Oil Spill
Content
Oil Spill
OIL SPILLS- AN ACCIDENTAL REALEASE OF OIL INTO A
BODY OF WATER, AS FROM A TANKER, OFFSHORE
DRILLING RIG , OR UNDERWATER PIPELINE, OFTEN
PRESENTING A HAZARD TO MARINE LIFE AND THE
ENVIRONMENT.
Causes:
1. When oil tankers have equipment faults. When oil tankers break down, it may get
stuck on shallow land. When the tanker is attempted to move out of shallow land,
abrasion may cause a hole in the tanker that will lead to large amounts of oil being
released into the oceanic bodies. However, although this form of oil spill is the most
commonly known and has the highest media attention, only 2% of oil in water
bodies is a result of this action.
1. When oil tankers have equipment faults. When oil tankers break down, it may get
stuck on shallow land. When the tanker is attempted to move out of shallow land,
abrasion may cause a hole in the tanker that will lead to large amounts of oil being
released into the oceanic bodies. However, although this form of oil spill is the most
commonly known and has the highest media attention, only 2% of oil in water
bodies is a result of this action.
1. When oil tankers have equipment faults. When oil tankers break down, it may get
stuck on shallow land. When the tanker is attempted to move out of shallow land,
abrasion may cause a hole in the tanker that will lead to large amounts of oil being
released into the oceanic bodies. However, although this form of oil spill is the most
commonly known and has the highest media attention, only 2% of oil in water
bodies is a result of this action.
2. From nature and human activities on land. The large majority of oil spilled is from
natural seeps geological seeps from the ocean floor as well as leaks that occur
when products using petroleum or various forms of oil are used on land, and the oil
is washed off into water bodies.
3. Water Sports. Other causes of oil spills are spills by petroleum users of released
oil. This happens when various water sports or water vehicles such as motorboats
and jet skis leak fuel.
4. Drilling works carried out in sea. When drilling works carried out in the sea, the oil
and petroleum used for such activities are released into the sea, thus causing an oil
spill.
How do oil spills occur?
Oil Spills may happen for several reasons.
1. When oil tankers have equipment faults. When oil tankers break down, it may get
stuck on shallow land. When the tanker is attempted to move out of shallow land,
abrasion may cause a hole in the tanker that will lead to large amounts of oil being
released into the oceanic bodies. However, although this form of oil spill is the most
commonly known and has the highest media attention, only 2% of oil in water
bodies is a result of this action.
2. From nature and human activities on land. The large majority of oil spilled is from
natural seeps geological seeps from the ocean floor as well as leaks that occur
when products using petroleum or various forms of oil are used on land, and the oil
is washed off into water bodies.
3. Water Sports. Other causes of oil spills are spills by petroleum users of released
oil. This happens when various water sports or water vehicles such as motorboats
and jet skis leak fuel.
4. Drilling works carried out in sea. When drilling works carried out in the sea, the oil
and petroleum used for such activities are released into the sea, thus causing an oil
spill.
History:
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Santa Barbara Oil Spill
Platform A, Dos Cuadras (1).jpg
Platform A in 2006
Location
Pacific Ocean; Santa Barbara Channel
Coordinates 34°19′54″N 119°36′47″WCoordinates: 34°19′54″N 119°36′47″W
Date Main spill January 28 to February 7, 1969; gradually tapering off by April
Cause
Cause Well blowout during drilling from offshore oil platform
Spill characteristics
Volume
80,000 to 100,000 barrels (13,000 to 16,000 m3)
Shoreline impacted
Southern California: Pismo Beach to the Mexican border,
but concentrated near Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara oil spill occurred in January and February 1969 in the Santa
Barbara Channel, near the city of Santa Barbara in Southern California. It was the
largest oil spill in United States waters at the time, and now ranks third after the
2010 Deepwater Horizon and 1989 Exxon Valdez spills. It remains the largest oil spill
to have occurred in the waters off California.
