Long-Term Fate of a Heavy Fuel Oil in a Spill-Contaminated B.C. Coastal Bay

1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Cretney ◽  
C. S. Wong ◽  
D. R. Green ◽  
C. A. Bawden

The fate of accidently spilled No. 5 fuel oil in a small coastal bay in British Columbia was observed 6 times during 4 yr. The oil's composition was first changed by loss of the lower molecular weight components by evaporation and dissolution. Biodegradation accounted for almost complete removal of n-alkanes in the 1st yr. Pristane and phytane were biodegraded more slowly, but were almost completely gone in 4 yr. The non-n-alkane components in the nC28–30 range seem to be the most resistant to degradation of all the components resolved in the gas chromatograms. The resistance to degradation of these components indicates their potential for long-term studies of oil spills. Key words: petroleum, fate, environment, gas chromatography, n-alkanes, pristane, marine fauna and flora

Author(s):  
Ronan Jézéquel ◽  
Julien Guyomarch ◽  
Justine Receveur ◽  
Stéphane Le Floch

On 16 March 1978, the oil tanker the Amoco Cadiz, transporting 223,000 tons of crude oil and 4,000 tons of bunker fuel oil, suffered a failure of her steering mechanism and ran aground on Portsall Rocks, on the Breton coast. The entire cargo spilled out as the breakers split the vessel in two, progressively polluting 360 km of French shoreline from Brest to Saint Brieuc. This was the largest oil spill caused by a tanker grounding ever recorded in the world. The consequences of this accident were significant, and it caused the French Government to revise its oil response plan (the Polmar Plan), to acquire equipment stocks (Polmar stockpiles), to impose traffic lanes in the Channel and to create Cedre. On 12 December 1999, the tanker Erika broke up and sank off the coast of Brittany (France) leading to the spill of 20,000 tons of a heavy fuel oil. 400 km of the French Atlantic coastline were polluted. Because of the characteristics of the oil (a very heavy fuel oil with a high content of light cracking oil) and the severe weather conditions (a centennial storm with spring tides) when the oil came on shore, the Erika spill was one of the most severe accidental releases of oil along the French coastlines. All types of habitat were concerned, and pollution reached the supratidal zone affecting terrestrial vegetation and lichens. In 2019, respectively 41 years and 20 years after these major oil spills affecting the French shoreline, a sampling round was conducted at two sites recorded to present some residual traces of oil. Samples of weathered oil were collected, extracted with methylene chloride and then purified through an alumina-silica microcolumn. SARA fractionation and GC-MS analyses were performed in order to assess respectively the total degradation of the weathered oil (amount of saturates, aromatics and polar fraction) and the specific degradation of nalkanes from n-C9 to n-C40, biomarkers (such as terpanes, hopanes and steranes) and PAHs (parents and alkylated derivatives).


1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 510-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Teal ◽  
Kathryn Burns ◽  
John Farrington

We have analyzed the two- and three-ring aromatic hydrocarbons from the Wild Harbor oil spill in September 1969 and the Winsor Cove oil spill in October 1974, in intertidal marsh sediments, using glass capillary gas-chromatographic and mass-fragmentographic analyses. Naphthalenes with 0–3 alkyl substitutions and phenanthrenes with 0–2 substitutions decreased in concentration with time in surface sediments. The more substituted aromatics decreased relatively less and in some cases actually increased in absolute concentration. The changes in composition of the aromatic fraction have potential consequences for the ecosystem and provide insight into geochemical processes of oil weathering. Key words: oil pollution, aromatic hydrocarbons; gas chromatography; gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; geochemistry; marsh; sediments; oil spills


1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 (1) ◽  
pp. 1040-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally C. Levings ◽  
Stephen D. Garrity ◽  
Edward S. Van Vleet ◽  
Dana L. Wetzel

ABSTRACT More than 300,000 gallons of refined petroleum products were discharged near the entrance to Tampa Bay, Florida on August 10, 1993. Floating slicks and sunken oil patty (no. 6 fuel oil) subsequently entered Boca Ciega Bay through John's Pass and washed or stranded on four mangrove keys inside the pass. Between one and two years after the spill, surviving red mangroves showed graded negative responses to oil in 4 of 4 measures of shoot growth and production. Sublethal, long-term effects of oil spills may be more common than reported, but detection requires detailed data on species-specific growth and production patterns with respect to oiling.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 2996-3010
Author(s):  
B. Louise Chilvers ◽  
Kerri J. Morgan ◽  
Phil Battley ◽  
Karin A. Sievwright

