A research paper on

POLLUTION DUE TO OIL SPILLS IN MARINE ENVIRONMENT AND CONTROL

MEASURES

AUTHOR
SRI ROSHINI.S
BA.LLB (HONS) - II year

SAVEETHA SCHOOL OF LAW

SAVEETHA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL AND TECHNICAL SCIENCES(SIMATS)

SAVEETHA UNIVERSITY

CHENNAI 77

twinklingrose25@gmail.com

9790911909

CO AUTHOR

Mrs BLESSIE AHINO

Assistant Professor Of Law.
SAVEETHA SCHOOL OF LAW

SAVEETHA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL AND TECHNICAL SCIENCES(SIMATS)

SAVEETHA UNIVERSITY

CHENNAI 77

blessieahino.j@gmail.com

9042999176
 Author: S.SRI ROSHINI1

Co-Author: BLESSIE AHINO2

ABSTRACT:

In the present world population is 7 billion with a growth rate of 1.1% per year. The twentieth
century world saw a rapid increase in fossil fuel consumption. The energy percentage of fossil
fuels are 80% (Oil & Gas 63%, Coal: 27%) of the total energy. World crude oil demand grew at
an average rate of 1.76% per year. Oil and gas consumption is essential to sustaining economic
growth in the industrialized world and is key to progress in nations working their way toward
prosperity. The oil and gas industry is a truly global industry, it is extended from Alaska to
Australia and Peru to China, and in every habitat from Arctic to desert, from tropical rainforest to
temperate wood land, from mangrove to offshore. From 2000 to 2010, global oil demand grew
by 13% and production increasing from 76.6 million barrels per day to 86.3 mbpd. The IEA
(International Energy Association) estimates the global oil demand to reach 90 mbpd by 2016
mainly on the back of demand from non-OECD (Organization of Economic Co-Operation
Development) countries.Above all are one side of the coin, the other side is oil and gas industry
is one of the top environmental destructive industry. From prospecting to production and refining
to distribution, every stage it pollutes the air, soil and water. It damages the ecological balance

1
Student at Saveetha School of law,Saveetha institute of Medical and technical sciences,Saveetha
university,Chennai-77,2nd year,BA.LLB(hons),9790911909,​twinklingrose25@gmail.com
2
Assistant professor at Saveetha school of law,Saveetha institute of Medical and technical
sciences,Saveetha university,Chennai-77,9042999176, ​blessieahinoj@gmail.com
and economy. This paper mentions the details of the pollution due to oil spills in marine
environment. Marine oil spill is a serious consequence of off-shore oil drilling, blowouts,
pipeline breakages, ship collusions or grounding and over filling of tankers. Oil spills damage the
marine flora and fauna. More than 3 million metric tonnes of oil contaminates the sea waters
every year. They have destructive effect on coastal environment. The spills are controlled by
booms, skimmers, sorbents, dispersants and controlled burning processes.

KEYWORDS:

World Oil Industry, Oil Spill, Environmental Impact, Controlling Measures,Global oil demand

INTRODUCTION:

Pollution is the introduction of substances into the environment that alter its physical, chemical
and biological properties in such a way that is harmful to living organisms. In this circumstance,
the substances are termed as pollutants.​(​Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine
Environment)​ Energy consumption is a primary source of pollution and energy production is a
primary source of environment destruction. Oil and Gas industry is one of largest money earning
industry, at the same time it is major dirtiest and environment destructive industry on the planet
earth. There are more than 40,000 oil & gas fields all sizes in the world (BP statistical review,
2006). There is tremendous technological advancements come in oil industry from prospecting at
great oceanic depths to distribution to customer in retail petrol bunks.​(National Research Council
et al.) But, Oil is the most common pollutant in the oceans. More than 3 million metric tons of oil
contaminates the sea every year. From 1940s Greenpoint Oil Spill to recent Deepwater Horizon
oil spill at sea water pollutes the marine environment.An oil spill is unintentional release of
liquid petroleum hydrocarbons in to the environment due to human activity or natural disaster.
The term often refers to marine environment oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or
coastal waters.​(Payne and Phillips)
Major factors of oil to the marine environment:
Industrial wastes reach the sea - 37%
Oil vessels during transportation - 33%

Accidents involving tankers - 12%

DuringExploration Operations - 2%
Natural sources like fissures from sea bed - 7%
Absorbed from atmosphere - 9%​(Doerffer)

These are usually associated with unexpected blowouts of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons from
the well as a result of encountering zones with abnormally high pressure. These types of spills
are considerable, primarily due to their regularity leading, ultimately, to chronic impacts on the
marine environment.​(Boesch et al.)
The objectives of the study is to

● Discuss about the causes and harms that were caused to the marine environment due to
the oil spills
● Study about some of the control measures used to control these oil spills and the effects
caused.

