Environmental Effects Of Oil Spills

Oil spills occur due to the release of the liquid petroleum hydrocarbon in the environment, especially in marine areas. This released oil floats over the surface of the body thus preventing the sunlight to pass through it and making it difficult for the plants and animals to survive below water level.

The three main effects of oil spillage are listed below:-

1. Environmental Effects: First of these is the environmental effect. The animal life that lives in the water or near the shore is the ones most affected by the spill. In most cases, the oil simply chokes the animals to death. Others that live face a number of other problems. The oil works its way into the fur and plumage of the animals. As a result, both birds and mammals find it harder

There is no clear relationship between the amount of oil in the aquatic environment and the likely impact on biodiversity. 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. Oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the

Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and acid-producing bacteria are anaerobic, while general aerobic bacteria (GAB) are aerobic. These bacteria occur naturally and will act to remove oil from an ecosystem, and their biomass will tend to replace other populations in the food chain.

2. Effect on Economy: This is the second major effect of an oil spill. The loss of precious crude oil during an oil spill effects on the economy as more barrels of oils are then needed to be imported. As after the oil spill the cleaning up of the spill is also an expensive and tedious task, however the company is responsible for the cleaning up of the oil spill but a lot of government help is needed while the cleaning process. This cleaning up of spill also effects the health of the workers cleaning the spill and thus increasing the cost of medical treatment.

3. Effect on Tourism Industry: The oil spills also majorly effects the tourism industry as the site of oil spread on beach, dead animals and sludge as the tourists stay away from these types of sites. This affects the economy of the people living there as the tourism is affected and the various activities such as sailing, swimming, rafting, paragliding and fishing cannot be