Oil and Petrochemical Pollution最新文献

Proper planning of oil pollution prevention, abatement as well as monitoring, for the Upper Gulf of Thailand requires a knowledge of the water mass transport. Magnitudes and directions of surface wind drift, fresh water and tidal currents have particular bearing on the movement and spreading processes of thin film layers of floating oil. Physical and chemical properties of oil govern the oil mass transfer. In response to the growing need for a knowledge of oil spill movement, a floating oil-spill movement model was constructed by the Division of Water Resources Engineering at the Asian Institute of Technology under a grant from the National Environment Board of Thailand. The results of the investigation leading to the construction of the model are presented in this report which contains the essential features involved in the analysis, and presents all significant findings of meteorologic and hydrodnamic conditions operating in the Upper Gulf. Techniques adopted in the quantitative assessments are also included. The model was satisfactorily verified using data from an actual spill. It is recommended that this oil spill movement model is used for further application in the Upper Gulf of Thailand.

Rates of petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation were measured in water and sediment samples collected from the Bering Sea. Radiolabelled hydrocarbons, hexadecane, pristane, 9-methyl anthracene, and benz(a)anthracene were used to measure most probable numbers of hydrocarbon degraders and biodegradation potentials for various classes of hydrocarbons. Additionally, a six week flow through experiment in the laboratory was conducted to determine biodegradative capacities of sediment microorganisms for alipathic and aromatic components of Cook Inlet crude oil.

Results indicated low populations of hydrocarbon degraders in both waters and sediments of the Bering Sea, low mineralization of hydrocarbons, but some modification of the composition of crude oil exposed to the indiginous microorganisms of the Bering Sea. Some differences were observed between ice covered and ice free areas with higher rates of microbial oil degradation associated with ice covered areas. Flow-through experiments demonstrated very low biodegradation of crude oil by sediment microorganisms even when supplied with nutrients. For trajectory modelling purposes our studies indicate that conservation of hydrocarbons must be assumed for at least three weeks, providing sufficient time for oil spilt into the Bering Sea to impact coastal regions.

Oil and petrochemical spills frequently result in damage in publicly-owned natural resources such as birds, fish, and beaches. Presently over half of the American States and the Federal Government have provisions in law that permit recovery from the polluter for such damages to natural resources. The objectives of these statutes are two-fold: (1) to provide compensation to the victims for their losses, and (2) to provide incentives for greater care on the part of those who transport petroleum products.

The measurement of natural resource damages in economic terms is a difficult and controversial task. This paper provides insights into the strengths and limitations of several techniques of valuation that have been proposed or are currently being used. Additionally, the paper provides several research suggestions to specialists in the biological and physical science communities regarding where their further efforts are most likely to be helpful in bridging the gaps that now exist in conducting accurate assessments of natural resource damages resulting from oil spills.