Oil on Troubled Waters: Response and Outlook for Recovery in the Gulf of Mexico Nancy E. Kinner Coastal Response Research Center University of New Hampshire 1
Marine Oil Spills Tankers: Trend is Decreasing Double Hulls Tailor Response to Spill Natural Disasters Increasing Impact Damage to off-shore platforms/rigs and pipelines Increasing Drilling and Arctic Transport????? 2
Crude Oil Properties Density: 0.7-0.99 g/cm 3 Water Density: 1.00 g/cm 3 Oil usually floats on water. May sink if associated with sediment particles. Soluble at less than 100 ppm 250+ hydrocarbons Composition: 83-87% Carbon, 10-14% Hydrogen, 0.5-6% Sulfur, 0.1-2% Nitrogen, 0.1-1.5% Oxygen <0.1% Metals Louisiana Sweet Crude Oil is 30% Volatile nydailynews.com Quinn / AP
Fate of Oil Evaporation Volatiles = Few C s Dissolution More Soluble = Few C s Photochemical Oxidation (UV-Sun) Emulsification (Mousse) Transport Vertical or Horizontal Sedimentation Stranding (Shorelines) Tarballs Biodegradation Ingestion 4
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Biological Effects Acute Release Large Releases, High Concentrations ti Severe Impact on Health/Lethal Chronic Release Small Amounts Released Over Long Time Lethal Effects Death Chronic (Sublethal) Effects Impairment of Functions/Activities e.g., Impaired Growth and Reproduction 9
Biological Questions: 1. What Are the Biological Effects of the Spill? 2. When Has Complete Recovery Occurred (If Ever)? 3. Is Recovery to Pre-Spill Community? 4. How Clean Is Clean Enough? All Compared to Natural Variation 10
Perturbation (e.g., oil spill) Normal Variability # of Individuals Recovery Spill Impact (Source: NAS, 2003) Time 11
Issues in Assessing Biological Impacts Oil vs. Other Anthropogenic Impacts What is Pristine? Most Spills in Urban/Developed Coastal/Estuarine Environments Ideal = Before vs. After, Control vs. Impact (BACI) Observations Multiple Sites (Spatial Gradient) Multiple Times (Time Series) 12
Some Factors Affecting Toxicity it Type of Hydrocarbons Concentration of Hydrocarbons Length of Exposure Ability of Organisms to Accumulate/Metabolize t li Hydrocarbons 13
Coral Oysters Shrimp Crabs Key Biota in DWH Spill Blue Fin Tuna Intertidal/Marsh Vegetation (Marsh as Nursery Grounds) Biota That Cannot Swim Away Are Most Impacted 14
Oil Spill Response in U.S. OPA (Oil Pollution Act) 1990 Federal/Congressional Response to Exxon Valdez in 1989 National Contingency Planning by Government and Industry (NCP) Federal Gov t Directs All Public/Private Response Efforts Area Committees (State, Fed, Local Gov t) Develop Detailed Location Specific Plans Owners/Operators of Vessels, Platforms and Facilities Prepare Response Plans 15
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Response Selection When: How Recently Did Spill Occur? Where is Spill? Bay, Estuary Beach, Salt Marsh Type of Oil + Condition Volume Spilled Weather Conditions Personnel Safety Effectiveness of Response Equipment Resources to Protect 17
Di Drivers of fresponse Selection Current Habitat(s) Impacted Natural Resources Impacted Future Economics Stakeholders Views (Pre-Spill Involvement) Performance Metrics (Quantitative vs. Qualitative) 18
Priority #1 = Stop Fire, Rescue People 19
Response Effort 20
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Stop Source of Leak Start Relief Well Install Cap to Stop Flow High Ambient Water Pressure, Cold and Dark 2200 psi High Exit Pressure of Oil, Hot (212 o F) 6500 psi 22
Step #2 = Start Drilling Relief Well 23
Relief Wells 24
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Clean-Up Response 27
Common Clean-up Responses Tracking Sorbents In Situ Burning Booms Dispersants Surface Washing Natural Attenuation Bioremediation 28
Common Responses Tracking: Allow Natural Weathering Processes to Clean- Up Oil 29
Satellite Image of Oil Slick 30
Common Responses Sorbents: Materials Applied to Oil on Surface that Absorb the Oil e.g., Poly-plastics, Straw Materials Removed from Surface After Oil Is Sorbed to Them Disposed by Burning or in Landfills 31
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Common Responses Booms: Capture Oil or Deflect It from Critical Area Skimmers: Collect Oil from Surface 33
Booms 34
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Skimmer 39
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Common Responses Tracking Sorbents Natural Attenuation Bioremediation In Situ Burning Booms Dispersants Surface Washing 41
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Insitu Burn 43
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Common Responses Tracking Sorbents In Situ Burning Booms Natural Attenuation Bioremediation Dispersants Surface Washing National Contingency Plan Product List (EPA) 45
Dispersant Applications 46
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Natural Attenuation 49
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Bioremediation Every Year, ~ 20M gallons of oil enter GOM from Natural Seeps Naturally occurring bacteria live in GOM waters that t use this oil as a food source to grow Oil + Oxygen Water+ Carbon Dioxide + Energy DWH Oil is Just More Food Takes 6-20 days to degrade oil by half 51
GOM Oil Degrading g Microbes 52
Impact of DWH on GOM Short Term, Acute Toxicity (Immediately Lethal) = Lower Than Expected Long Term, Chronic Toxicity =???? Only Time Will Tell Months to Years of Data Needed 53
Impact on Spill Response More R&D on Response More Oversight of Off-Shore Drilling Risk Communication Deepwater Response Subsurface Detection Arctic Response??????? 54
CRRC Website: www.crrc.unh.edu 55