The source of the spill was a blow-out on January 28, 1969, 6 miles (10 km) from the
coast on Union Oil's Platform A in the Dos Cuadras Offshore Oil Field. Within a tenday period, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 barrels (13,000 to 16,000 m3)[1] of
crude oil spilled into the Channel and onto the beaches of Santa Barbara County in
Southern California, fouling the coastline from Goleta to Ventura as well as the
northern shores of the four northern Channel Islands. The spill had a significant
impact on marine life in the Channel, killing an estimated 3,500 sea birds,[2] as well
as marine animals such as dolphins, elephant seals, and sea lions. The public
outrage engendered by the spill, which received prominent media coverage in the
United States, resulted in numerous pieces of environmental legislation within the
next several years, legislation that forms the legal and regulatory framework for the
modern environmental movement in the U.S.[3][4][5]
Background[edit]
Because of the abundance of oil in the thick sedimentary rock layers beneath the
Santa Barbara Channel, the region has been an attractive resource for the
petroleum industry for more than a hundred years. The southern coast of Santa
Barbara County was the location of the world's first offshore oil drilling, which took
place from piers at the Summerland Oil Field in 1896, just 6 miles (10 km) from the
spill site.[6][7] An economic boom accompanied the development of the
Summerland field, which transformed the spiritualist community of Summerland
into an oil town in just a few years.[8]
Oil development in the Channel and adjacent coastline was controversial even from
the earliest days, as by the late 19th century the city was beginning to establish
itself as a health resort and tourist destination with dramatic natural scenery,
unspoiled beaches, and a perfect climate. In the late 1890s, when the Summerland
field began to expand much closer to the city of Santa Barbara, a crowd of midnight
vigilantes headed by local newspaper publisher Reginald Fernald tore down one of
the more unsightly rigs erected on Miramar Beach itself (in 2010 the location of a
luxury hotel).[9] In 1927, the discovery of oil west of Santa Barbara led to the
development of Ellwood Oil Field. This caused the city to be bracketed on east and
west with oil fields, the new one a bonanza and the depleted Summerland field a
largely abandoned, blighted waste.[10] In 1929, the Mesa Oil Field was discovered
within the city itself, on the blufftop adjacent to present-day Santa Barbara City
College. Residential construction in the vicinity of the Mesa field halted, as oil
presented easier and faster money to the land developers. Oil derricks sprouted on
the hilltop within easy view of the harbor, on narrow town lots intended originally for
houses. While local protests were vocal, they failed to shut down the oil
development, as there was a city ordinance at the time specifically allowing drilling
on the Mesa. The oil derricks only went away when production on the small Mesa
field abruptly declined and ended in the late 1930s.[11][12]
Improved technology gradually allowed drilling farther and farther from shore, and
by the middle of the 20th century drilling was being carried out near Seal Beach,
Long Beach, and in other areas on the Southern California coast from man-made
islands built in shallow water close to shore. Nearer to the site of the oil spill, the
first drilling island was built in 1958 by Richfield Oil Company. Named Richfield
Island, now Rincon Island, it was constructed in 45 feet (14 m) of water near Punta
Gorda, between Carpinteria and Ventura, to exploit the offshore portion of the
Rincon Oil Field; this island, now owned by Greka Energy, remains in active
production.
In the Santa Barbara Channel, geologists realized that the anticlinal trend which
held the extremely productive Rincon and Ventura Oil Fields did not end at the
shoreline, but extended underneath the Channel. Prospectors for oil sought ways to
drill in deeper water. Seismic testing under the Channel began shortly after the
Second World War, in an attempt to locate the suspected petroleum reservoirs deep
underneath the ocean floor. The testing was noisy and disruptive; explosions rattled
windows, cracked plaster, and filled the beaches with dead fish; local citizens as
well as the Santa Barbara News-Press vocally opposed the practice, which continued
nonetheless, but after a delay and under tighter controls. Yet the testing had
revealed what the oil company geologists had suspected, and the population
feared: the probable presence of sizeable exploitable petroleum reservoirs in
relatively shallow water, approximately 200 feet (60 m) deep, within reach of
developing ocean-drilling technology.[13]
A series of legal and legislative actions, however, delayed actual oil platform
construction and drilling until the mid-1960s, as the Federal and State governments
fought for ownership of submerged lands. Congress passed the Submerged Lands
Act in 1953, which granted to the states all lands within 3 nautical miles (6 km) of
shore, known as the tidelands. After two more years of wrangling with state