The main aim of the study is to discuss about the impact that the oil spills create on the marine
environment.​(Boesch et al.; Wardley Smith)

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

(Fan et al. 2018), had stated in his research that,In the present world population is 7 billion with a
growth rate of 1.1% per year. The twentieth century world saw a rapid increase in fossil fuel
consumption. The energy percentage of fossil fuels are 80% (Oil & Gas 63%, Coal: 27%) of the
total energy. World crude oil demand grew at an average rate of 1.76% per year. Oil and gas
consumption is essential to sustaining economic growth in the industrialized world and is key to
progress in nations working their way toward prosperity.
(Kapoor and Rawat 1994),had discussed about the From prospecting to production and refining
to distribution, every stage it pollutes the air, soil and water. It damages the ecological balance
and economy. This paper mentions the details of the pollution due to oil spills in marine
environment. Marine oil spill is a serious consequence of off-shore oil drilling, blowouts,
pipeline breakages, ship collusions or grounding and over filling of tankers.

(Kapoor and Rawat 1994; Suleman 2011),had said about the,Oil and Gas industry is one of
largest money earning industry, at the same time it is major dirtiest and environment destructive
industry on the planet earth. There are more than 40,000 oil & gas fields all sizes in the world

(Kaufman ; Wilson ),had discussed about the,More than 3 million metric tons of oil contaminates
the sea every year. From 1940s Greenpoint Oil Spill to recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill at sea
water pollutes the marine environment.An oil spill is unintentional release of liquid petroleum
hydrocarbons in to the environment due to human activity or natural disaster. The term often
refers to marine environment oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters.

(Freudenburg and Gramling 2011),had said about the major factors of marine pollution,Industrial
wastes reach the sea, Oil vessels during transportation Accidents involving tankers,
DuringExploration,Operations Natural sources like fissures from sea bed, Absorbed from
atmosphere - 9%

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This is a non-doctrinal study. This paper depends on both primary and secondary
sources. The data for the present study is collected using random sampling technique.
Random sampling is used to collect the primary information from the respondents. A random
samples of 1349 samples has been collected from survey analysis from the study area. The
secondary data are collected from the various sources like books, journals, articles,
e-sources. The researchers has also utilised commentaries, books, articles, notes and other
writings to incorporate the various views of the multitude jurists, with the intention of
presenting a holistic view. The researcher has made an extensive use of case laws in this
paper, so as to discern a trend in the judicial pronouncements. The current paper uses SPSS
analysis. SPSS is short for Statistical Package for Social Sciences, and it is used by
various kinds of researchers for complex statistical data analysis. The SPSS software package
was created for the management and statistical analysis of social science data and this research
uses such kind of analysis for a proper and appropriate results. Random sampling method was
used for the purpose of this study. There are total of 1500 samples collected with regard to this
study.

ANALYSIS

HYPOTHESIS:

Null hypothesis: ​The oil spills had created a major destruction to both the marine environment
and the organisms of that habitat.

Alternate hypothesis: ​The oil spill hadn’t create any such major destruction to the marine
environment.

FREQUENCY TABLE:

Gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Female 806 59.7 59.7 59.7

Male 455 33.7 33.7 93.5

Prefer not to say 88 6.5 6.5 100.0

Total 1349 100.0 100.0

Gender * the main cause for the destruction of the marine flora and fauna is
because of the oil leakages in the seas
 Crosstab

Count

the main cause for the destruction of the marine flora and fauna is Total
because of the oil leakages in the seas

strongly agree neutral disagree strongly

agree disagree

Gend Female 83 164 297 169 93 806

er
Male 64 151 72 150 18 455

Prefer not 1 54 28 4 1 88
to say

Total 148 369 397 323 112 1349

​Here the independent variable taken is Gender and the dependent variable taken is “ ​the main
cause for the destruction of the marine flora and fauna is because of the oil leakages in the seas”.

