Research Report: Oil - Polluting Our Oceans
OIL –
POLLUTING OUR OCEANS
A Research Report
By
The ÒBotBrainsÓ
Junior Lego Robotics Team
November 23, 2005
OIL - POLLUTING OUR OCEANS
Introduction
I. Sources/Statistics of oil Pollution
A. Offshore Drilling
B. Big Spills
C. Natural Seeps
D. Up in smoke
E. Routine Maintenance
F. Down the Drain
II. Explanation of each source
A. Offshore Drilling
B. Big Spills
C. Natural Seeps
D. Up in smoke
E. Routine Maintenance
F. Down the Drain
III. Major Source of Oil Pollution – Down the Drain
A. Perception
B. Where it originates
C. Where it flows
D. How it affects wildlife
IV. Solutions to Oil Pollution
A. Recycling
B. Government Regulations
C. What other countries are doing
D. What Virginia is doing
E. What my community is doing
V. What can ÒWeÓ do about it
VI. Conclusion
OIL – POLLUTING OUR OCEANS
Oil is the worldÕs most precious resource, most sought after, most volatile yet it is also widely mishandled! There are 706 million gallons of oil that enter the ocean each year, mostly from non-accidental sources. Surprisingly the greatest source of oil pollution receives the least amount of publicity and the lowest source of oil pollution receives the most amount of publicity. At 363 million gallons of oil Ôdown the drainÕ, Americans carelessly dispose of 35 times more oil than was spilled in the entire Valdez oil spill.
The six main sources of oil pollution are:
A. Offshore drilling -15 million gallons per year or 2.12% worldwide, 584,000 Google articles
B. Big Spills -27 million gallons per year or 5.24% worldwide, 4,190,000 Google articles
C. Natural Seeps -62 million gallons per year or 8.78% worldwide
D. Up in smoke -92 million gallons per year or 13.03% worldwide
E. Routine Maintenance -137 million gallons per year or 19.4% worldwide, 698,000 Google articles
F. Down the Drain -363 million gallons per year or 51.42% worldwide
Offshore drilling may come from leakage in operational discharge and spills caused by hurricanes.
Big Spills such as the Exxon Valdez and the Jessica oil spill have accumulated the largest amount of publicity. Google searches found a whopping 4,190,000 articles on oil spills and 1,250,000 articles on the Exxon Valdez. Publicity about false problems causes people to get government to pass laws about wrong problems. Big oil spills are the second to the lowest contributor to oil pollution.
Natural Seeps can cause oil pollution through seepage from the ocean bottom and the erosion of sedimentary rocks.
ÔUp in SmokeÕ refers to air pollution from cars and industries that allow hydrocarbons to release into the air.
Routine Maintenance can cause pollution from bilge cleaning and other ship operations such as cleaning the ships engine. Ships that dump oily wastes is illegal but many ships release waste oils from their engine room bilges to save the cost of pumping their oily wastes into onshore tanks when they reach port.
ÔDown the DrainÕ comes from used engine oil improperly disposed of as well as oil runoff from land and municipal and industrial wastes industries ending up in watersheds and eventually making their way to our oceans. 363 million gallons of oil entering the ocean each year - more than all the other sources combined!
What is the ÔtrueÕ problem? Through various media sources, the public perceives the problem to be the carelessness of oil companies who leak oil into the oceans through off-shore drilling and tanker accidents but in fact, itÕs really only a small part of the huge problem that exists today.
Used engine oil is carelessly or purposely dumped into storm drains, yards, ditches and creeks and flows into storm drains through storm water and urban run-off. Americans carelessly dispose 35 times the amount of oil per year that was spilled in the entire Valdez spill. When oil is poured down a sink, it can diminish the effectiveness of the treatment process and could allow contaminant to be discharged. Pollutants on the streets, such as oil, are carried to the waterways by rain as well, and eventually into the oceans too. Oil enters our roadways when topping off gas tanks, improperly disposing engine oil from maintenance work, not using pumps or funnels when fueling or maintaining motors, paint spills and improper paint disposal. More than half of Americans change their own oil but only one-third of it is collected and recycled
Run-off takes place when oils seep down into the ground and into various streams that then feed into the ocean. This can pollute waterways and harm aquatic life. Run-off can occur in many ways like when industrial wastewater and household sewage is poured down drains from house cleaning, washing cars, and watering lawns and fields that contain oil from fertilizers. During heavy rains, oil-based fertilizers are washed away into streams and other water passages quite easily.
Even though many of these sources are in our very own backyard and might seem like only a small amount of oil compared to the oil on the whole earth, run-off adds up over time. Four million gallons of used oil are unaccounted for by Virginia residents who change their own oil.
ÔDown the drainÕ oil pollutes waterways thereby harming aquatic life. Used oil is much more harmful to wildlife than new oil. It contaminates their fur or feathers and they inhale or ingest the oil. It affects their habitats.
The government and industry sponsor oil collection and recycling programs in many communities and are increasing the awareness of the hazards of dumping oil. Free oil pans are provided at some oil dumping stations.
