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An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution.The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land.
Oil spill containment boom holding back oil Two Indian Coast Guard vessels deploying an ocean boom A containment boom is a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill . Booms are used to reduce the possibility of polluting shorelines and other resources, and to help make recovery easier.
A practical definition of water pollution is: "Water pollution is the addition of substances or energy forms that directly or indirectly alter the nature of the water body in such a manner that negatively affects its legitimate uses." [1]: 6 Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants.
Oil spills are one of the most emotive of marine pollution events. However, while a tanker wreck may result in extensive newspaper headlines, much of the oil in the world's seas comes from other smaller sources, such as tankers discharging ballast water from oil tanks used on return ships, leaking pipelines or engine oil disposed of down sewers ...
Spilt 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 water. Cleanup and recovery from an oil spill is difficult and depends upon many factors, including the type of oil spilled, the ...
Spill containment is where spills of chemicals, oils, sewage etc. are contained within a barrier or drainage system rather than being absorbed at the surface. One method is to use an inflatable stopper or pneumatic bladder which is inserted into the outflow of a drainage system to create a containment vessel.
Today, there are several regulations, such as the clean water act, and International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC) that provide a framework for how to deal with the issue of compensation. The regulations aim to identify who is the responsible party, what are damages they must compensate for, and which parties ...
The oil slick as seen from space by NASA's Terra satellite on 24 May 2010. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been described as the worst environmental disaster in the United States, releasing about 4.9 million barrels (210 million US gal; 780,000 m 3) of crude oil making it the largest marine oil spill in history.