Safety, Health

Environment
Management
 An oil spill is considered to be a serious environmental catastrophe. Annually, millions of gallons of oil
are discharged into the oceans due to careless handling, natural calamities, off shore oil drilling, and
terrorist activities. An oil spill is often lethal to wildlife. Oil is classified into five groups:
» Very light
» Light
» Medium
» Heavy
» Very heavy oil.

IMPORTANCE OF OIL SPILL MANAGEMENT

⋡ Preservation & sustenance of Humanity
In the best interest of humanity the ocean resources need to be exploited in a manner that is protective
and sustainable, in order to preserve their health and guarantee their continuing viability.
⋡ Detrimental Effects of Oil Spills on Our Environment
 Short-term oil spill effects include tarred coastlines and sea There exists a need for special
shores, dead or injured flora and fauna, and contaminated protection measure in case of an
water. With the passage of time, oil spills that are not cleaned oil spill/ marine event in India as
can ultimately destroy the surrounding ecosystem.  >40% of the population are living
in the coastal areas and the level
⋡ Effects of Oil Spills on Water of awareness of marine
In water, oil spreads into a thin layer on the water surface. This environmental degradation is very
thin layer or film of oil is called sheen. When dispersed in water, minimal.
oil undergoes a process called withering. With the exposure to
air, sunlight, wave, and tidal action, the toxic effects of the
dispersed oil gradually reduces. 
⋡ Oil Spill Effects  on Marine Animals and Plants
Aquatic wildlife and their habitats are affected by oil spills by means of physical contact, ingestion,
absorption, and inhalation. The oil spill causes damage to the entire aquatic food chain. Suspended oil
on the water contaminates plankton, algae, larvae, and fish eggs, which are consumed by small fish
species. This contamination is then passed on to larger fish, bears, aquatic birds, and even humans. The
growth and germination of marine plants are affected by oil spills as well. When exposed to oil spills,
some species of marine algae and seaweed may even perish. 

Oil spills can cause marine invertebrates to choke. They can also alter their metabolic activity and shell
development. These invertebrates may accumulate high levels of toxins in their bodies, which get
passed on to their predators when they are eaten. Fish tend to ingest large amounts of oil through their
gills, which seriously affects the health of their eggs and larva. In adult fish, an oil spill may cause
damage like reduced growth, improper heart
and respiration rates, fin erosion, and Contaminates
reproductive mutilation. Oil spills can even plankton, fish eggs
etc
destroy the insulation capacity of a marine
bird’s feathers or a mammal’s fur, which leads
to death by hypothermia. When oil is ingested
by these species, it leads to damage of the
lungs, liver, and kidneys, followed by death.  Consumed by
⋡ Effects of Oil Spills on Land Oil Spill
smaller fish
Oil spills on farms or grassy land will lead to
the choking of plant life. Plant life is so
detrimentally affected because the soil will
lose its ability to absorb water. Light oil seeps
into top soil quickly, rapidly percolates, and Passed on to larger
then contaminates groundwater. On the other fishes , bears, birds
& even humans
hand, heavier oil with a high viscosity rate
penetrates slowly. Terrestrial oil spills
seriously affects the fertility of soil, often making it unfit for vegetation. 

REGULATIONS IN INDIA FOR MARINE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION & OIL SPILL

MANAGEMENT
Regulatory Bodies & Conventions

Takes measures as are necessary to preserve and protect the maritime environment and
ICG: Indian Coast Guard to prevent and control marine pollution in the maritime zones of India.

maritime zones of India

OPRC: Oil Pollution
 Cooperation convention directs all states to establish measures for dealing with pollution
Convention incidents either nationally or in cooperation with other countries

This plan now under the National Disaster Management Authority

National Oil Spill (Ministry of home affairs) was published and propagated by the
Disaster Contingency
Plan (NOSDCP)
ICG for combating the oil spills at sea at a national level.

To enforce successfully the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan the Indian Coast Guard
coordinates with the Government departments, Ports, Oil industry, Oil explorations units and State
Pollution Control Boards. Together they address various issues related to the preparedness of the State
Governments, Ports and Oil handling agencies to establish the necessary pollution response capability to
combat marine oil spill in their area of responsibility.

Ministry of Shipping & Provides directives to the ports and the oil handling agencies to
Department of Oil establish oil pollution contingency plan and tier-I pollution
Industry Safety response capacity to address oil spills upto 700 tons in their
Directorate respective area of jurisdiction.

The NOSDCP preparedness meetings review the progress made by various stake holders in developing
Tier-1 oil spill response in their area of responsibility and also discusses other issues related to
coordination, training, exercise and best practices.

