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An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution.The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land.
The oil slick as seen from space by NASA's Terra satellite on 24 May 2010. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been described as the worst environmental disaster in the United States, releasing about 4.9 million barrels (210 million US gal; 780,000 m 3) of crude oil making it the largest marine oil spill in history.
A 2014 study of the effects of the oil spill on bluefin tuna funded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Stanford University, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium and published in the journal Science, found that the toxins from oil spills can cause irregular heartbeats leading to cardiac arrest. Calling the vicinity of the spill ...
The volume of oil spilled has not been determined, but activists have published images of polluted farmland, water surfaces blighted The post Oil spill makes environmental problems worse in Niger ...
Spilt oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. Cleanup and recovery from an oil spill is difficult and depends upon many factors, including the type of oil spilled, the ...
The advent of oil production has also negatively impacted the Niger Delta region due to unprecedented oil spillage which has been ongoing for the past 5 decades making the region one of the most polluted in the world. [8] [9] The heavy contamination of the air, ground and water with toxic pollutants is often used as an example of ecocide.
Focused research on oil pollution toxicity to fish began in earnest in 1989, after the Exxon Valdez tanker struck a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska and spilled approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil into the surrounding water. [6] At the time, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was the largest in the history of the United States. [6]
Birds coated with oil lose the insulation and waterproofing properties of their feathers, and can also ingest oil during preening. [2] Bird that are coated with oil lose the ability to thermo-regulate, fly, and float on water. [2] Ingestion of oil can result in lung, liver and kidney damage, often leading to death. [4]