Abstract The value of rehabilitating oiled wildlife is an on-going global debate. On October 5, 2011, the cargo vessel C/V Rena grounded on Astrolabe Reef, New Zealand (NZ), spilling over 300 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. As part of the Rena oil spill response, 383 little blue penguins (LBP, Eudyptula minor) were captured, cleaned, rehabilitated and released back into a cleaned environment. Over the last four years, since the C/V Rena spill, we have undertaken survival, diving behaviour, diet and stress hormone response research on these and non-rehabilitated LBPs from the spill area to assess the success of the rehabilitation process, determine what lessons could still be learnt and to help determine if the environment has returned back to its natural state. Findings from this research showed that the survival was reduced for both rehabilitated and non-rehabilitated groups in the first six months following the spill and clean-up process however, the survival probabilities of both groups increased thereafter and remained high and stable over a two year period directly after the spill. The foraging behaviour and diet studies showed there were no foraging behaviour differences between rehabilitated and non-rehabilitated LBPs and the overall diving behaviour of these LBPs were similar, if not less energetic, than other LBPs in NZ, indicating that the environment appeared to have also returned to pre-oiling state. Concurrently, the stress hormone response study showed no differences between groups, suggesting the rehabilitation process for LBP did not affect their long term physiological responses to humans, meaning no habituation or excessively stress caused by humans over the long term. Together these results suggest the rehabilitation process and clean-up undertaken after the C/V Rena appears effective and helps validate the rehabilitation of oiled wildlife.


2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 613-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilio García-Ladona ◽  
Jordi Font ◽  
Evilio del Río ◽  
Agustí Julià ◽  
Jordi Salat ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT On November 13th, 2002 the 26 year old tanker Prestige reported an emergency off the North Western Spanish coast (Galicia). The ship was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil that started to be spilled while the vessel was towed away from the coast, affecting more than 900 km of shoreline. The location and the way the accident occurred implied a great challenge for the organization and coordinaton of actions to fight against the oil pollution. The site, just off the Finis terre cap, is a complex region from the oceanographic point of view and weather conditions, and this facilitated the fuel transport and spread over a great area. In order to take rapid preventive actions, it was crucial to have accurate spill trajectory forecasts covering direction and coastal impact. Under the coordination of public agencies and Spanish academic and research institutions, an operational monitoring system was built including wind and wave forecast, oil spill dispersion models, and visual inspection flights. Although the use of lagrangian floats was made in other incidents in the past (i.e Erika tanker) the characteristics of the Prestige accident indicated the need to deploy a relative great number of buoys as a major novelty respect to similar accidents in the past. The purpose of this contribution is to describe the operational actions performed during this particular accident, and to show the use of Lagrangian floats as an efficient procedure to improve the management and advice for such catastrophic events.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 610 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Gartrell ◽  
P. F. Battley ◽  
C. Clumpner ◽  
W. Dwyer ◽  
S. Hunter ◽  
...  