Symmetric Measures

Value Approx. Sig.

Nominal by Nominal Phi .357 .000

Cramer's V .252 .000

N of Valid Cases 1349

a. Not assuming the null hypothesis.

b. Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.

Gender * Whether these leakages of oil can be controlled with preventive
measures

Crosstab

Count

Whether these leakages of oil can be Total

controlled with preventive measures

yes no

Gender Female 319 487 806

Male 224 231 455

Prefer not to say 23 65 88

Total 566 783 1349

​Here the independent variable taken is Gender and the dependent variable is “ Whether these

leakages of oil can be controlled with preventive measures”.

Symmetric Measures

Value Approx. Sig.

Nominal by Nominal Phi .124 .000

Cramer's V .124 .000

 N of Valid Cases 1349

a. Not assuming the null hypothesis.

b. Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.

DISCUSSIONS:
The independent variable taken here is Gender, and the dependent variable is “the main cause for
the destruction of the marine flora and fauna is because of the oil leakages in the seas ” The
survey was conducted to almost 50 people where they were questioned about the basic
knowledge of the environmental awareness and the oil spills that occur in the marine
environment.The analysis and tests are done by collecting 1349 responses.Here the no.of male
responses were 75% and the rest of the 25% of the responses were female.Similarly 65% of the
people opted as Yes they agree that the oils leakages in marine water destroys the marine flora
and fauna 10% of people opted as the option disagree that these does not affect the florea and
fauna , 5% of the people are neutral ,and the rest were strongly disagree.
The next independent variable taken is Gender, and the dependent variable is “Whether these
leakages of oil can be controlled with preventive measures”.Here the no.of male responses were
75% and the rest of the 25% of the responses were female.Similarly 84% of the people opted as
Yes the oil leakages can be controlled by preventing measures,16% of people opted as the option
No,it cant be controlled by such preventive measures.

Oil Spill Behavior

When oil is spilled in the ocean, it initially spread in the water (primarily on the surface),
depending on its relative density and composition. The oil slick formed may remain cohesive, or
may break up in the case of rough seas. Waves, water currents, and wind force the oil slick to
drift over large areas. ​(Boesch et al.; Wardley Smith; Wardley-Smith)​Only ten minutes after a
spill of 1 tonne of oil, the oil can disperse over a radius of 50 m, forming a slick 10-mm thick.
The slick gets thinner (less than 1 mm) as oil continues to spread, covering an area of up to 12
km.​(Levy)
Impacts on Marine Environment
There is no clear relationship between the amount of oil spilled in the marine environment and
the likely impact on wildlife. ​(Atlas and R. M. Atlas)​A smaller spill at the wrong time/wrong
season and in a sensitive environment may prove much more harmful than a larger spill at
another time of the year in another or even the same environment. Even small spills can have
very large effects. The negative effects of on oil spill may eventually fade away, but in many
cases it will be matter of several years, even decades, before an area or ecosystem has fully
recovered from a spill that caused extensive damages.​(Geyer) Every situation is unique and
depending on the particular conditions and circumstances in that area, and on the characteristics
of the spill. Some areas might recover in a matter of weeks, others will need up to 20 years.In
1976, a spill estimated to have been less than 10 tonnes of crude oil, killed more than 60,000
long- tailed ducks wintering in the Baltic Sea.​(Geyer; Brakstad et al.) This could be compared to
the effects on seabirds in Alaskan waters from the approximately 40,000 tonnes of crude oil
released from large Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, when an estimated 30,000 birds were oiled.
Australian Mari Time Authority (AMSA), mention the important factors related to the impact of
oil spill.​(Ross)
Spread of the oil slick
1.Type of oil spilled, its movement and weathering characteristics
2.Location of the spill
3.Area of estuary, sea and foreshore impacted by oil
4.Sensitivity of the regional environment, eg proximity to bird breeding colony
5.Number of different habitats impacted, such as rock shore, beach, mangrove, wetland.
6.Timing of the incident (during seasonal breeding, bird migration)
7.Nature, toxicity and persistence of the oil.​(Ross; Saadoun)
8.Variety of species at the spill location
Other Impacts Due to Oil Spill
Industries that depend on seawater for their normal operation can also be adversely affected by
oil spills. Power stations and desalination plants which draw large quantities of seawater can be
particularly at risk, especially if their water intakes are located close to the sea surface, thereby
increasing the possibility of drawing in floating oil. ​(Simecekbeatty and Jlehr; Saadoun)​The
normal operations of other coastal industries, such as shipyards, ports and harbours, can also be
disrupted by oil spills and clean-up operations.A common cause of economic loss to fishermen is
interruption to their activities by the presence of oil or the performance of clean-up operations.
Sometimes this results from a precautionary ban on the catching and sale of fish and shellfish
from the area.​(El-Nemr)​Hazard to man health through eating contaminated sea foods and
products. Decrease the aesthetic values due to unsightly slicks or oiled beaches.
Control Measures
The recovery of the affected habitats and species following an oil spill will depend on the type of
ecosystem, the vulnerability of the species and not least the climate of the region where the oil
spill occurs. ​(Committee on Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates, and Effects et al.)​Generally, recovery
will proceed faster in warmer climates and on rocky shores compared to cold climates and, for
example, marshes. The long-term effects on deeper bottoms (i.e., if oil sinks and is absorbed in
bottom sediments) is also a matter of concern.
● Skimmers
● Sorbents
● Dispersants
Bioremediation
● Controlled Burning
● Watch and wait: in some cases, natural attenuation of oil may be most appropriate, due to
the invasive nature of facilitated methods of remediation, particularly in ecologically
sensitive areas such as wetlands.​(Committee on Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates, and Effects
et al.; Fan et al.)

