Oil-spill victim. Source: NOAA

Living safely in the Artic refuge now are bears, wolves, foxes, musk oxen, millions of migratory birds, and a 130,000 caribou herd. These animals, and the plants too, can be harmed in three different ways: 1) direct contact, 2) poisoning after ingestion, and 3) destruction of habitat. To people concerned about energy consumption in the U.S. and about the country's dependence on unreliable foreign sources, drilling in the Alaska Refuge could supply all the oil we use over six months to two years.

Are oil spills common? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says there are about 70 per day.  Typically, these are small and do no serious harm. But big spills do occur sometimes, and the damage to ecosystems can be very great.

What to do?  This is not the place to discuss world politics or even U.S. government energy and environment policy. There is a strong argument for drilling for more oil, especially now that we have newer drilling techniques that reduce the chances of accidents. But in this ecology lesson, the appropriate thing to do is to  learn about what oil spills can do to the environment.

How Have Spills Occurred?

• Overflowing waste pits
• Spills from trucks
• Pipeline breaks
• Tanker ships running aground, hitting iceberg (1989 Exxon Valdez accident)
• Noise of drilling, trucks, pipes banging, etc.
• Roads to bring in equipment and workers, haul out oil
• Vandals/terrorists

What Is It In Oil That Is Hazardous?

• Fumes are irritating to eyes, nose, mouth and lungs
• If burned, contributes CO₂ to global warming and to sulphur- and nitrogen-based gases that cause acid rain
• Mechanical effects
  • clumps settle out on ocean flood, covering up habitat
  • collapses air space in fur and feathers (see below)

Specific Examples of Bad Effects

• Humans (from eating oil-contaminated plants and animals)
  Oil contains cancer-inducing PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)
• Sea Otters, other Marine Mammals Without Much Blubber
  Oil wets the fur, collapses air spaces, makes it hard to keep warm
• Fish
  Toxic compounds in oil can kill the eggs or juvenile stages
  Oil coating on gills interferes with gas exchange
  Changes in growth, fin erosion, cancer in sensitive species
• Birds
  Oil on feathers collapses the air space between  feathers that keep birds warm and buoyant. Ingesting oil by cleaning themselves or eating oil-contaminated food can cause reproductive disorders, red blood cell deficiency (anemia), pneumonia
  PAHs on eggs lower hatching rate
• Polar Bears
  Some have died from grooming oil off their fur
• Invertebrates (intertidal)
  Many are killed by oil
  Habitat destroyed for bottom dwellers when oil settles
  Spawning grounds may be ruined
• Plants
  Marsh grass, mangrove, and some intertidal plants can be killed by oil

Specific Approaches:

• Mechanical
  • floats to trap the oil
  • skimmer boats to gather oil and transfer to barges
  • absorbent pads to soak up oil
• Fire - burn off the oil
• Chemical - coagulating agents to make it clump for easier pickup
• Water - spray beaches to move oil into collectible pools
• Other
  • Bacteria - some species "eat" oil
  • Wind and waves will disperse oil

You can see the use of absorbent mops after Valdez accident. These mops soak up to 70 times their weight of oil. Source: EPA