Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Introduction
Oil rigs explosions are common in many countries and they have adverse effects on the environment, animals etc. The Exxon oil spill is an oil rig explosion that happened in 1989 in Alaska. The oil spill caused a lot of loses to the company, the government and businesses. Oil rigs are used to extract oil from the ocean bed. The oil rigs explode when they are not maintained well. The Exxon tanker exploded because of various reasons. It exploded as a result of poor maintenance, neglect of duties and lack of enough crew. This paper analyzes oil rig explosion. It examines the Exxon oil spill and how oil rigs work. It identifies the causes, the effects and methods to prevent oil spill.
Exxon oil spill
Many countries have developed oil rigs to extract oil and natural gas from the ocean. The oil rigs in the countries work in a similar manner. The companies are required to establish an oil rig in the ocean which will be used to house workers and machinery. After that the company uses the machines housed in the oil rig to drill oil or gas. Oil and gases are harmful as they explode when not handled well. The oil and gases are transported using pipes to the shore. They can also be transported using ships to the shore (Margulies 2003).
An oil rig is a large structure that is used in offshore drilling to house workers. An oil rig is also used to house the machines needed to drill wells in the ocean. The oil rig workers use the machines to drill oil and natural gas from the ocean beds. The workers set up the oil rig and extract oil and gas into earth’s surface. The oils are produced ion form of fluids and transported to the shore. The oils can be transported using ships or pipes. The oil rig can be fixed to the ocean floors and may consist of am artificial island or it may float (Margulies 2003).
The rig worker assembles the drill and other hardware to be used. Then after assembling the drill, the drill bit and other hardware used to drill the oil are put down into the well. This makes it easy for the oil company to commence the drilling process. The oil is drilled using different machines and the product is transported to the surface (Margulies 2003).
The main elements in oil and gas production are well head, production manifold and production separator. Other elements include glycol process used to dry gas and gas compressors. Water injection pumps are also part of equipment used to produce oil and gas. In addition, oil and export metering and main oil pump are used to transport oil. The oil production equipment is mainly designed to have little or no environmental impact. The instruments play various roles when drilling oil (Margulies 2003). Most oil rigs have enough energy, water and housing electrical generations and they do not need any supply. The oil rigs have desalinators and other equipment that can be used to process oil and gas (Margulies 2003).
Oil rigs need to be handled properly. Also, oil companies need to maintain the oil rigs frequently so as to avoid the risks associated with oil rigs. Most countries have experienced oil rig explosions as oil rigs can explode easily if not handled carefully. Volatile substances are extracted under high pressure in an oil rig operation. The operations are risky as they may explode and cause accidents any time. The oil rigs explode when exposed to storms and when hit by an external force. In addition, oil rigs explode when brought near fire as the substances produced are volatile (Margulies 2003).
Most countries have experienced oil rigs because they have not taken precaution when drilling oil and transporting oil and gas using tankers and ships (Margulies 2003). The Exxon Valdez oil spill happened in Alaska on 24th, March 1989.The oil spill happened after the Exxon Valdez oil tanker hit the prince William sounds Bligh reef. The tanker spilled more than 32 million gallons. Most people consider the incident to be one of the devastating environmental disasters that has ever occurred in history. This is because it is one of the largest oil spills that has ever occurred in terms of volumes of oil released (Margulies 2003).
Many people have identified different causes of the Exxon oil explosion. People argue that multiple factors worked together to cause the explosion. First, the Exxon shipping company did not repair the sonar system. The sonar system could have informed the third mate that the ship was about to hit the Bligh reef. Also, the captain did not control the vessel well because he was tired and had a lot of work. This in turn led to the explosion as the ship collided with the reef. The shipping company can also be blamed for causing the explosion (Margulies 2003).
The company did not supervise the master so the master was not aware of what he was supposed to do. The company did not provide enough crew for the Exxon Valdez and this led to overworking the master hence the accident. The crew in the ship was half the number needed. The workers worked for 12 and14 hours in shifts. Also, the workers worked for extra hours and they did not have enough rest as they need to carry out various activities. At the time the accident happened the crew was rushing to leave the country with large amounts of oil. Since the crew was not enough and the workers present did not have enough rest it resulted to the vessel hitting the Bligh reef. Thus, the long working hours without rest led to the accident (Margulies 2003).
A report released in 2008 showed that the captain was sleeping and he did not look at the sonar system. This made the ship collide with the Bligh reef. The reporters argued that had the captain looked at the sonar system, he could not have collided with the Bligh reef. The reporters argue that the sonar system was not turned on and the management had not repaired the sonar for almost a year. The sonar was broken and this made it hard for the captain to use it (Margulies 2003).
There are other factors that contributed to the explosion. The oil industry did not install an ice berg monitoring tool as it had stated before. This is according to the report released after investigation. Apart from failure to install the ice berg monitoring tools, the captain used an alternative route to avoid hitting the ice bergs. The reporters argue that the Exxon Valdez was sailing out side the lane required as the captain wanted to avoid the icebergs in the area. This made him hit the Bligh reef and then the ship exploded (Spies 2007).
