The Impact of Oil Spills On The Environment and Surrounding Communities: Case of Spain and Brazil
The Impact of Oil Spills On The Environment and Surrounding Communities: Case of Spain and Brazil
The Impact of Oil Spills On The Environment and Surrounding Communities: Case of Spain and Brazil
ISSN 2974-3036
Volume: 1, Issue:1, Year: 2022, pp. 1-19
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ORCID iD 0000-0002-6134-4785
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ORCID iD 0000-0003-4703-1050
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Introduction:
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The environment has been recognized as a crucial component in
reaching or not achieving optimum health.. The quality of the
environment affects man's behaviours and inactions, and vice versa
(Oluwafolahan et al, 2012).
On November 13, 2002, the single-hulled tanker Prestige in Spain,
flying the Bahamas flag and carrying 77,000 tons of heavy petroleum,
sent an SOS signal off Cape Tourina, Galicia. The tanker broke in two
and sank at 428150 N and 128080 W, 260 km west of Vigo on the
Galicia Bank .The oil spill damaged a coastline from Portugal to France.
At least three oil pollution pulses containing 60,000 tones hit Galicia's
coastline (Montero et al. 2003). First oil reached the coast on 16
November, six days after the ship sank. The ship sank and hit the coast
on December 1, causing a second big spill. Once any oil split reaches
the marine environment, it is subjected to a number of processes known
as weathering, including, dissolution, emulsification, microbial
degradation, photo-oxidation, adsorption to suspended matter, and
deposition on the sea floor. These processes help to determine the oil's
ultimate fate and the impact it has on the environment.
The primary processes and the broad patterns they follow are
common knowledge, and a vast number of models have been developed
to forecast the paths and behaviors of spills in the ocean as well as to
analyze the effects of these spills on the species and habitats found in
aquatic environments.
On August 30, 2019, a crude oil spill was detected on the Brazilian
coast; as of November 22, 2019, it had touched 4,334 km of coastline
in 11 Northeast and Southeast states, 120 municipalities (counties), and
724 locations. This oil spill is one of the worst in recorded history. The
sequence of phenomena cannot be attributed to randomness, but rather
to an unsustainable development model, environmental crisis,
institutional unpreparedness for the prevention of expanded social and
technical events, outdated legal frameworks that rarely punish large
conglomerates responsible for them, and discriminatory policies against
vulnerable populations, among other weaknesses.
This research paper will explore how oil spills influence the
environment and surrounding communities, as well as how this
catastrophic issue causes the death of the majority of marine species and
threatens the sustainability of countries, with a focus on the Prestige and
Northeast Brazil oil spills.
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Literature review and hypotheses development:
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The Green Solow benchmark
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model and provide a theoretical framework in which the reduction in
pollution is endogenously determined. In particular, the theoretical
predictions formulated by authors suggest that through the scale
(defensive) effect, the growth rates in pollution are associated positively
(negatively) with GDP growth (emissions levels). The theoretical model
introduced by Ordás Carido et al. (2011) is opposed to the model of
Brock and Taylor (2010), who link CO2 emissions (a global stock
pollutant) with economic growth. Their model is designed for local flow
pollutants, such as SO2 and NOx emissions.
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"limits to growth" literature investigated how exhaustible natural
resources affected expansion.
Solow (1974) and Stiglitz (1974) demonstrated that growth with
nonrenewable was possible, but that it required regulating population
increase, technological progress, and natural resource usage. Two
results are well-known. Solow (1974) argues that constant consumption
is possible even with limited exhaustible resources and a constant
population if the share of capital in production surpasses the share of
resources in final output. This insight led to the optimal savings rate to
maximize continuous consumption.
John Hartwick (1977) supplied the answer in the now-famous
Hartwick's rule: invest all rents from exhaustible resources in capital,
and future generations will be as well off as the currently alive
notwithstanding the asymptotic extinction of natural resources. Stiglitz
(1974) found that per capita consumption can grow with positive
population growth if technological advancement outpaces population
growth. Our formulation likewise restricts technical progress to create
positive per capita output growth, but we also require environmental
improvement. Even if expansion with exhaustible resources can
generate positive output growth Stiglitz (1974), it may not be sustainable
since it increases pollution.
