Oil Spills

So, since we were recently talking about oil spills and oil spills hit close to home, I thought I would do a unit review on them.

Oil pollution sources: oil tankers, run-off from boats in the marinas, waste & sewage, off-shore drilling accidents, natural sepage, road run-off from cars and pipe line leaks.

Short term effects: the reduction of light transmition results in the reduction of dissolved H2O because of photosynthesis, oil getting on the aquatic life can drown them or make them handicap, and the toxic effects can destruct a huge range of species including fish, shellfish, worms, crabs, microcrustaceans and other invertebrates.

Long term effects:the oil compounds interfere with the chemical messangers of the marine life, and that can block receptors including taste and smell. The oil can also mimic the receptors, which causes disasterous effects. Oil can also sereve as a concentrated medium in fertalizers which makes it way into the marine food chain and then eventually into humans.

Clean-up methods: there are many cleanup methods that include using booms or barriers to contain the spill, skimmers to remove the oil from the surface, absorbents to absorb the oil that has gotten deeper than the surface,.chemical dispertants that degrade the oil, and flames which burn the oil spill. Personally, I feel like bioremediation is the best method to remove oil, and this involves using naturally occuring microorganisms that have been genetically engineered so they can degrade the petroleum.

hope this helps!