banned the widely used herbicides Silvex and 2,4,5-T. That same year, the agency set a water quality standard for dioxin, allowing no more than thirteen parts per quintillion,” (Schlager). Recently, the EPA has been taking a great amount of action to protect the public from the dangers of dioxin. It has supported Superfund sites that have been destroyed by large amounts of exposure to dangerous chemical and industrial wastes . Congress created the Superfund Program to clean up such uncontrolled, hazardous waste sites in our nation. Specifically, the EPA pledged $33 million from Superfund to purchase the Times Beach property under a relocation plan to be developed and implemented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (NPL). Even in Vietnam, the European Union instituted safety regulations called “the Seveso II Directive” which oversee hazards concerning large-scale accidents of dangerous, threatening substances (Schlager). From minor to major resolutions to the problem, everything being done is making a difference and moving us one step closer to eventually solving this problem.
So...What Now?
So much effort has been put into solving this issue and luckily, it has improved our exposure to dioxin significantly. Yet, we are still exposed to dioxin at a considerably greater amount than what is ideally healthy for us. For years, manufacturers have been adding the germ fighting supplement called triclosan to soaps and hand washes, and virtually all soaps contain triclosan. But, once it is washed down the drain and into the environment, triclosan can generate dioxin. As we use soaps, the triclosan in the soap and slightly chlorinated tap water combine to produce a super-chlorinated triclosan compound which is found specifically in our waterways; researchers have found that when exposed to sunlight, the super-chlorinated triclosan transforms into a series of dioxins which we are finding to be stable in our environment. Although researchers have limited knowledge of the risks of super-chlorinated dioxin, we can not take the risk of being passive on the issue as we have done in past events (Raloff). It is now known what we need to do which is be in control of the issue by being proactive and doing something now before it gets out of hand later. Now that you see the issue at your very eyes, what do you want to do about it?
Be Careful, Don't Spill
By: Leah Jordan
The Deadliest Oil Spills in America
On April 20, 2010 there was a major incident that killed 11 people working at the Deepwater Horizon oilrig in the Gulf of Mexico. Over the course of 87 days, an estimate of 200 gallons of oil was leaked 5,000 feet beneath the ocean's surface into the Gulf of Mexico. As soon as the oil was leaked out of the well, it spread throughout the water. Some of the oil floated on top of the ocean's surface. This caused the oil to spread more quickly because it was able to be push by the wind. When the spill occurred, a 22 mile long oil plume, a cloud of underwater droplets of oil that do not float on the surface of the water was founded. This created several layers of oil, dispersants, and seawater mixtures. The plume was formed with the help of the chemical dispersants that were released into the water to break up the oil was mixed with the seawater. In addition, some of the oil sunk to the seafloor by forming marine snow, bacteria and phytoplankton gluing together to the oil. About 20% of the spilled oil has ended on top of the sea floor, damaging sea corals and possibility damage other ecosystems. Even after 3 years, the gulf is still has some oil in it (“Gulf Oil Spill”). Furthermore, an oil spill will consist of many consequences that affect the ecosystem as a whole not just the animals that live there.
The effects of the Microbes
Even though the gulf isn’t oil free, there is far less oil that is around because of the oil eating bacteria/microb (Walter). There are also many natural oil seeps on the ocean floor, that why there is natural growing bacteria that live in the gulf.When the habitat was flooded with oil the bacteria worked right away to consume their meal. The bacteria plays a huge role in the spill; they consumed an estimate amount of 200,000 tons of loose oil during the spill. A scientist name Samantha Joye has been tracking the evidence of this by finding new layers of sediment caused by the marine snow that sank from the microbes’ dinner. According to the Gulf of Mexico Research Institute, “Joye says the broad use of chemical dispersants in 2010 — often credited with preventing larger, thicker blobs of oil from reaching shore — may have been unnecessary, and possibly unwise.” The people at GP decided to drop Corexit, dispersant into the gulf of mexico(“BP Oiled Animals”). There was a study that was launched by the GAP on August 2011. Over the course of 20 months, GAP collected data from over two dozen employees and citizens who experienced the cleanup’s effect firsthand. They also studied data from the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA. In conclusion, the oil and Corexit mixture became less visible, however it became more toxic (“Corexit”). In addition, Joye thought that people were overestimating Corext. Yes, Corexit did play a huge role on consuming the oil, but it did not eat all of the oil. The microbes do get their energy from oil they can not get any nutrients from it. If people keeping pumping hydrocarbon into the systems it will eventually get overwhelmed (“BP Oiled Animals”).In conclusion, there is too much oil for the bacteria to eat, whatever the bacteria can not consume is still left in the gulf and it also made the water more toxic.