legislature, Santa Barbara arrived at a compromise with the oil companies, creating
a no-drilling zone in the Channel 16 miles (26 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide
adjacent to the city of Santa Barbara. However, several major oil fields were found
within state waters on either side of this zone, and the State granted leases in these
fields beginning in 1957. Development of these resources commenced, with the first
offshore oil platform – Hazel – being built in 1957.[14][15] Platform Hilda, adjacent
to Hazel, was erected in 1960. Both platforms tapped into the Summerland Offshore
Oil Field, and were easily visible from Santa Barbara on a clear day. Platform Holly,
in the offshore portion of the Ellwood Oil Field about 15 miles (24 km) west of Santa
Barbara, was emplaced in 1965.[16]
Development of leases in the federal waters was next. As the technology became
available, and after the seismic surveys of the Channel had revealed that the oil was
probably there, the federal government put the portions of the Santa Barbara
Channel outside of the 3 miles (5 km) tidelands limit up for lease. This was possible
because a 1965 Supreme Court decision finally settled the competing claims on the
submerged lands outside of 3 miles (5 km) limit, giving them to the federal
government. The first lease sale took place on December 15, 1966, after a notice of
the impending sale in the Federal Register went unnoticed by local officials. A
consortium of oil companies, including Phillips, Continental, and Cities Service Oil
Company, was awarded the first lease after paying over $21 million for the rights to
drill on approximately 3 square miles (8 km2) of ocean floor in the Carpinteria
Offshore Oil Field.[17] The rig the three companies emplaced – Platform Hogan –
was the first oil platform offshore of California in Federal waters. It became
operational on September 1, 1967.[18][19] On February 6, 1968, a total of 72 leases
went up for bid. A partnership between Union Oil, Gulf Oil, Texaco, and Mobil
acquired the rights to Lease 241 in the Dos Cuadras Offshore Oil Field. Their first rig
on that lease, Platform A, went into position on September 14, 1968, and
commenced drilling.[18][19]
Local hostility to the oil industry had been growing during the period from 1966 to
1968, despite assurances from the oil industry that it could carry out its operations
safely. On June 7, 1968, 2,000 US gallons (8 m3) of crude oil spilled into the sea
from Phillips' new Platform Hogan, in spite of the oil company's assurances that
such a thing would not happen, and the assurances of Stewart L. Udall, the
Secretary of the Department of the Interior; and in November, a local ballot
referendum was successful in preventing the construction of an onshore oil facility
at Carpinteria.
Greenpoint oil spill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Greenpoint oil spill is one of the largest oil spills ever recorded in the United
States. Located around Newtown Creek in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn,
New York City, between 17 and 30 million US gallons (64,000 and 114,000 m3) of oil
and petroleum products have leaked into the soil from crude oil processing facilities
over a period of several decades.[1]
History of the area[edit]
Main articles: Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Newtown Creek
The areas of the northeast industrial section of Greenpoint along Newtown Creek
were home to oil refineries from the 1840s, and by 1870 boasted more than 50
petroleum processing plants, many of which were incorporated into the Standard Oil
Trust towards the end of the century. Standard Oil's successors (Mobil and later
ExxonMobil) used the refining facilities until 1966 and later operated a bulk
petroleum storage facility and a distribution terminal on the site until 1993.[2][3]
Other petroleum companies operating in the area were Amoco (later part of BP) and
Paragon Oil (now part of ChevronTexaco).[4]
Discovery of the spill[edit]
In September 1978, a United States Coast Guard helicopter on a routine patrol
discovered a plume of oil flowing in the creek, originating from a bulkhead at
Meeker Avenue.[3] A subsequent study revealed the large-scale soil contamination,
which was estimated in excess of 50 acres (0.20 km2) and a spillage volume of
more than 17 million US gallons (64,000 m3).[4]
Cleanup efforts and seepage mitigation[edit]
The first pumps were installed at the site in late 1979, and recovery efforts have
increased over the years. The pump systems are operated by the site owners
ExxonMobil,[5] BP and, more recently, ChevronTexaco.[4] Environmentalist
organizations have said that there was little effort until the early 1990s and have
labelled the clean up operations "rudimentary".[6] In January 2006 the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation, backed[clarification needed] by
the involved companies, asserted that 9 million US gallons (34,000 m3) of spilled oil
had been recovered and cleaned up.[citation needed]
In 2007 a report by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on the spill
