Oil leakages
Introduction
Problems are inevitable in everyday life. Problems involve certain uncomfortable situations. They are sources of trouble. But problems are also of great help once we overcome them. We cannot live with problems; hence we need to find a way out of them. Problems help to find solutions to certain situations. Problems may try to weigh people down, but they motivate us. Innovations also come out of people experiencing a lot of questions. The biggest problem that people are facing is hoping for a life without problems, which is impossible. In this paper, we are going to discuss a problem that the world is facing, and that is oil leakage or spillage in the oceans and seas.
Oil is the most used fuel in the world. It’s a scarce product since it’s found in a few countries in the world. Due to its scarceness, most countries import it, and the best medium to import it is through ships across the oceans. (Coddé et al., 2016). Sometimes accidents happen and the oil contaminates seawater. Several accidents have been noticed in the past and also currently during transportation of the oil. There has been fewer spill at some points and even catastrophic and massive spills. The spills have been noticed to have dangerous effects on the aquatic animals, serious health issues to human beings and also to the companies. It has been estimated that 706 gallons of the oil find their way in the oceans and seas every year.
So many things are at stake here. The life of the aquatic animals is at stake, human beings and also the companies. Aquatic animals can either die or move to safer waters. Plants that thrive in the water might not survive since enough oxygen is not available. Human being uses this water for a livelihood by using the aquatic animals as food or selling them to earn money. Companies might count in terms of finances (Karnik et al., 2019). Destruction of the water environment. It may take months or even years for the water to be clean again. Oil spills may spread faster, covering the mass of the whole water because of the moving waves. Even though oil does not mix with the water, it’s difficult to remove it from the oceans and seas. Oceans and seas are also recreational facilities; fuel leakages might limit or end these activities. The beauty of some oceans is destroyed. It might cause an economic collapse of countries that expect tourists. Everything here is at stake.
The oil leakage has adverse effects. As the aquatic animals are breathing in the water, the oil may interfere with their respiratory systems and clog or block them. This makes it very difficult for the animals to breathe in water (Codee, 2016). This results in the death of the animals. If human beings consume fish that is contaminated with oil, it may cause severe health conditions. Aquatic animals are now becoming an endangered species in today’s world. Oil spills might interrupt the commercial activities of some fishery companies. Some people depend on oceans and seas as a source of income through fishing. Oil leakages might cause an elapse in their financial status.
Oceans are also a tourist attraction; hence oil spills may not attract tourists. Most countries found in Africa depend on tourism as a source of income. This might cause economic collapse in those countries. The environment of the seas and oceans is beautiful. When oil leakages occur, they may cause destruction of that beauty (Karnik, 2019). The companies that are involved in receiving the fuel will count a lot of losses since the fuel was all lost. Oil spills can also cause unnecessary fires near the port. The fuel spilt cannot be reused; it’s all a waste now. An important question to ask is; is it possible to prevent oil spills? How can they be prevented? If an oil spill occurs, how can the water be cleaned up?
But all this can be prevented if safety measures are put in place. Oil spills can be prevented by ensuring all the active hoses and fuel lines are working correctly. All the safety valves should be in the best working condition so that if a supply line has leaks, it can be immediately be detected and shut down when there is a spill or leak. Oil tankers should be cleaned after every voyage. Most tankers are cleaned every once in a long while. Cleaning will help to notice some of the clogging and operational issues. All the bolts should be tightened. The engine may cause vibrations in the bolts, which results in the loosening of bolts (Wang et al., 2020). The ships should also have oil absorbent pads to soak discharge of oily water. Sometimes there might be oil leakages because of overfilling the tanks. Some space should be left for fuel expansion.
As said earlier, problems are inevitable. Despite the measures being put in place oil spills still occur. Processes of decanting the oil have been used to remove the oil from the water. Different methods of cleaning a spill have come up. Oil booms is one of the most common methods used to clean up the water (Tsuji et al., 2018). It involves three processes: freeboard, skirt and cable. Freeboard process is the part that is expanded beyond the water surface and thwarts spilling oil above the top. The skirt is put at a place below the water and squeezes the water under the boom preventing it from spreading. A cable or chain comes in for stabilization and strengthening of the boom. This process is useful if the oil spills have spread in a small area. Most oils spills are detected once they have spread to a large extent.
Conclusion
This problem continues to repeat itself over time. Even though safety measures are still put in place. In 1991, there was an intentional oil spill that occurred as a result of a preplanned war between Iraq and the United States. Could most of the oil spills happening be a cause of misunderstanding between countries? If that’s the case, then the issues need to be solved to end the oil spills. Their effects are becoming very hazardous.
References
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