Objectives of these bodies include

⋡ Improving the environmental protection performance of the ports and oil handling agencies and overall
environment quality of related industries
⋡ Encouraging the use of the international environmental management standards and the procedures
established by the Indian Coast Guard.
⋡ Increasing public awareness of the importance of protecting the marine environment and delicate
marine ecosystems.
⋡ Providing a means for sharing with other ports and oil handling agencies of the successful methods and
techniques used by the winners.

EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) FRAMWORK FOR AN OIL SPILL

The EIA framework gives in detail the pre and post spill requirements and steps to be taken to ensure
successful implementation of a contingency plan. It measures the impact and helps minimize it. EIA
helps to conduct efficient secondary cleanup operation,  to provide evidences of damage for
compensation of environmental damage, to establish a successful long-term monitoring and restoration
plan, to strengthen capability for attenuating environmental damage in future oil spill an and to solve
conflicts among the stakeholders
» Prevention
» Preparedness
» Response
» Assessment
» Restoration

It requires analyzing the issues that are raised immediately after the impact these include:

» What resources are injured?

» What is degree of injury in each component?
» How long will it take to recover them?
» Aggressive cleanup vs Natural recovery?
» Seafood safety?
» Recreational beach reopening?
» Impact in human dimension?

The EIA after an oil spill accident is as follows:

CONTAMINATION TOXICITY
» Petroleum contamination » Water acute toxicity ECOSYSTEM
» (TPH, aliphatic HCs, alkyl- (luminescent microbes) » Hard bottom inter-/ sub-
PAHs, PAHs, Oil biomarkers) »  Sediment acute/chronic tidal
» Trace elements (S, V, Ni etc) toxicity (benthic amphipod) » ecosystem
» Seafood safety »  In-situ fish & shell fish » Soft bottom inter-/sub-tidal
» General water quality toxicity » ecosystem
(Nutrients, Organic Carbons, (Histopathology/biomarker) » Pelagic ecosystem
COD) »  Laboratory toxicity test
LIVING/SOCIO-ECONOMIC
» Utilization of coast & ENVIRONMENTAL
offshore » Ranges of impact? PARAMETERS
» Contamination of public » Duration of impact? » Climate/current/tides/
facility » Extents of impact? dispersion model
» Population, residence, » Marine geology
industry
»  Fisheries

DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR MANAGING OIL SPILLS

Building a DSS (Decision Support System) for oil spills is a 2 step mechanism:
 BUILDING A DECISION SUPPORT
COASTAL PRIORITISATION
SYSTEM

STEP 1: Coastal Prioritization

Developing a coastal prioritization system is important to determine the points and problems which
require the most attention, and to direct an approach for specific needed actions. Once the targeted
areas are identified, optimized management system can be used via implementation of various best
management practice options.

Coastal prioritization is done using a tool ESI: Environment Sensitivity Index. The Environmental
Sensitivity Index (ESI) is a ranking of the relative sensitivities of various geomorphic coastal
environments in terms of oil–sediment interactions. Various ESI mapping techniques include:
⋡ Traditional ESI mapping technique using existing planimetric base maps and the subsequent
identification of shoreline and biological sensitivity areas, as well as the locations of access –
protection facilities.
⋡ Advanced ESI mapping involves the use of remote sensing and GIS technology to make it a more
effective and efficient tool

The identification of coastal priority index requires a sensitivity analysis which includes environmental,
social, cultural, and economic factors. The steps involved in this analysis include:

1st Step: This involves dividing the coastline into “coastal cells”. The cells are of enough coarse size to
analyze with sufficient resolution. The cells are normally chosen based on the standard satellite image
grids of area.
2nd Step: Each coastal cell is then ranked in terms of its environmental and human sensitivity, based on
allocating experts’ points for different criteria. The criteria include:
» Coastal physical characteristics;
» Biological and ecological resources;
» Human health and use;
» Significant sites

Each category is ranked on a scale (example 1–3 for low to high sensitivity) of groups, with each
category being awarded a knowledge-based significant weight (from 0–1), for relative significance in
compare to other categories. For each cell, the sensitivity scale was multiplied with the respective
weight for the category. Then, the weighted values are summed to provide an index of priority.

STEP 2: Building a Decision Support System

Decision Support System (DSS) is a well-established area of information system applications, which
assists the decision makers to derive an in-time, efficient solution. Decision Support System provides an
easily understandable assistance for nontechnical decision makers to be able to find the best managing
method in the least time. DSS is also a software that establishes the required relations between the
present condition and the needed management requirements.
 Bounding the Problem Defining the options Evaluating the options Making the decision

DSS involves the following 4:

DSS constitutes the central nucleus of this plan. This receives all information from different groups of
contingency teams.