raised the estimated size of the contaminated area to 100 acres (0.40 km2) and the
estimated spillage volume to 30 million US gallons (110,000 m3), three times larger
than the Exxon Valdez spill. The report also criticized the recovery efforts and a
recent slowdown of the clean up.[4]
According to an Environmental Protection Agency study, "the American Petroleum
Institute (2002) indicates that 40% to 80% of a product spill may be retained in soils
as residual product".[4]:42 The Department of Environmental Conservation's
website states that petroleum companies participating in the cleanup have used a
Free Product Recovery System for groundwater, rather than the soils.[7]
A New York State Department of Health study, completed in May 2007, indicated
that no vapor was coming from the spill into homes.[8] The Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) "Newtown Creek/Greenpoint Oil Spill Study Brooklyn, New
York" states that vapor concentrations in “some commercial establishments” were
found “above the Upper Explosive Limit”.[9]:7 The study also said, "A review of the
data collected by the NYSDEC shows that, in general, chemicals were detected at all
locations in each home, but not in a pattern that would typically represent a vapor
intrusion phenomenon."[4]
A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation report tested
residential blocks above the spill area concluded that there is no evidence of either
oil or dangerous vapors seeping into people’s homes. Brooklyn Paper columnist Tom
Gilbert wrote, "This stands to reason, as the spilled oil tends to lie deep
underground, capped by a nearly impermeable layer of clay."[10] Soil vapor tests by
both the DEC and the non-profit environmental organization Riverkeeper have come
out positive.[11][not in citation given]
As reported by NYU's ScienceLine, ExxonMobil's testing indicates that the existence
of oil vapors remains unclear: "This summer, a contractor for Exxon Mobil conducted
a soil vapor study in Greenpoint. It took ten samples from a residential area; of five
samples that detected benzene, one was from an area above the oil plume at a
level below 5.4 parts per billion."[12]
Law-related:
OIL PULLUTION ACT of 1990
The Oil Pollution Act (101 H.R.1465, P.L. 101-380)
This law was passed by the 101st United Ststes Congress,and signed by president
George H. W Bush.This law implemented, to prevent future oil spills .And this law
also stated that companies must have a “plan to prevent spills that may occur” and
“have detailed containment and clean up plan”.
Republic Act No.9483
Republic Act No.9483- The state, in the protection of its marine wealth in its
archipelagic waters, territorial sea and exclusive econimic zone, adopts
internationally accepted measures which impose strict liability for Oil Pollution
Damage and ensure prompt and adequate compensation for persons who suffer
such damage.
OIL SPILLS- AN ACCIDENTAL REALEASE OF OIL INTO A
BODY OF WATER, AS FROM A TANKER, OFFSHORE
DRILLING RIG , OR UNDERWATER PIPELINE, OFTEN
PRESENTING A HAZARD TO MARINE LIFE AND THE
ENVIRONMENT.
Causes:
1. When oil tankers have equipment faults. When oil tankers break down, it may get
stuck on shallow land. When the tanker is attempted to move out of shallow land,
abrasion may cause a hole in the tanker that will lead to large amounts of oil being
released into the oceanic bodies. However, although this form of oil spill is the most
commonly known and has the highest media attention, only 2% of oil in water
bodies is a result of this action.
1. When oil tankers have equipment faults. When oil tankers break down, it may get
stuck on shallow land. When the tanker is attempted to move out of shallow land,
abrasion may cause a hole in the tanker that will lead to large amounts of oil being
released into the oceanic bodies. However, although this form of oil spill is the most
commonly known and has the highest media attention, only 2% of oil in water
bodies is a result of this action.
1. When oil tankers have equipment faults. When oil tankers break down, it may get
stuck on shallow land. When the tanker is attempted to move out of shallow land,
abrasion may cause a hole in the tanker that will lead to large amounts of oil being
released into the oceanic bodies. However, although this form of oil spill is the most
commonly known and has the highest media attention, only 2% of oil in water
bodies is a result of this action.
2. From nature and human activities on land. The large majority of oil spilled is from
natural seeps geological seeps from the ocean floor as well as leaks that occur
when products using petroleum or various forms of oil are used on land, and the oil
is washed off into water bodies.
3. Water Sports. Other causes of oil spills are spills by petroleum users of released
oil. This happens when various water sports or water vehicles such as motorboats
and jet skis leak fuel.
4. Drilling works carried out in sea. When drilling works carried out in the sea, the oil
and petroleum used for such activities are released into the sea, thus causing an oil
spill.
How do oil spills occur?
Oil Spills may happen for several reasons.