Aquatic Life
The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill also had a major impact on the fish. This is because of the toxic components of the oil. Fernando Galvez, Andrew Whitehead, are few of the many scientist who decided to research what was happening with the fish. They undertook a combination of field and laboratory studies and it showed that the effects of the Gulf Oil Spill spread widely among the fish in the Louisiana Marshes. According to the National Science Foundation website states, “gene expression in tissues of the fish studied--in this case killifish--was predictive of oil spill responses such as developmental abnormalities and death. ” It also shows that the fish had impairment in reproduction. These scientist also used remote-sensing of the spill with gene expression data from krillfish in Louisiana. The data shows that the gill tissue on the fish appeared to be damaged and they also had altered protein expression. The gill tissue being damage persisted long after the oil disappeared from the marsh surface. Whitehead has stated, “this is of concern because early life-stages of many organisms are particularly sensitive to the toxic effects of oil and because marsh contamination occurred during the spawning season of many species”(“Effects on Fish Revealed”).
It Even Affected Louisiana
There was a study that appeared online in the Proceeding of National Academy Of Science that founded the 2010 spill that has extinguished salt marsh plants 15 through 30 feet from the shorelines.This study also talked about what happened to Louisiana because of the Gulf of Oil spill. When the plants died off this caused more than double the rate of erosion that went across the marsh edge and created permanent marsh habitat loss. According to Gulf Oil Spill: NSF Awards Grant to Study Effects of Oil and Dispersants on Louisiana Salt Marsh Ecosystem, by the National Science Foundation, Brian Silliman has said,"When grasses die from heavy oiling, their roots, that hold the marsh sediment together, will also die with the plants. By killing grasses on the marsh shoreline, the spill pushed erosion rates on the marsh edge to more than double what they were before. Because Louisiana was already experiencing significant erosive marsh loss due to the channelization of the Mississippi, this is a big example of how multiple human stressors can have additive effects”. Marshes are important because they act as nurseries for animals like shrimp, oysters and fish born in those waters. They also help to sequester significant amounts of carbon. Marshes do many thing that help protect the coastlines and the estuaries, they also help protect the coastlines from flooding. It also keeps the estuarine waters from nutrient pollution When there was an oil spill in Louisiana, researchers saw little oil on the grasses located more than 45 feet from the shoreline. This discovery showed that a lot of oil did not move into the marshes. Instead, it was found that the tall grasses near the marsh edge prevented the incoming oil slicks from going to the coastline. When the oiled plants died, their roots that were holding the sediment died too. “The National Science Foundation said that the result: elevated erosion rates for 1.5 years that averaged more than 10 feet of shoreline loss per year -- double the natural rate for this area”(“Gulf Oil Spill”).
Coastal Wetlands
Approximately 1,100 miles of shorelines were oiled because of the spill in the gulf, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In 2013, the Congressional Research Service estimated around 340 beaches and bayous still need to be cleaned up. The National Wildlife federation argues that cleaning up the oiled wetland is nearly impossible. This is because the oil and it’s effects to remove can kill coastal plants. When the vegetation dies, the loss of roots tend to increase the speed of erosion and it turns land into open water. This is a problem in the Mississippi River delta. The area has lost almost 1,900 square miles of land during the past years. Man Made floods , reshaped rivers for shipping, and the dredge of the wetlands for oil and gas development are the main reasons why this has occurred in the Mississippi River Delta. In addition, without possible funding by BP’S Federal fines for swamp rehab, the Louisiana will lose another 1,750 square miles by 2060. This is bad not only for the wildlife but, also bad for half of Louisiana’s human population because some of their human population lives in coastal areas less than 3 feet above the sea level (“BP Oiled Animals”).
