Marine oil pollution

Marine oil origin:

• 47% natural seeps
• 53% human sources, from which: 72% consumption, 22% transport, 6% extraction.

Therefore, ship accidents only accounts for about 10% from all the oil in the ocean! Much less than one could imagine.

Prestige

Some of these ship accidents have been:

• Prestige (Spain, 2002) => 67,000 tons of crude oil;
• Torrey Canyon (England, 1967) => 129,000 tons of crude oil;
• Metula (Strait of Magellan, 1973) => 58,000 tons of petroleum;
• Amoco Cadiz, ( English Channel, 1978) => 253,000 tons of crude oil;
• Exxon Valdez (southern Alaska, 1989) => 39,000 tons of petroleum;
• Braer (Scotland,1993) => 93,000 tons of crude oil.

Another important source of marine oil spills are wars:

• World War II (1939-1945)=> 417.000 tons
• Iran-Iraq War (1981-1987) => 260.000 tons
• Gulf War (1990-1991) => 715.000 tons

Besides, it is important to take into account that the oceans are full of abandoned ships (shipwrecks) which spread oil all over the ocean floor.

Once aware of all this marine oil pollution, we could wonder what people should do to make it disappear. It is known that oil only disappears by 2 processes:

• Biodegradation
• Photooxidation

There are other processes, but those only spread it. Oil is a natural harmful product (some oil components are carcinogens when combusted); however, marine petroleum pollution is less damaging (at large scale) than it could be thought because it is biodegradable. Therefore, it quickly becomes harmless.

In conclusion, everything is a question of concentration.

As a recommendation:

(1) short term cleaning for touristic and social interests (investment and human action);
(2) long term cleaning in remote zones (natural biodegradation is better than invasive and chemical methods).


More information available on:
- The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited webpage: http://www.itopf.com/
- The article Oil Spills-Oil Pollution: http://science.jrank.org/pages/4848/Oil-Spills-Oil-pollution.html