The failure of the radar system at the ValdezAlaska contributed to the explosion of the tanker. The radar station at Alaska was supposed to monitor the location of the tanker traffic. The radar station was not able to monitor the tanker traffic at that time as it had replaced its radar with equipment that was not effective. This made it difficulty to monitor the location of the Exxon Valdez ship near the Bligh reef. This in turn led to the explosion as the driver was not able to avoid the Bligh reef (Spies 2007).
The Exxon tanker was not double hulled as required by the congress. The congress had indicated that oil corporations should always used double hulled tankers when transporting oil, but the Exxon Valdez vessel did not conform to the guidelines given. This also contributed to the accident as the tanker found it hard to transport the product (Spies 2007).
Others claim that the coast guard tanker inspection was not carried out as the company did not have enough personnel and this made it hard for the crew to identify any problems. Reporters claim that the inspection could have reduced the risk of explosion as the crew could have identified problems like the sonar system and use of alcohol. The coast guard was supposed to monitor the position of the tanker regularly. This helped the crew to prevent accident. During this time, the trafficking of ships in Bligh reef had been discontinued and the Exxon Valdez crew was not informed. This prevented the crew from taking any safety precautions to avoid the accident (Spies 2007).
The citizens in the country have spent a lot of time cleaning the oil spill. People have used dispersants, surfactant and solvent to clean the oil spill. A private firm applied a dispersant using a helicopter, but the method did not prove effective. This is because there were no enough waves to combine the oil and the dispersant. This forced the company to discontinue using the dispersant. Instead, the company opted to burn the oil in the area. The method proved successful as it reduced the amounts of oil spilled to 1134 liters. The method was not used for long as the weather condition was not favorable (Chandler &Streissguth 2002).
The company used mechanical clean up to clean the oil spill. It used booms and skimmers, but the oil spill affected the skimmers. They clogged the tool and made the process in effective. The company decided to use hot water to clean the oil, but it had adverse effects on the organisms. The hot water displaced and destroyed organisms in the region. This influenced the clean up process as many people criticized the method. They argued that the method had adverse effects to the organisms than benefits (Chandler &Streissguth 2002).
Despite the efforts to clean up the oil spill, large amounts of the oil are still present in the area. More than 26000 gallons of oil are still found in the area. The oil spills are still common in the region and they have adverse effects. The oil spills have affected wildlife, human beings and economy. Also, the oil spills have affected suicides, tourism and sea animals.The oil spill affected wild life in the region. Thousands of wild life animals died after the oil spill as a result of contamination (Chandler &Streissguth 2002).
For example, sea birds, sea otters and harbor seals died after the oil spills as they could not live in the water. The oil spill affected the habits and deprived the animals’ important resources. It deprived the animals’ oxygen, food and water and this made it dificuity for the animals to survive. The sea birds found it hard to float in the waters as the oil prevented them. Moreover, the animals inhaled the harmful substance and took contaminated water. This led to death of wild life. Sea ducks and otters preyed from contaminated lands and this led to high death rates of sea ducks and otters. The effects of the oil spill are still being evidenced to day as the number of sea animals and other wildlife’s has reduced drastically. Scientists argue that marine animals and sea birds have been affected by the oil spills as they have regular contact with the waters. The oil spill cause loose of fur and feathers as the animals are oiled by the oil. This leads to death as the anemias are not able to insulate themselves (Chandler &Streissguth 2002).
Additionally, the oil spill affected human beings. This is because the Exxon spill caused contamination of water surfaces like seas, rivers and the oceans. The oil spills are still common in the waters and they affected drinking waters leading to death. They have affected the health of human beings as they have harmful chemicals that cause diseases and death. They have also deprived human beings their basic needs. Human beings depend on sea animals as a source of food. Human beings have found it hard to get clean water and sea foods after the Exxon spill (Chandler &Streissguth 2002).
Exxon oil spill affected the tourism activities in the region. The country had various tourists attraction sites. For example, fishing activities contributed a lot to tourism in the region. Tourists depended on fishing as a form of recreation. Also, wildlife in the region attracted tourists from different countries. The Exxon oil spill led to adverse loses in the tourism industry. It led to high deaths of fish and other animals and the fish reduced in number (Wells, Butler &Hughes 1995).
The Exxon oil spill caused tourism loses in Alaska as it led to reduction in the number of tourist visiting the area. Most tourists did not visit Alaska as the place lacked tourist services. It led to shortage of labor in the tourism industry as workers moved to the oil industry to seek for high paying jobs in the oil industry. Most workers were employed in the Exxon oil spill clean up and left the tourism industries. This made tourists places like hotels and other places to close down or offer poor services. The business in the area reported low sales and high rates of cancellation (Bryan 2004).
The Exxon Valdez oil spill had economic impact. The oil spill affected the economic activities in the region. It led to low economic growth in the region as people did not want to invest in the area. Most business in Alaska were affected by the oil spill. Some of the businesses closed down as they did not have enough sales. Others had low sales and profits and this made it difficulty to compete with other firms in the region. This led to slow economic growth in the region. Alaska experienced slow economic growth after the oil spill than before. The region is likely to experience slow economic growth in future if the Exxon Company does not clean up the remaining oil (Bryan 2004).