● Solidifying
Other Controlling Measures
1.Other Controlling Measures
2.All crude oil tankers must be double hulls or double bottoms

3.All tankers must have radar systems to improve navigations.

4 Ship crew must be well trained and experienced & strict fire safety regulations apply on
board.​(Arnberg et al.)
5. Individual tanks within ships are limited in size so that spill should be smaller
6.In more congested areas, vessels traffic control is used to reduce the risk of collusions
7.Keeping the Navigation Informed Up-to-date information on changing weather conditions
8.Interpretations of radar and satellite images and ice reconnaissance reports for sensitive coastal
areas and inland routes.
9.Computer – based video display that allows navigators to track the ship‟s course in relation to
hazards, and warns the navigator of potential danger, both visually and audibly.
10.Monitoring and control equipment on ships means that discharged oil – water mixtures can be
traced back to the ship that way carrying the oil.
11.Making the ship safer​(Yu et al.)
12.Strictly follow the Oil Pollution Act and Oil Spill Contingency Plan and International
Maritime
13.Organization Rules and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
guidelines.​(Lindstedt-Siva)

CONCLUSION:

Oil and Gas industry is truly global industry, it touches every corner of the globe. Worldwide
developed and developing countries are majorly depending on the oil and gas industry for their
economic growth and prosperity. In energy sector always there is huge gap between, production
and demand of crude oil. After 1950s exploration operations are moved to greater depths of
oceans. Off-shore hydrocarbon exploration operations are difficult and expensive compare to
onshore. Major part of crude oil and petroleum products are transported between countries by sea
born trading. For this use Very large crude carriers and Ultra large crude carriers. Single trip they
can carry million barrels of crude oil. Sometimes accidents occur during drilling, transportation
and off loading time, ultimately release of oil into the sea waters. Oil spills are very danger to the
marine environment. The impact of oil spills can be far-reaching, from an environmental as well
as a socio- economic perspective. Marine and coastal habitats, wildlife species, recreational
activities, local industry, and fisheries, are among the resources and sectors that can be
negatively affected by oil spills. It affects seabirds, marine mammals, fish and shellfish, and
bottom-living animals. It destroys beaches, destroys aquaculture, fisheries and deteriorates health
effects from cleanup operations. The impacts of oil spill on marine environment sometimes
stayed up to 20 years.

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PLAGIARISM: