Alaskan oil spill

Pritchard, P. H. Costa, C. F. (1991)- EPA s Alaskan oil spill bioremediation project. Environmental Science Technology, 25, 372—9. 

Alkanes are nonpolar, which causes them to be soluble in nonpolar solvents and insoluble in polar solvents such as water. The densities of alkanes (Table 2.1) increase with increasing molecular weight, but even a 30-carbon alkane such as tria-contane (density at 20 °C = 0.8097 g/mL) is less dense than water (density at 20 °C = 0.9982 g/mL). This means that a mixture of an alkane and water will separate into two distinct layers, with the less dense alkane floating on top. The Alaskan oil spill of 1989, the Persian Gulf spill of 1991, and the even larger spill off the northwest coast of Spain in 2002 are large-scale examples of this phenomenon. (Crude oil is primarily a mixture of alkanes.)... 

Shigenaka, G. and Henry, C.B. Jr. 1995, Use of Mussels and Semipermeable Membrane Devices To Assess Bioavailability of Residual Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons Three Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. In Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Fate and Effects in Alaskan Waters Wells, P.G., Butler, J.N., Hughes, J.S, Eds. American Society for Testing and Materials Philadelphia, PA. pp. 239-260. 

Oil spills present many different variations in the manner in which they develop and react to cleanup efforts. The Alaskan spill that occurred on March 24, 1989, in Prince William Sound was the most extensively researched to date. The cost of cleaning up the spill also exceeded all other tanker spill expenses to date. A study reported by the U.S. Forest Service estimates the final fate of die 10 million gallons as follows evaporated, 35% recovered, 17% burned, 8% biodegraded, 5% and dispersed, 5%. 

Laboratory investigations conducted shortly after the spill confirmed earlier studies that showed that N and P were limiting, and that almost all of the alkanes in the Alaskan oil and an appreciable amount of the PAHs had been metabolized in 6 weeks with the addition of inorganic salts or an oleophilic fertilizer containing N and P. Field tests confirmed the abundance of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. Specific N and P fertilizers were supplemented to the beaches because they would remain associated with the oil. The oleophilic fertilizer was a liquid containing urea in oleic acid as the N source and tri(aureth-4)-phosphate as the P source. Within 2 weeks, differences in the quantities of oil were visually evident between fertilizer-treated and untreated beaches, and subsequent quantitative measurements revealed that 60-70% of the oil had been degraded within 16 months. 

Wells PC, Butler JN, and Hughes JS (eds.) (1995) Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Fate and Effects in Alaskan Waters. Philadelphia, PA American Society for Testing and Materials. 

Numerous environmental problems are associated with the production and use of this oil. Oil spills were discussed in Chap. 1. Extensive studies have been made of the fate of the oil spilled in Alaskan waters from the Exxon Valdez.38 Leaks in pipelines have also been problems.39 Twenty-five... 

The grounding of the tanker Exxon Valdez near the Alaskan coast in 1989 revealed once again the need for responding immediately to oil spills. One result of the disaster was the... 

Ironically, despite all this scientific progress, modern fiberoptic cables went into service during a decade of chemical catastrophes more reminiscent of the old Leblanc factories than of optical fibers superpurity. On December 3, 1984, a cloud of deadly methylisocyanate gas leaked from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India the gas killed more than 3000 people and injured up to 25,000. Two years later in Europe, a Sandoz chemical factory spilled 30 tons of chemicals into the Rhine River, killing fish for 120 miles downstream. In North America, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spilled crude oil over 1000 miles of Alaskan coastline in 1989. 

Another example is the prematnre failure of the Trans-Alaskan (Prudhoe Bay Field) oil transit line in 2006. In 2006, BP Exploration Alaska (BPXA) Inc. experienced something that was quite extraordinary It was the spill of 200,000 gallons (or 4790 barrels) of oil through their Trans-Alaskan (Prndhoe Bay Field) oil transit line (Figure 43) ... 

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