1. When oil tankers have equipment faults. When oil tankers break down, it may get
stuck on shallow land. When the tanker is attempted to move out of shallow land,
abrasion may cause a hole in the tanker that will lead to large amounts of oil being
released into the oceanic bodies. However, although this form of oil spill is the most
commonly known and has the highest media attention, only 2% of oil in water
bodies is a result of this action.
2. From nature and human activities on land. The large majority of oil spilled is from
natural seeps geological seeps from the ocean floor as well as leaks that occur
when products using petroleum or various forms of oil are used on land, and the oil
is washed off into water bodies.
3. Water Sports. Other causes of oil spills are spills by petroleum users of released
oil. This happens when various water sports or water vehicles such as motorboats
and jet skis leak fuel.
4. Drilling works carried out in sea. When drilling works carried out in the sea, the oil
and petroleum used for such activities are released into the sea, thus causing an oil
spill.
History:
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Santa Barbara Oil Spill
Platform A, Dos Cuadras (1).jpg
Platform A in 2006
Location
Pacific Ocean; Santa Barbara Channel
Coordinates 34°19′54″N 119°36′47″WCoordinates: 34°19′54″N 119°36′47″W
Date Main spill January 28 to February 7, 1969; gradually tapering off by April
Cause
Cause Well blowout during drilling from offshore oil platform
Spill characteristics
Volume
80,000 to 100,000 barrels (13,000 to 16,000 m3)
Shoreline impacted
Southern California: Pismo Beach to the Mexican border,
but concentrated near Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara oil spill occurred in January and February 1969 in the Santa
Barbara Channel, near the city of Santa Barbara in Southern California. It was the
largest oil spill in United States waters at the time, and now ranks third after the
2010 Deepwater Horizon and 1989 Exxon Valdez spills. It remains the largest oil spill
to have occurred in the waters off California.
The source of the spill was a blow-out on January 28, 1969, 6 miles (10 km) from the
coast on Union Oil's Platform A in the Dos Cuadras Offshore Oil Field. Within a tenday period, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 barrels (13,000 to 16,000 m3)[1] of
crude oil spilled into the Channel and onto the beaches of Santa Barbara County in
Southern California, fouling the coastline from Goleta to Ventura as well as the
northern shores of the four northern Channel Islands. The spill had a significant
impact on marine life in the Channel, killing an estimated 3,500 sea birds,[2] as well
as marine animals such as dolphins, elephant seals, and sea lions. The public
outrage engendered by the spill, which received prominent media coverage in the
United States, resulted in numerous pieces of environmental legislation within the
next several years, legislation that forms the legal and regulatory framework for the
modern environmental movement in the U.S.[3][4][5]
Background[edit]
Because of the abundance of oil in the thick sedimentary rock layers beneath the
Santa Barbara Channel, the region has been an attractive resource for the
petroleum industry for more than a hundred years. The southern coast of Santa
Barbara County was the location of the world's first offshore oil drilling, which took
place from piers at the Summerland Oil Field in 1896, just 6 miles (10 km) from the
spill site.[6][7] An economic boom accompanied the development of the
Summerland field, which transformed the spiritualist community of Summerland
into an oil town in just a few years.[8]
Oil development in the Channel and adjacent coastline was controversial even from
the earliest days, as by the late 19th century the city was beginning to establish
itself as a health resort and tourist destination with dramatic natural scenery,
unspoiled beaches, and a perfect climate. In the late 1890s, when the Summerland
field began to expand much closer to the city of Santa Barbara, a crowd of midnight
vigilantes headed by local newspaper publisher Reginald Fernald tore down one of
the more unsightly rigs erected on Miramar Beach itself (in 2010 the location of a
luxury hotel).[9] In 1927, the discovery of oil west of Santa Barbara led to the
development of Ellwood Oil Field. This caused the city to be bracketed on east and
west with oil fields, the new one a bonanza and the depleted Summerland field a
largely abandoned, blighted waste.[10] In 1929, the Mesa Oil Field was discovered
within the city itself, on the blufftop adjacent to present-day Santa Barbara City
College. Residential construction in the vicinity of the Mesa field halted, as oil
presented easier and faster money to the land developers. Oil derricks sprouted on
the hilltop within easy view of the harbor, on narrow town lots intended originally for
houses. While local protests were vocal, they failed to shut down the oil
development, as there was a city ordinance at the time specifically allowing drilling
on the Mesa. The oil derricks only went away when production on the small Mesa
field abruptly declined and ended in the late 1930s.[11][12]
Improved technology gradually allowed drilling farther and farther from shore, and
by the middle of the 20th century drilling was being carried out near Seal Beach,
Long Beach, and in other areas on the Southern California coast from man-made
islands built in shallow water close to shore. Nearer to the site of the oil spill, the
first drilling island was built in 1958 by Richfield Oil Company. Named Richfield
Island, now Rincon Island, it was constructed in 45 feet (14 m) of water near Punta
Gorda, between Carpinteria and Ventura, to exploit the offshore portion of the
Rincon Oil Field; this island, now owned by Greka Energy, remains in active
production.
