Management of Oil Pollution (Cambridge International IGCSE Environmental Management)

Strategies for oil spill prevention

• Preventing oil spills helps protect marine life and coastal habitats

• Prevention focuses on reducing the chance of accidents and leaks before they occur

• These strategies involve:

  • international rules
  • safer ship design
  • better ship maintenance

MARPOL (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships)

• MARPOL is a global agreement that sets rules to reduce pollution from ships

  • This global treaty includes strict limits on how ships handle oil, waste and chemicals
  • It requires ships to use approved equipment and follow safe procedures
  • It also helps reduce illegal dumping and accidental discharges

Double-hulled oil tankers

• Double-hulled tankers are ships built with two layers of steel around the oil storage area
• The extra layer gives protection if the outer hull is damaged
• This reduces the risk of oil leaking after collisions or grounding, making oil transport safer for marine ecosystems

Risk assessments

• Ship operators assess potential dangers along shipping routes

  • This helps them identify shallow waters, reefs, busy ports or hazardous weather

• Risk assessments allow safer navigation and reduce the chances of accidents that could cause spills

Regular maintenance

• Another strategy is regular inspection and repair of ships, pipelines and equipment

  • Ensures pumps, valves and storage tanks work safely
  • This reduces the number of leaks caused by corrosion or mechanical failure

Strategies for minimising impacts of oil spills

• When prevention strategies fail and oil spills do occur, quick action reduces harm to wildlife, water quality and coastal habitats

• Strategies aim to:

  • contain the oil spill
  • remove the oil
  • break down the oil in the environment

Improved navigation systems for ships

• Modern systems such as GPS and radar improve accuracy and control
• This reduces collisions, groundings and human error
• Better route planning helps ships avoid dangerous areas and lowers the chance of spills

Booms and sorbents

• Booms—floating barriers placed around oil spills

  • Contain the oil and stop it spreading across the water

• Sorbents—materials that absorb oil from the surface

  • Useful for cleaning smaller spills or oil patches remaining after other strategies have been used

Detergent sprays

• Detergents break oil into tiny droplets

• These droplets mix with water more easily

• This makes it easier for natural process to break down the oil

• Detergent sprays can help to reduce surface slicks that harm birds and mammals

  • However, overuse can affect marine life as the detergents also act as pollutants themselves
  • Some detergent chemicals are toxic to fish, shellfish and plankton
  • Detergents must be applied carefully and only when necessary

Skimmers

• Skimmers—machines that collect oil from the water’s surface

  • These machines remove oil physically and store it for safe disposal

• They can be used effectively in calm waters and can help to reduce the thickness of oil slicks quickly

Controlled burning

• Controlled burning involves burning the oil on the water’s surface

• This strategy removes large amounts of oil rapidly

• It can be useful when oil is thick enough to ignite safely

• Can help to prevent the spread of pollution

  • However, releases smoke and air pollutants
  • Should be used only when the benefits outweigh the risks

Exam Hint Be careful—prevention and response are different ideas, but questions may expect both in your answer. Prevention stops spills from happening; response strategies minimise damage after a spill. Keep this distinction clear.