Alaska has experienced economic looses as it has to replace the birds and mammals killed by the oil spill. The oil spill led to high deaths of sea birds and animals (Wells, Butler &Hughes 1995). This is according to a report released by scientists. People in Alaska have incurred high costs when relocating the remaining birds and animals to new areas. They have also incurred high cost trying to establish rehabilitation centers for some of the birds and mammals injured in the oil explosion. Currently, the cost of relocating and rehabilitating marine mammals is more than $20,000 per mammal. The cost of rehabilitating or relocating terrestrial animals and birds are $125 and $170 respectively (Wells, Butler &Hughes 1995).
Lastly, the Exxon oil spill has led to global warming as crude oil is the major causes of global warming. Crude oil and fossil oils contain harmful gases which they release when heated. The fossil fuels and crude fuels release methane and carbon dioxide. Methane and carbon dioxide are the major causes of green house effect and hence global warming. The burning of the oil spill during the clean up process produced harmful gases like methane and carbon dioxide. The gases affected human beings and caused global warming (Bryan 2004).
The Exxon oil spill affected the ecosystem. An ecosystem is said to be relationship between the living things. For example, plants, animals, microorganism are part of an ecosystem. Also, human beings, water and soil are said to be part of an ecosystem. The things in an ecosystem depend on each other and they affect each other. For example, human beings depend on water and plants. The Exxon oil spill led to destruction of the ecosystem. This is because it caused death of microorganism. The clean up methods used to clean the oil spill like hot water led to death of microorganisms (Bryan 2004).
Microorganisms are important as they provide food to animals and help in decomposition of waste materials. This in turn provides minerals to plants. People depend on food from plants. The oil spill caused death of microorganism and this affected plants and animals and in turn people. People living in Alaska found it hard to have enough food. Also, the oil spill contaminated water bodies in the area. The ocean was contaminated and this caused death of sea animals. This affected human beings as they depend on fish as a source of food (Bryan 2004).
The government should identify measures to prevent oil spill. The ocean pollution act prevents oil spills. The act allows corporations to use double hulled tankers when transporting oil. Doubled hulled tankers have a lot of benefits. They prevent spillage of oil. The outside layer is used to prevent spillage if the inside layer is damaged. The government should ensure the forms follow the rules stated in the ocean pollution act. The firms should train the workers on how to navigate. The firms should maintain the tankers and any other equipment. Also, the coast guard should be able to monitor the traffic and direct the traffic. The corporations should employee enough workers and the workers should have enough rest so as to prevent accidents. The government should identify alternative sources of energy like wind and solar. The sources will prevent transport of oil and oil spillage (Bryan 2004).
The government should not rely on the Exxon Company to clean up the oil spill. This is because the company has not achieved anything for the last two decades. The government should take up the clean up process so as to prevent the oil spill from causing more harm (Bryan 2004).
Conclusion
Oil rig explosions are common in many countries. An oil rig is said to be a structure used to house workers and machines. The machine housed in the oil rig are assembled and used to drill oil and gas. The oil and gas produced are transported to the shores using tankers and pipes. Most rig oils have experienced explosions that result from various factors. The oil rigs can explode if they are placed near fire and hit by an object. They can also explode if the pipes or tankers are leaking. The Exxon oil explosion happened in 1989.There are various factors that led to the explosion. First, the crew did not have a sonar system to monitor the traffic and this made it difficulty to avoid the Bligh reef.
Second, reporters blame Exxon Company for causing the explosion. The company did not provide double hulled tankers, sonar system and it did not maintain the tankers. The sonar system was damaged and it had not been repaired. Third, the crew in the ship was not enough and they did not have enough rest as they worked for long hours and had a lot of work. The captain was driving under the influence of alcohol and this led to the accident. The Exxon explosion has had adverse effects on wildlife, human beings, tourism and global warming. The explosion led to death of wildlife and decline in tourism activities. Most tourists stopped visiting Alaska after the incident as the oil spill caused death of wildlife. Many sea animals and mammals died after the explosion. It affected tourism activities as the population of sea animals declined. It had economic impact as people in Alaska spent a lot of money replacing and rehabilitation wildlife.
The government should enact laws to prevent oil spilt ocean pollution act allows oil corporations to use double hulled tankers to transport oil. The corporations should adapt the tankers to prevent oil spilt crew should be trained well and the company should maintain the equipment regularly. The government should identify alternative sources of energy so as to prevent oil spill. Wind energy and solar energy have no adverse effects like oil and the government should adopt them.
Reference
Bryan, N. Exxon Valdez oil spill. World Almanac Library, 2004
Chandler, G., &Streissguth, T.The Exxon Valdez: the oil spill off the AlaskanCoast. Capstone Press, 2002
Margulies, P. The Exxon Valdez oil spill. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003
Spies, R.B. Long-term ecological change in the Northern Gulf of Alaska. Elsevier, 2007
Wells, P.G., Butler, J.M., &Hughes, J.S. Exxon Valdez oil spill: fate and effects in Alaskan waters. ASTM International, 1995
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