Methods
Descriptive Analysis
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Figure 1: Prestige Tanker Path in Spain
Source: Munilla Rumbao, I., Arcos, J. M., Oro, D., Álvarez Fernández, D.,
Leyenda, P. M., & Velando Rodríguez, A. (2011). Mass mortality of seabirds in the
aftermath of the Prestige oil spill.
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Mortality of sea Birds in Spain due to prestige oil spill
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seabird carcasses. However, drift blocks do not sink and are not preyed
upon by marine or terrestrial scavengers. Drift blocks were released at
sea in the aftermath of the spill. A further point to consider is that the
detectability and reporting probability of drift blocks and beach-washed
seabirds are likely to be different from one another.
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
Source: data.worldbank.com
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According to published death numbers from other marine oil spills
that utilized similar estimation methodologies, there were a total of 8 oil
spills. These figures imply that the amount of oil leaked didn't have an
impact on the mortality of seabirds (F1, 7 = 0.01, P = 0.99); Munilla ET
AL. (2011). The numbers from the Prestige are in the same range as the
highest seabird mortality estimates ever reported after an oil spill
anywhere in the world; moreover, the estimated mortality was higher
than expected based on the number of carcasses that were retrieved.
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impacts of 2019 oil spill on the Brazilian coast: Overview. Revista
Brasileira de Gestão Ambiental e Sustentabilidade, 7(15), 241-256.
Figure 4 illustrates that there is a strong increasing trend and curve
toward the locations that were considerably impacted by the oil leak that
happened in Brazil between September 2019 and February 2020,
indicating that places were significantly affected.
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Figure 5: Number of oiled animals per state, of which 70.4% were
determined to be killed in Brazil.
Source: Disner, G. R., & Torres, M. (2020). The environmental
impacts of 2019 oil spill on the Brazilian coast: Overview. Revista
Brasileira de Gestão Ambiental e Sustentabilidade, 7(15), 241-256.
Conclusion
Recommendation
Many municipalities have responded to the threat posed to marine
ecosystems by petroleum oil spills by drafting their plans and addressing
related policy concerns. These have included everything from building
infrastructure to dealing with oil spills to deciding whether or not to
allow more oil to be transported. Given the likelihood of such
catastrophes, the government's response, especially the health sector,
must be evaluated to minimize the population's health worries and plan
appropriate solutions. There are many recommendations and they are
categorized into so many different types.
Oil spills caused by human Fault
These guidelines emphasize management support for spill
prevention programmes, sufficient resources, meeting or exceeding
regulatory criteria, implementing redundant safety systems,
discouraging risk-taking, and creating annual performance targets.
Implement formal risk assessment and correction processes, employee
involvement, accountability, and performance rewards.
Oil spills caused by Boat Owners, Marinas, and Boatyards
Proper storage and disposal of wasted oil and oily wastes are
emphasized, as well as frequent and thorough boat maintenance. In this
area, we also urge that marinas construct effective runoff measures,
educate their boat owners, and have them sign written agreements
committing them to use best management practices.
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Oil spills caused by tankers and Tank Barges
This set of guidelines includes monitoring operations,
maintenance, personnel policies, health and safety, waste management
systems, and spill and near-miss accidents. Reliable safety systems and
annual performance benchmarks are suggested. Management policies
and programmes are certified using international standards. We
recommend watch practices for navigation, anchor, engineering, and
security rounds. For both tankers and tank barges, the vessel master
should prepare written emergency protocols to cover all possible
emergency scenarios and necessary actions. We propose that tanker and
tank barge crew members participate in a thorough personnel training
programme that covers vessel orientation, particular position
requirements, regular refresher training, and periodic safety and reaction
drills. We recommend crew fitness checks and annual performance
reviews. Keep training, drill, and performance records. We propose that
tanker owners and operators follow OPA 90's work hours and navigation
watch rules in West Coast waters. We also recommended that all
licensed deck officers and the vessel's Person in Charge of oil transfers
speak English and that multinational crews employ a common language
understandable by both officers and unlicensed crew. We recommend
that tanker or tank barge owners/operators demand frequent health
checkups and a policy requiring notification of prescription medication
use. Tank barge tow vessel masters shall keep a record of all crew
members and have three licensed officers or tow operators on board
during coastal transit.
All of these recommendations may serve as guidance before an oil
spill occurs, but there are further recommendations when oil spills occur
Oil Boom is the most common and extensively used equipment for oil
cleanup. These are also known as containment booms because they
inhibit the spread of oil inside a limited region.
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