Clean-Up Options

The main clean up options considered are:

  allow oil to break up naturally

  mechanical action
  dispersants
  containment
  recovery
  shoreline clean up

Allow Natural Break Up: If the spill is a good

distance from shore and unlikely to cause damage
to marine wildlife or the environment, the best
response may simply be to allow the oil to disperse
naturally. The ocean contains bacteria which break
down the molecular structure of oil into less complex substances that are not hazardous.In this
situation, the only actions taken may be to report the incident and then monitor the movement of the
oil and its rate of dispersal.

Mechanical Action:This involves using other vessels to churn up the water to assist in breaking up the
oil, which can then be left to disperse naturally.

Dispersants: Dispersants are compounds which assist in the break up of the oil in the water, like a
detergent in washing up water. However, oil spill dispersants used in this country are about 10 times
less toxic than dishwashing detergents.The chemical compounds which make up dispersants used in
New Zealand include alcohols and glycols, in some cases diluted with water. The type of dispersant used
would depend on the type of oil which has been spilled.Any dispersant used in New Zealand marine
waters, are approved in accordance with the marine protection rules. The MSA consults with regional
councils, the Department of Conservation, environmental and wildlife advisors and local iwi before any
dispersant is used.The two main methods of applying dispersant to an oil slick are surface and aerial
application. The method used will depend on the size and location of the oil in the water and the
available resources.
Surface application involves using vessels in the water which are equipped with spray rigs. This method
may be used in smaller spills and nearer the coastline.

Aerial application can be carried out from small fixed wing aircraft or helicopters which are fitted with
spraying equipment. This method is usually used in large spills (particularly if out to sea).

For shoreline clean up and in accessible areas, dispersant may also be sprayed from a back pack.

Containment: With some oil spills the first priority may be to contain the oil to limit the impact on the
environment. Once contained the oil can then be recovered and removed for disposal.To contain an oil
spill the most common piece of equipment used is a boom. A boom is simply a barrier which is anchored
in to place and floats on the water. There is some surface area of the boom above the water to collect
the oil and a skirt below the water to stop the oil moving under the boom.There are a number of
different types of boom which can operate in differing conditions and environments.

Booms are ineffective in heavy sea conditions and can be difficult to deploy successfully on rivers or
waterways with strong incoming and outgoing tides.

Recovery: Once the oil has been contained, work can then start on recovering the oil from the water.
Mechanical skimmers are used to remove the oil from the surface of the water, using a variety of
scientific principles to separate the oil from the water. Wind and sea conditions have a strong influence
on the efficiency of skimmers. They work best in smooth waters with little or no wave action.

Sorbents are another tool which can be used in oil recovery, in conjunction with skimmers, or when
conditions mean that skimmers can not be used.Sorbents are porous materials that suck up oil like a
sponge. They can be in the form of booms, sheets, pillows and pads.

They can be made of natural organic material such as peat moss, straw, hay, sawdust and wool. Mineral
based sorbents are made of material such as vermiculite, perlite and volcanic ash. Synthetic sorbents are
generally made from polypropylene or polyethylene.

Once saturated a sorbent item must be carefully removed from the water to avoid contaminating oil-
free water and then disposed of appropriately. Synthetic sorbents can be wrung out and reused. As
much oil as possible should be removed from the sorbents before being reused or disposed of.

Shoreline Clean Up : In some cases it is not possible to prevent the oil reaching the shoreline and so the
oil spill response is focused on minimising long term damage and clean up of the area affected.

Shoreline clean up is very labour intensive and therefore costly. It has been estimated that up to 50
percent of the total cost for some spills can be directly attributed to beach and shoreline restoration.

The success of a shoreline clean up will be influenced by the type of area involved. Sandy beaches can
be cleaned using heavy machinery, such as diggers, as well as by manual raking and shoveling.

However rocky shorelines and areas with jetties and marina may require high pressure water spraying,
low pressure washing and/or intensive hand cleaning to remove the oil.
Efficient shoreline clean up would normally only happen once there is no further risk of oil spill.

Effective oil spill clean up will involve environmental experts and detailed analysis of the affected area.

MAJOR CHALLENEGES IN IMPLEMENTING PRECAUTIONS

1. COMPLEXITY OF THE OCEAN

The complexity of the ocean ecosystems combined with the equally complex socio-
economic conditions that dictate human behavior make sustainable management and
exploitation of marine resources and services a formidable challenge. This requires
government agencies & other stakeholders to have a proactive approach instead of
cleaning up after damages have been made.