In the Santa Barbara Channel, geologists realized that the anticlinal trend which
held the extremely productive Rincon and Ventura Oil Fields did not end at the
shoreline, but extended underneath the Channel. Prospectors for oil sought ways to
drill in deeper water. Seismic testing under the Channel began shortly after the
Second World War, in an attempt to locate the suspected petroleum reservoirs deep
underneath the ocean floor. The testing was noisy and disruptive; explosions rattled
windows, cracked plaster, and filled the beaches with dead fish; local citizens as
well as the Santa Barbara News-Press vocally opposed the practice, which continued
nonetheless, but after a delay and under tighter controls. Yet the testing had
revealed what the oil company geologists had suspected, and the population
feared: the probable presence of sizeable exploitable petroleum reservoirs in
relatively shallow water, approximately 200 feet (60 m) deep, within reach of
developing ocean-drilling technology.[13]
A series of legal and legislative actions, however, delayed actual oil platform
construction and drilling until the mid-1960s, as the Federal and State governments
fought for ownership of submerged lands. Congress passed the Submerged Lands
Act in 1953, which granted to the states all lands within 3 nautical miles (6 km) of
shore, known as the tidelands. After two more years of wrangling with state
legislature, Santa Barbara arrived at a compromise with the oil companies, creating
a no-drilling zone in the Channel 16 miles (26 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide
adjacent to the city of Santa Barbara. However, several major oil fields were found
within state waters on either side of this zone, and the State granted leases in these
fields beginning in 1957. Development of these resources commenced, with the first
offshore oil platform – Hazel – being built in 1957.[14][15] Platform Hilda, adjacent
to Hazel, was erected in 1960. Both platforms tapped into the Summerland Offshore
Oil Field, and were easily visible from Santa Barbara on a clear day. Platform Holly,
in the offshore portion of the Ellwood Oil Field about 15 miles (24 km) west of Santa
Barbara, was emplaced in 1965.[16]
Development of leases in the federal waters was next. As the technology became
available, and after the seismic surveys of the Channel had revealed that the oil was
probably there, the federal government put the portions of the Santa Barbara
Channel outside of the 3 miles (5 km) tidelands limit up for lease. This was possible
because a 1965 Supreme Court decision finally settled the competing claims on the
submerged lands outside of 3 miles (5 km) limit, giving them to the federal
government. The first lease sale took place on December 15, 1966, after a notice of
the impending sale in the Federal Register went unnoticed by local officials. A
consortium of oil companies, including Phillips, Continental, and Cities Service Oil
Company, was awarded the first lease after paying over $21 million for the rights to
drill on approximately 3 square miles (8 km2) of ocean floor in the Carpinteria
Offshore Oil Field.[17] The rig the three companies emplaced – Platform Hogan –
was the first oil platform offshore of California in Federal waters. It became
operational on September 1, 1967.[18][19] On February 6, 1968, a total of 72 leases
went up for bid. A partnership between Union Oil, Gulf Oil, Texaco, and Mobil
acquired the rights to Lease 241 in the Dos Cuadras Offshore Oil Field. Their first rig
on that lease, Platform A, went into position on September 14, 1968, and
commenced drilling.[18][19]
Local hostility to the oil industry had been growing during the period from 1966 to
1968, despite assurances from the oil industry that it could carry out its operations
safely. On June 7, 1968, 2,000 US gallons (8 m3) of crude oil spilled into the sea
from Phillips' new Platform Hogan, in spite of the oil company's assurances that
such a thing would not happen, and the assurances of Stewart L. Udall, the
Secretary of the Department of the Interior; and in November, a local ballot
referendum was successful in preventing the construction of an onshore oil facility
at Carpinteria.
