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).
A sea turtle is swimming in crude oil. This oil spill occurred at Grand Terre Island, Louisiana.
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