimated Dilbit 79,300 19.5 188,000

est. Bakken Crude 55,000 14 109,000

164 J. Michel and M. Fingas

Fig. 2. Number of tanker spills >7 tonnes.12

Oil Spills 165

Fig. 3. Volume of oil spilled for spills >7 tonnes.12

1 1.2 Cost of spill cleanup and prevention

16 1.3 Oil inputs into the sea

166 J. Michel and M. Fingas

Table 3: Predicted North American Spill Statistics for 2020.

Percentage of total spills

Land spills (85% volume, 90% numbers)

On-water spills (15% volume, 10% numbers)

Types of products spilled

Fig. 4. Sources of oil into the sea.18

Oil Spills 167

5 1.4 Review of the top worldwide spills

10 1.5 Summary of sources

25 2.1 Consequences of spills on land

168 J. Michel and M. Fingas

Table 4: Selected Oil Spills and Lessons Learned.

Gulf War 800 Arabian Heavy Act of war — Largest marine

Amoco 223 Brittany oﬀ Medium Tanker — Contamination of

Prestige/ 63 North of Heavy fuel Tanker — Long-term

Ixtoc I/1979 470 Gulf of Heavy Oil well — First use of

Enbridge 4 Kalamazoo Diluted Pipeline — Diluted bitumen

Oil Spills 169

1 “Soil” is deﬁned as the loose unconsolidated material located near the

170 J. Michel and M. Fingas

1 2.2 Consequences of spills on biological resources

Oil Spills 171

172 J. Michel and M. Fingas

4 2.2.2 Aquatic environments

Oil Spills 173

174 J. Michel and M. Fingas

1 2.2.5 Benthic invertebrates

Oil Spills 175

176 J. Michel and M. Fingas

1 in nesting colonies, or have limited populations (thus listed as endangered

11 2.2.7 Marine mammals

Oil Spills 177

178 J. Michel and M. Fingas