Shorelines
Shorelines that are affected by oils spills have acted as a secondary source of exposure by direct contact to organisms like birds, sea animals, mammals, and reptiles. Oil may soak through the sand or gravel, but it depends on the oil’s physical characteristics. Many organisms can lose their home due to the oil spill. Oil tends to be persistent in staying in the water . This can create a long term impact on the organism who feed there and call this place home. Blue crab, larval fish are few of the many animals that feed or live on the shorelines. So, when oil is buried in the sediment it will most likely remain there for a long time. Oil on beaches is the most visible form of oil pollution that the public can see but, it’s really difficult to remove oil from it. This because sometimes the oily residues that were buried in the sand will persist and linger for awhile.
Oil, Oil and Oil
However, why doesn’t oil dissolve in water?Why does it mix well in water? Most thing dissolve in water. The reason for this is because water is a polar molecule. Polar molecules have a positive side and a negative side to them. The water molecules’ atoms of oxygen stick to one another with the single hydrogen atom on the other side. Oil is made of carbon atoms bonded to a hydrogen atom that forms hydrocarbon chains. The hydrocarbon chains makes oil non-polar The water molecules will stay with the water molecules and the oil molecules will attract to the oil molecules causing a layer of oil floating on the top of the water(“Why doesn’t Oil Dissolve in Water?”).
Oil side effects
There are many different side effects of oil, but it all depends on what type of oil is spilled in the water. Gases like gasoline and diesel fuel have smaller molecules than crude oil which means that they are lighter than crude oil(Why do Oil Spills Happen?). Since they are light molecules, they are very volatile so, these oils will not stay in the environment very long. These gases usually will evaporate in a few days. If gasoline and diesel fuel are spilled in the water they will evaporate pretty quickly, but when they’re still in the water they are often very dangerous. Light fuel can often catch on fire or even explode. They are very toxic even in water. This is not the type of oil the spilled in the gulf though. The fire was not from the oil, but from the mechanics. Living organisms can die from the presence of these oils and they are dangerous to humans too if those fumes are inhaled (How Oil Harms Animals and Plants in Marine Environments). It can also kill organisms if it’s absorbed these oils through their skin. Crude oil was the type of oil that spilled out of the Deepwater Horizon water spill. Horizon Crude oil is thick and often smothers living creatures. It can cover bird’s feathers and stick to the fur of marine mammals. If these oils stay on the animal's fur, feathers, or skin it will prevent the animal from maintaining homeostasis; is the ability or tendency to maintain internal stability in an organism to compensate for environmental changes, killing the animal because of hypothermia (Biology Online). Crude oil does not evaporate easily so that means it will stay in the environment longer (Thompson). People often use the natural method and the absorbent method when trying to clean the shorelines.
Let’s Clean Up
There are several methods that are used to clean up the oil spills. One method is called the natural method. In this method people use the natural process of evaporation, oxidization, and biodegradation to start the process of cleaning, but the process occurs very slowly. Microbes are an example of this type of method. Another way the natural method can be used is wiping with sorbent material, pressure washing, and raking and bulldozing. Chemical agents are another method. It uses fertilizer to disperse the oil from the water. This method is highly recommended to use for oil spills. The fertilizer helps stop the growth of microorganisms. This helps to stop the components of the oil split in the water. The third method uses absorbents. An example of the absorbent method is using sorbents and using oil booms. Sorbents is when sponges that are placed in the oil. They are used to soak up the oil on top of the water to clean it up. There many more methods that are used to clean oil spills for example burning in situ but scientists are still looking for better ways to clean oil spills (Ten Methods for Oil Spills Cleanup at Sea).
The Oilrig in the Gulf caught on fire on April 21, 2010. This picture was taken by the US coast guard. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, File)
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