Greenpoint oil spill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Greenpoint oil spill is one of the largest oil spills ever recorded in the United
States. Located around Newtown Creek in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn,
New York City, between 17 and 30 million US gallons (64,000 and 114,000 m3) of oil
and petroleum products have leaked into the soil from crude oil processing facilities
over a period of several decades.[1]
History of the area[edit]
Main articles: Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Newtown Creek
The areas of the northeast industrial section of Greenpoint along Newtown Creek
were home to oil refineries from the 1840s, and by 1870 boasted more than 50
petroleum processing plants, many of which were incorporated into the Standard Oil
Trust towards the end of the century. Standard Oil's successors (Mobil and later
ExxonMobil) used the refining facilities until 1966 and later operated a bulk
petroleum storage facility and a distribution terminal on the site until 1993.[2][3]
Other petroleum companies operating in the area were Amoco (later part of BP) and
Paragon Oil (now part of ChevronTexaco).[4]
Discovery of the spill[edit]
In September 1978, a United States Coast Guard helicopter on a routine patrol
discovered a plume of oil flowing in the creek, originating from a bulkhead at
Meeker Avenue.[3] A subsequent study revealed the large-scale soil contamination,
which was estimated in excess of 50 acres (0.20 km2) and a spillage volume of
more than 17 million US gallons (64,000 m3).[4]
Cleanup efforts and seepage mitigation[edit]
The first pumps were installed at the site in late 1979, and recovery efforts have
increased over the years. The pump systems are operated by the site owners
ExxonMobil,[5] BP and, more recently, ChevronTexaco.[4] Environmentalist
organizations have said that there was little effort until the early 1990s and have
labelled the clean up operations "rudimentary".[6] In January 2006 the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation, backed[clarification needed] by
the involved companies, asserted that 9 million US gallons (34,000 m3) of spilled oil
had been recovered and cleaned up.[citation needed]
In 2007 a report by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on the spill
raised the estimated size of the contaminated area to 100 acres (0.40 km2) and the
estimated spillage volume to 30 million US gallons (110,000 m3), three times larger
than the Exxon Valdez spill. The report also criticized the recovery efforts and a
recent slowdown of the clean up.[4]
According to an Environmental Protection Agency study, "the American Petroleum
Institute (2002) indicates that 40% to 80% of a product spill may be retained in soils
as residual product".[4]:42 The Department of Environmental Conservation's
website states that petroleum companies participating in the cleanup have used a
Free Product Recovery System for groundwater, rather than the soils.[7]
A New York State Department of Health study, completed in May 2007, indicated
that no vapor was coming from the spill into homes.[8] The Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) "Newtown Creek/Greenpoint Oil Spill Study Brooklyn, New
York" states that vapor concentrations in “some commercial establishments” were
found “above the Upper Explosive Limit”.[9]:7 The study also said, "A review of the
data collected by the NYSDEC shows that, in general, chemicals were detected at all
locations in each home, but not in a pattern that would typically represent a vapor
intrusion phenomenon."[4]
A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation report tested
residential blocks above the spill area concluded that there is no evidence of either
oil or dangerous vapors seeping into people’s homes. Brooklyn Paper columnist Tom
Gilbert wrote, "This stands to reason, as the spilled oil tends to lie deep
underground, capped by a nearly impermeable layer of clay."[10] Soil vapor tests by
both the DEC and the non-profit environmental organization Riverkeeper have come
out positive.[11][not in citation given]
As reported by NYU's ScienceLine, ExxonMobil's testing indicates that the existence
of oil vapors remains unclear: "This summer, a contractor for Exxon Mobil conducted
a soil vapor study in Greenpoint. It took ten samples from a residential area; of five
samples that detected benzene, one was from an area above the oil plume at a
level below 5.4 parts per billion."[12]
Law-related:
OIL PULLUTION ACT of 1990
The Oil Pollution Act (101 H.R.1465, P.L. 101-380)
This law was passed by the 101st United Ststes Congress,and signed by president
George H. W Bush.This law implemented, to prevent future oil spills .And this law
also stated that companies must have a “plan to prevent spills that may occur” and
“have detailed containment and clean up plan”.
Republic Act No.9483
Republic Act No.9483- The state, in the protection of its marine wealth in its
archipelagic waters, territorial sea and exclusive econimic zone, adopts
internationally accepted measures which impose strict liability for Oil Pollution
Damage and ensure prompt and adequate compensation for persons who suffer
such damage.
