Rational application of chemicals in response to oil spills may reduce environmental damage

Abstract

Oil spills, for example those due to tanker collisions and groundings or platform accidents, can have huge adverse impacts on marine systems. The impact of an oil spill at sea depends on a number of factors, such as spill volume, type of oil spilled, weather conditions, and proximity to environmentally, economically, or socially sensitive areas. Oil spilled at sea threatens marine organisms, whole ecosystems, and economic resources in the immediate vicinity, such as fisheries, aquaculture, recreation, and tourism. Adequate response to any oil spill to minimize damage is therefore of great importance. The common response to an oil spill is to remove all visible oil from the water surface, either mechanically or by using chemicals to disperse the oil into the water column to biodegrade. This is not always the most suitable response to an oil spill, as the chemical application itself may also have adverse effects, or no response may be needed. In this article we discuss advantages and disadvantages of using chemical treatments to reduce the impact of an oil spill in relation to the conditions of the spill. The main characteristics of chemical treatment agents are discussed and presented within the context of a basic decision support scheme.

Acute Toxicity of Eight Oil Spill Response Chemicals to Temperate, Boreal, and Arctic Species

“…These include chemical dispersants, sorbents, shoreline washing agents (SWA), bioremediation agents, and a number of other products (gelling agents, demulsifiers, and herders) (Tamis et al, 2012). The term "shoreline cleaning agents" (SCA) is defined as products used to remove on-shore oil, and such products may include shoreline washing agents (SWA) and chemical dispersants.…”

Effects of oil and oil burn residues on seabird feathers

“…This will also reduce the potential impacts on e.g. birds (Tamis et al 2011). In the NEBA of a potential chemical dispersant operation important things to consider are e.g.…”

Enhanced oil–mineral aggregation with modified bentonite

“…Oil dispersion is an important factor in reducing the contamination impact of oil leakage; the dispersion of oil droplets can determine the toxicity of contaminated water by changing the aqueous phase concentration of oil. Smaller oil droplets are more easily biodegraded (Weise et al 1999;Khelifa et al 2005;Warr et al 2009;Wang et al 2on;Tamis et al 2012).…”