CATASTROPHES IN OIL AND PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRIES EXXON VALDEX OIL SPILL

CATASTROPHES IN OIL AND PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRIES

EXXON VALDEX OIL SPILLHAFIY HANANI BT SARJUNAZATUL HUSNA BT HAMIDONNURUL SHAFIQA BT SHAFIENURUL IZZATI BT HAIRUDINOVERVIEWOn March 23, 1989 at 9:12 p.m. the oil tanker boat known as the Exxon Valdez was scheduled to transport over 60 million gallons of oil from Prince William Sound to Long Beach, California to be refined over a 5-day time span.

Due to some ice fragments that had broken off from the Columbia glacier, Capt. John Hazelwood had decided to take Exxon Valdez off its normal route to steer clear of the glacier pieces.

OVERVIEWDuring this time of steering off course, John Hazelwood, decided to leave from the bridge area and leave the Third mate in charge of the ship.

The ship was on autopilot and through a lot of unforeseen mistakes and lack of communication at about 12:04 a.m. on March 24, 1989, Exxon Valdez ran across the Bligh Reef.

Within the time span of five hours about 11 million gallons of oil had spilled from the ruptured hull of the tanker and into the Prince William Sound

POSSIBLE FACTOR) The failure of the master to provide a proper navigation watch, possibly due to impairment from alcohol;

Captain: Joseph J HazelwoodIt occurred after the ship's captain, Joseph J. Hazelwood, left the bridge at a crucial moment. Mr. Hazelwood, an alcoholic, had downed five double vodkas on the night of the disaster, according to witnesses.

Investigations say that the accident was an outcome of poor maneuvering. It was also found that the 3rdmate on duty was not given the mandatory 6 hours rest before the starting of his next 12 hour duty. Thus it is possible that stress and excessive workload might have led to inefficient watch-keeping by the 3rdmate. Moreover, though the ship was on autopilot, it was found that the radar was not working since the time ship left the Valdez Terminal. It was also claimed that the master of the ship was under the influence of alcohol and left the watch during maneuvering through critical areas. Thus it was proved that the Exxon Shipping Company couldnt provide an efficient and sufficient crew to the ship, which unfortunately led to the acciden

4The spills damaging more than 1300 miles of shoreline.Disrupting lives of peopleAltering the physical features of a beach or shoreline. Hence affects the recovery of impacted plants or animals. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTSThe cleaning up procedure is using high pressure, hot water washing of shorelineIt is the effective way to remove stranded oilBut this procedure can damage the plants and animal in the treated zone and flushed away fine sediments that can helping to protect clams and mussels during storm. EFFECTS OF CLEANING UP PROCESSFor example, researchers concluded that the high-pressure hoses used on the beaches did more harm than good. The pressure destroyed interlocking layers of gravel and flushed away fine sediments that scientists now know provided a kind of armor for the beaches during storms, helping to protect clams and mussels. 6Oil from the spillage is very concentrated. Therefore, it can poisons animal by internal and external routes of exposure.Birds and mammals die because of oil fouls fur and feather. They can no longer insulated.Small organism which is aquatic habitat can be destroyed by a thick layer of oil. Example: Pacific Herring,Pigeon Guillemots

EFFECTS ON HABITAT AND ANIMAL100,000-250,000seabirds2,800 sea otters12 river otters300 harbor seals247 bald eagles22 orcas and billions of salmon and herring eggsEFFECTS ON HABITAT AND ANIMAL

TIMELINE OF ANIMAL RECOVERYThe killing of hundreds of thousands of marine animals damaged the fishing industryThe high concentrations of oil affects the live of aquatic habitats. The tourism industry, recreation also affected. The beauty of the place is no longer attracts people as the place is all covered with oil.EFFECTS ON HUMAN AND ECONOMIC10MECHANICAL TREATMENT (BOOM & SKIMMER)Used to slow the spread of oil and suck up the floating oil on the surfaceHowever, skimmers were not readily available during the first 24 hours following the spill. Thick oil and heavy kelp tended to clog the equipment. Repairs to damaged skimmers were time consuming.

SOLUTIONS

HOT WATER AND HIGH PRESSURE

People used fire hoses to spray beaches, forcing oil to the shore where it was trapped by layers of boom and removed or absorbed by special materials.

Hot water was used until it was determined that hot water cooked small organisms; cold water was used afterwards.

SOLUTIONS

SOLUTIONS

SOLVENTS AND CHEMICAL CLEANERS

The used of Corexit 958OM2 to remove the oil. Although this chemical is very effective to clean the oil, but spreading the chemical substances to the onshore is too risky.

Penetrate oil deeply into beaches, but this oil can remain relatively fresh for years and can later come back to the surface and affect nearby animals.

Mixed chemical-oil tend to be hard to collect using skimmers, thus more chemical being free to the ocean rather than being picked up.

SOLUTIONS

BIOREMEDIATIONCleanup crews applied fertilizer to beaches in order to spur growth of microscopic bacteria to eat the oil. The technique was successful on beaches with thin oil cover.

COUNTERMEASURESMECHANICAL CONTAINMENT1: BOOM

COUNTERMEASURESMECHANICAL CONTAINMENT1: SKIMMER

COUNTERMEASURESMECHANICAL CONTAINMENT1: SORBENT

COUNTERMEASURESALTERNATIVES METHOD1: DISPERSING AGENT

COUNTERMEASURESALTERNATIVES METHOD2: IN-SITU BURNING

COUNTERMEASURESALTERNATIVES METHOD3: BIOLOGICAL AGENT

REFERENCESS

The Atlantic, (2014). The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: 25 Years Ago Today. [online] Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/03/the-exxon-valdez-oil-spill-25-years-ago-today/100703/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2015].Topics.nytimes.com, (2010).Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (1989) News - The New York Times. [online] Available at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/e/exxon_valdez_oil_spill_1989/index.html [Accessed 29 Apr. 2015].Response.restoration.noaa.gov, (2014).Oil and Chemical Spills/Significant Incidents/Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. [online] Available at: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/exxonvaldez [Accessed 29 Apr. 2015].Response.restoration.noaa.gov, (2014).Lessons Learned From the Exxon Valdez Spill | response.restoration.noaa.gov. [online] Available at: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/significant-incidents/exxon-valdez-oil-spill/lessons-learned-exxon-valdez.html [Accessed 29 Apr. 2015].Response.restoration.noaa.gov, (2014).How Toxic Is Oil? | response.restoration.noaa.gov. [online] Available at: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/significant-incidents/exxon-valdez-oil-spill/how-toxic-oil.html [Accessed 29 Apr. 2015].Hadhazy, A. (2014).20 Years After the Exxon Valdez: Preventing--and Preparing for--the Next Oil Spill Disaster [Slide Show]. [online] Scientificamerican.com. Available at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exxon-valdez-20-years-later-oil-spill-prevention/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2015].