Abstract ContextSeabirds were the most common taxa captured alive as part of the oiled wildlife response to the grounding of the container vessel MV Rena in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. AimsTo describe the management of seabirds during the spill response, to outline the common problems encountered and to make recommendations for future responses. MethodsSeabirds were collected from 7 October 2011 to 14 January 2012. They were stabilised and underwent pretreatment, washing and rinsing procedures to remove oil, followed by swimming physiotherapy to restore waterproofing and long-term housing in outdoor aviaries. The birds were released in batches close to the original sites of capture once the wild habitat was cleaned. Key results428 live seabirds were admitted. There were two temporal peaks in admissions associated with the ship grounding and when the ship broke up. The majority of live birds were little penguins (Eudyptula minor; 394/428, 92%). Most seabirds admitted (393/428, 91.8%) were contaminated with heavy fuel oil, with the remainder (35/428, 8.2%) found unoiled but starving and/or exhausted or with injuries. Little penguins had lower mortality during rehabilitation (28/394, 7.1%) than other seabird species combined (27/34, 79.4%). Seabirds in poorer body condition on arrival had higher mortality, and unoiled birds were also more likely to die than oiled birds. In oiled little penguins, the degree of oiling on the plumage ranged from 1 to 100%, but mortality was not significantly associated with the degree of oiling (P=0.887). Pododermatitis affected 66% of little penguins. The most common causes of death (n=45) included weakness, anaemia and hypothermia in oiled seabirds (16/45, 35.6%), and starvation and weakness in unoiled seabirds (14/45, 31.1%). ConclusionsTotal survival to release was 87.1%, primarily influenced by the species involved and the body condition of the birds on arrival. Unoiled seabirds had higher mortality rates than oiled seabirds. ImplicationsOiled wildlife can be rehabilitated with good success, even when heavily oiled, or to a lesser extent, when found in poor body condition. More work is needed to refine species-specific rehabilitation protocols for seabirds, especially for those being admitted in emaciated body condition.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1647-1658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Wadsworth

ABSTRACT Experience has shown that the most time-consuming and costly component of a response to an oil spill is often the treatment or disposal of collected waste. The amount of waste generated is dependent on many factors, some which may be controlled more readily during the response. This paper analyses a number of important incidents as a result of which spilled oil affected shoreline resources with significant resultant clean-up effort. Spills of crude oil and of heavy fuel oil carried as cargo in tankers are reviewed to determine the types and volumes of waste generated and the clean-up methods undertaken to generate that waste. A comparison of the incidents will allow the most effective response methods to be determined, to show the techniques that generated the least volumes of waste. Data from DEEPWATER HORIZON is included to allow a discussion of the associated response. To achieve a practical comparison, the amount of waste is balanced against the amount of oil spilled to determine the oil:waste ratio. This ratio has evolved over many years into a long held guideline, used often for the purpose of contingency planning, that the amount of waste generated during an incident is approximately ten times the amount of oil spilled. This paper shows that with appropriate response actions, the guideline can be upheld.


2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-266
Author(s):  
Jean R. Cameron

ABSTRACT An issue of increasing concern worldwide is that of oil spills from nontank vessels that carry large quantities of petroleum product as fuel or lubricants. The New Carissa incident in Oregon in 1999 is only one of several that have impacted the U.S. West Coast in the last few years. Others include the M/V Kuroshima, which grounded in Dutch Harbor, Alaska in 1997, and the M/V Kure, which spilled oil in Humbolt Bay also in 1997. The Tenyo Maru was cut in half in a collision and sank with the loss of one life and a spill of at least 100,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil and diesel in Washington State in 1991. Additional examples of both spills and threats of spills are sited, both in the United States and worldwide. This paper examines a number of actions that have been taken in response to this threat. One such model is the Canadian requirement that vessel owner/operators demonstrate a formal agreement with an approved response contractor, and list that contractor in their Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP). A more comprehensive approach would be to establish approved “umbrella” contingency plans for major port areas, supported by contracts with oil spill removal organizations (OSROs). This preferred model has been adopted by the U.S. West Coast states, and affords the opportunity for the contracted responders to drill with emergency response officials, thus improving the likelihood of an efficient, coordinated spill response. This paper also proposes spill prevention design elements for nontank vessels.


Author(s):  
Mohannad Hakeem ◽  
James Anderson ◽  
Gopichandra Surnilla ◽  
Shuya Shark Yamada

Fuel dilution in oil is a known issue for gasoline direct injection (DI) engines especially in colder climates and for customers with short, lightly-loaded driving cycles. In this work, oil samples were generated using a cold oil fuel accumulation test. Gas chromatography (GC) was used to speciate the hydrocarbons accumulated in the oil and characterize their quantity, type, molecular weight distribution, and volatility. Further testing and analysis was done to characterize the fuel hydrocarbons that evaporate from oil during engine warm-up conditions. The results demonstrate how the wide range of gasoline hydrocarbon volatility leads to different behavior in the accumulation and subsequent evaporation phases. Lastly, a model was created to extend this analysis and estimate the evaporation of hydrocarbons from the oil.


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