Auto salvage yards sell the used car parts and recycle oil from the oil tank and oil filters. Six million oil filters are improperly disposed of each year in Virginia alone. Each oil filter contains 6-8 ounces of used oil.
If we would recycle all of our oil used, this would save the U.S. 1.3 million barrels of oil/day. It takes forty-two gallons of crude oil, but only one gallon of used oil to produce 2.5 quarts of new lubricating oil. The public needs to be informed that used oil is dirty but never wears out!
MARPOL (short for marine pollution), a protocol signed originally in 1973, was designed to minimize pollution of the seas, including dumping, oil and exhaust pollution. MARPOL requires the installation and use of oil prevention equipment and prohibits discharges within certain distances from land.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other government organizations are working to control this pollution through different programs. The programs include regulatory tools, planning activities, technical and financial assistance, education, training, technology transfer, monitoring, and demonstration projects. Programs that are used are required to show that theyÕve made a difference. As of 1995, the EPA had given more than $370 million to address Ôdown the drainÕ problems.
In Virginia, we have the Virginia Storm Water Management Program. This program:
Minimizes quantity of storm water runoff
Improves the quality of storm water runoff
Provides public outreach through a free brochure and video
In Northern Virginia, there are going to be new storm drain markers that have a fish on it named Sherlock Shad (a local fish) and it says, ÒNo dumping!Ó.
The North Fork Shenandoah River and some of its neighboring tributaries are on the dirty water list. Friends of the Shenandoah River help prevent pollution from the Shenandoah River and clean up pollution. It is supporting recycling by advertising recycling centers and the advantages of recycling. For example, if you recycle two gallons of used oil it can generate enough electricity to run the average household for almost 24 hours.
Locally we have an organization called Friends For Fauquier County who is working to educate community developers and the public on solving the issue of Ôdown the drainÕ pollution.
Fauquier County has four locations including the landfill which collects used oil. There are brochures located in the county libraries, at the courthouse and county buildings to inform the public of the importance and location of disposing used oil. The county distributed approximately 3,000 brochures in the local public schools as well in the local parades. Information is also located on their website: www.fauquiercounty.gov
Many local automotive parts and service stores recycle used oil as well such as Auto Zone and Merchants Tire.
Canada searches for illegal oil dumpers with pollution patrol aircraft on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. This is very costly to patrol. In order to catch ships who dump at night, they are using RADARSAT – a satellite which uses radar to detect the calming effect of spilled oil on the water. Fines are given for violators. The Environment Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard have initiated several programs to educate the shipsÕ crews about the serious effects of oil dumping. Multilingual brochures are distributed explaining the serious hazards. Unfortunately, many ships pass through Canadian waters from other ports to another foreign port who are not notified
Despite more than 20 years of conventions in Sweden, cleaning the sludge tanks is still going on at sea. This causes the presence of thick oil slicks on the Swedish coast. Due to the slicks, 100,000 long- tailed ducks die yearly at Homburgs Bank in the Baltic Sea. Sweden would like a device to be installed that breaks down the stable emulsions so it can be released in the sea. This active cleaning equipment working together with the surveillance and commanding enforcement of the law might prevent most dumping at sea.
Some of the ideas we thought of to educate the public on oil pollution are:
A. Hand out flyers with information about the problem at gas stations and boat marinas.
B. Make a website that has information about the problem.
C. Develop a lesson plan to use in the school, in Boy Scout, and Girl Scout meetings, etc.
D. When getting your car inspected they could give out free oil pans and encourage you to recycle your used oil and have them read a pamphlet on ÔDown the DrainÕ hazards.
Run-off and pollution can be minimized, or even prevented, by utilizing better treatment and disposal methods for household and industrial sewages. Practicing more safety precautions on oil tankers and offshore drilling can prevent major spills.
ItÕs easy to sit back and blame the problem on those involved with Offshore Drilling and Big Spills where we as helpless individuals donÕt feel like Ôour partÕ matters. Yet, in fact, we can make a difference! Educating the public and making them more aware of the facts will only increase the hope for future generations to come and our ever-changing ecosystem.
In conclusion, we believe that attention is being paid to the wrong problems (i.e. oil spills). More research and education needs to be done to determine the effects of ÔDown the DrainÕ oil pollution and how to prevent this incredibly large problem which can be humanly prevented. The public needs to be aware of the information we have discovered.
SOURCES
www.seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN
www.activeboard.com/forum.spark
www.deq.state.la.us/assistance/recycling
www.ecan.govt.nz/Our+Environment/Waste/Hazardous
www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/stormwater/autosalvage.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARPOL
www.spaceforspecies.ca/meeting
Handy Ocean Answer Book
www.dcr.virginia.gov/sw/stormwat.htm
www.epa.gov/owow/nps/facts/point3.htm
www.epa.gov/owow/nps/facts/point10.htm
www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/regulatory/mprsa/beyond.html
This is a research report by the "BotBrains" Junior Lego Robotics team.
posted by Unknown @ 3:00 AM
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