Health Effects of Oil Spills

Question 1

Case Study: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, April 2010

Answer 1

• Considered to be the largest marine oil spill in history
• Location: Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi Delta, US
• Volume: US govt estimated total discharge at 4.9mil barrels (210mil US gal; 780,000m^3)
• Cause: wellhead blowout
• Casualties: 11 killed, 17 injured
• Fault: mostly BP, but also rig operator Transocean and contractor Halliburton. Blamed for gross negligence, a series of cost-cutting decisions, and an inadequate safety system

Question 2

Health Effects on Wildlife

Answer 2

• Extensive dmg to marine and wildlife habitats and fishing and tourism industries was reported
• In Louisiana, 4.9mil pounds of oily material was removed from the beaches in 2013, over double the amount collected in 2012. Oil continued to be found as far as the Florida Panhandle and Tampa Bay, where scientists say the oil is embedded in the sand

Question 3

Marine animals:

Answer 3

In April 2013, reported that dolphins and other marine mammals continued to die in record numbers with infant dolphins dying at 6x the normal rate

Question 4

Fish:

Answer 4

A study in 2014 found that tuna that were exposed to oil from the spill developed deformities of the heart and other organs that would be expected to be fatal or at least life-shortening, and another study found that cardiotoxicity might have been widespread in animal life exposed to the spill

Question 5

What animals does the video mention as a “poster animal” for the spill? The oil affects the animal at every stage of life.

Answer 5

Sea turtle b/c it is harmed at every stage of its life

Question 6

What are the main effects of oil on birds?

Answer 6

Mats feathers, affects thermoregulation abilities
Can’t thermoregulate, spend all their time preening instead of looking for food or caring for babies, etc.

Question 7

What is meant by the term “baseline data”?

Answer 7

Data about the area prior to an event or disaster

Question 8

What is Corexit?

Answer 8

Chemical dispersant (breaks up oil then spreads it around), sinks to seafloor when mixed with oil. Dispute about toxicity.

Question 9

What is some physical evidence of the spill still found on beaches in the Gulf Coast?

Answer 9

Tar balls (gooey, sticky, condensed, thick), discoloured/oily seafoam

Question 10

What are some medical issues mentioned in this video?

Answer 10

Memory loss/weaker memory, skin turned spotty/rash from swimming/diving, chronic cough

Question 11

What did the spill do to the real estate market?

Answer 11

Houses on market for years instead of months, potential buyers always ask about effects of the spill, hesitation to buy b/c tar balls

Question 12

Methods Used to Contain/Eliminate Oil

Answer 12

Massive response ensued to protect beaches, wetlands, and estuaries from the spreading oil by utilizing:
1) Skimmer ships
2) Floating containment boons
3) Controlled burns
4) Oil-eating microbes
5) 1.84mil US gallons (7000m^3) of oil dispersant (Corexit)

Question 13

Oil Containment

Answer 13

• Containment booms stretching over 1,300km were deployed to corral the oil or as barriers to protect marshes, mangroves, and shrimp/crab/oyster farms
• Booms extend 18-48” above and below water surface and were effective only in relatively calm and slow-moving waters
• Boom were criticized for washing up on shore with the oil, allowing oil to escape above or below the boom, and for ineffectiveness in more than 3-4 foot waves

Question 14

How does Corexit work?

Answer 14

• It’s a mixture of emulsifiers and solvents that help break oil into small droplets after an oil spill
• Small droplets are easier to disperse throughout a water volume, and may be more readily biodegraded by microbes
• Dispersant use involves a trade-off b/w exposing coastal life to surface oil and exposing aquatic life to dispersed oil.
• While submerging the oil with dispersant may lessen exposure to marine life on the surface, it increases exposure for animal dwelling underwater, who may be harmed by toxicity of both dispersed oil and dispersant
• Approved for use by EPA due to unprecedented nature of the spill
• Used planes to drop Corexit into Gulf of Mexico

Question 15

Concerns About Corexit

Answer 15

• Contains possible cancer-causing agents, hazardous toxins and endocrine-disrupting chemicals
• In late 2012, a study from Georgia Tech reported the Corexit used during the BP oil spill had increased the toxicity of the oil by 52x
• Excessive exposure may cause CNS effects, nausea, vomiting, anesthetic or narcotic effects. Do not get in eyes, on skin, on clothing. Neither protective hear nor the safety manual were distributed to Gulf oil spill cleanup workers
• Corexit is banned in the UK

Question 16

BP said it chose to use Corexit b/c it was available the week of the rig explosion. It was neither the most effective nor the most safe. BP purchased 1/3 of the world’s supply of Corexit soon after the spill began.

Answer 16

• On May 24, the EPA ordered BP to reduce dispersant use by 75%
• Study in Sept 2013 of 247 BP oil spill clean-up workers showed the workers were at an increased risk of developing cancer, leukemia, and other illnesses. Concluded that clean-up workers exposed to oil spill and dispersant experienced significantly altered blood profiles, liver enzymes, and a variety of physical symptoms

Question 17

Geology of the Oil Reservoir and Cause of the Blowout

Answer 17

• The Deepwater Horizon was a mobile, floating, dynamically positioned drilling rig that could operate in waters up to 10,000ft deep.
• It was drilling a deep exploratory well in ~5000ft of water
• At ~9:45am on April 20, 2010, high-pressure methane gas from the well expanded into the drilling riser and rose into the drilling rig, where it ignited and exploded, engulfing the platform
• The oil reservoir was ~18,360ft below sea lvl, referred to as the Macondo well or Macondo prospect

Question 18

What is a kick?

Answer 18

An unplanned flow of well fluids (water, oil, gas) into the wellbore

Question 19

What is a blowout?

Answer 19

An uncontrolled release of inflammable gas and oil from well

Question 20

What features does a blowout preventer have?

Answer 20

Can close pipe rams, has circular annular preventers, blind shear rams

Question 21

Why did the drill pipe buckle? What consequence did this have?

Answer 21

Effective compression. Large pressure diff b/w inside of pipe and outside. The pipe was closed at the top, but oil continued to flow in from bottom. Buckling caused the blind shear rams to fail.

Question 22

Financial Consequences for BP

Answer 22

• In Nov 2012, BP and the US Department of Justice settled federal criminal charges with BP pleading guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter, 2 misdemeanors, and a felony count of lying to Congress
• BP and the Department of Justice agreed to a record-setting $4.525bil in fines and other payments.
• As of Feb 2013, criminal and civil settlements and payments to a trust fund had cost the company $42.2bil
• In Sept 2014, a US District Court judge ruled that BP was primarily responsible for the oil spill b/c of its gross negligence and reckless conduct.
• In July 2015, BP agreed to pay an additional $18.7bil in fines, the largest corporate settlement in US history