Oil Spills In The United States

In 1858 in Titusville, Pennsylvania the first oil well was drilled (Congressional Digest 2010). The thirty-eight years following that first onshore oil well would be dedicated to searching for offshore oil resources (Congressional Digest 2010). By 1896 those who searched accomplished what they set out to do off of Summerland, California (Congressional Digest 2010). During 1910, oil was an invaluable source of energy in America (Congressional Digest 2010). The people of America came up with ways to access and gain oil quicker than ever before (Congressional Digest 2010). The business expanded into the Gulf of Mexico in 1938 after the Creole Field was discovered (Congressional Digest 2010). Throughout the 1940s demand for oil rose and government
slackened their regulations on prices (Congressional Digest 2010). The petroleum industry continued to spread through open waters and by the 1950s “oil became the second-largest revenue generator for the country” (Congressional Digest 2010). Advancements in technology resumed to progress and grow throughout the years allowing for easier “exploration and production of petroleum in deeper water” (Congressional Digest 2010). In 1969 crude oil was poured out into the Dos Cuadras Field due to a rupture on Union Oil’s Platform A (Congressional Digest 2010). This was not the first recorded oil spill but it certainly would not be the last. In fact, in there were several oil spills that happened several years after that during the late 970s including the Ixtoc 1 oil spill that let out approximately 3.5 million barrels of oil (Raloff 2010). Twelve years after the Ixtoc 1 blowout occurred in the Gulf of Mexico an estimated 13 million barrels of oil made its way into the Persian Gulf during the Gulf War (Raloff 2010). Despite stricter regulations on oil companies and on pollution in general oil spills still occur in present day. Oil spills happen in and affect places as far as the Arctic waters; they affect many of the marine life that live in the area where the event occurred, and they have an affect on humans as well.
Oil spills affect various places including the Arctic waters.
There have been numerous oil spills all over the world including the United States, Nigeria, and China and are threats of more occurring. There have been several oil spills to occur in the United States but two of the most well known major oil spills in happen here are the Exxon oil spill and the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In March of 1989 an oil tanker called Exxon Valdez created a massive oil spill after running into a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska (Fontugne 2015). Over eleven million gallons of crude oil was poured into Alaskan waters. Due to increased fossil fuel exploration, such as fracking, in various places near Arctic waters, including Alaska, there is now an even larger risk of potential oil spills happening there (National Research Council (U.S.) 2014). The National Research Council claims that if there were to be an oil spill in U.S. Arctic waters the U.S. would not be prepared for it. The British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened in on April 20, 2010 resulting after a drilling rig located in the Gulf of Mexico experienced an explosion. The event caused the death of eleven workers and around 4.9 million barrels of crude oil to be sent into the Gulf of Mexico (Wilson 2014). Niger Delta, Nigeria experiences approximately “240,000 barrels of crude oil” being poured into it every year (Ordinioha and Brisibe 2013). This has caused major health complications to those
living in the area due to pollutants residing in “surface water, ground water, ambient air, and plant and animal tissue” (Ordinioha and Brisibe 2013). Even soils and plant species that were not exposed to oil spills were affected and experienced different levels of toxicity (Ordinioha and Brisibe 2013). According to research done by Peiyan Sun and several others, the oil spill in Bohai Sea, China appeared to be the result of the mere transportation of crude oil (Sun et. al 2009). Though floating oil slicks and other affects created by oil spills were thought to perhaps be due to oil platforms based offshore the research found that all affects were likely due to a single oil spill caused by an oil tanker that was shipping crude oil from South China Sea (Sun et. al 2009). When they occur and for numerous years after oil spills affect sea creatures both living in or near the area of the oil spill. As previously stated, the BP oil spill in 2010 released massive amounts of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill affected nearly all of the marine life in the Gulf from the smallest to the largest of animals (Follet et. al 2010). A number of animals died during the time after the oil spill including different species of birds, turtles, dolphins, and whales (Follet et. al 2010). Other research, not specifically to the BP oil spill, provided that animals, such as birds, become coated in oil due to floating oil spots (Xhelilaj and Sinanaj 2010). In some cases this oil coating lead to the death of the bird that resulted in smothering through direct toxicity (Farrington 2014). Another study showed that the more delicate organisms appear to be crustaceans (Farrington 2014). Oil spills can affect reproduction rates as well in marine organisms by disrupting chemical communications, causing physiological stress, and disturbing migration patterns (Farrington 2014). Dispersants, chemicals that break down oil into smaller particles, have also shown negative effects on marine life even if only temporarily (Farrington 2014). For one, net-toxicity levels have the possibility of being worse than the oil spill (Wilson 2014). Like oil, dispersants affect varying species in different ways though animals that are younger are usually affected more (Wilson 2014). One study showed that exposure of dispersants on blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) in their early stages of life resulted in affects on mobility and food sources later on (Pie and Mitchelmore 2015). Swimming activity in copepod species are affected by dispersants as well (Cohn et. al 2014). A birds “protective waterproofing and insulating features” are susceptible to dispersants as they have the ability to damage them (Wilson 2014). Some of the environmental effects of dispersants are still unclear including low-dose dispersants long-term affects and how much the use of dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico has affected the environment (Wilson 2014). There is not only an affect on the health of human beings whom were exposed in some way to an oil spill, but also on those who rely on sea creatures for work.
People who work in fishing, crabbing, and shrimping are all affected by oil spills. It is usual for bans on fishing and beach closures to be put into place after an oil spill has occurred thus preventing fishermen from doing their jobs (Cheong 2012). Furthermore, after an oil spill in waters near Korea people refused to buy fish that derived from there (Cheong 2012). Pertaining to health effects of humans after an oil spill, it has been found that there are mental health impacts on those living in or near the area affected by an oil spill (Lee and Blanchard 2012). Though not always, as demonstrated by the Exxon oil spill, those who experience direct exposure to the oil spill tend to have more problems than others (Fan et. al 2015). Increased anxiety and fear in a community, especially in those who belong to the fishing and seafood industry, can follow an oil spill (Lee and Blanchard 2012). Oil spills may also cause reduces in other food sources. In Niger Delta, Nigeria crude oil affected soils, trees, and crops resulting in a decline in food production (Ordinioha and Brisibe
2013)