Fred
This is really a political and social question. The technological fixes are well documented. What is needed is the political will of the Nigerian government to go after the oil companies to pay for clean up and to compensate the populace in the same way that the US pursued BP for the spill in the Gulf of Mexico.Once the cash is there all you need is to make sure it is spent on what it was intended for. Perhaps that is the most difficult task of all.
Alan
Dear Fredrick Mbanaso
It is a very broad question. Sometimes, the best practice is doing nothing! Please let me know about the location of oil spill. I have some experience over here in Iran but I should know about the location (either land or sea).
Truly yours
karbassi
Dear Karbassi,
Thanks for your response. The location of the oil spill is the adjoining area of the mangrove expanse of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Some sections are dry land with over-lapping mangrove portion which is water-logged.
Thanks.
Fred.
In the case of the Prestige oil spill, thousands of volunteers collected the oil directly from the north coast of Spain. It is very cheap and it means the total depletion of the oil but you have to deal with tones of hazardous waste, erosion and volunteers' health problems.
Fred
This is really a political and social question. The technological fixes are well documented. What is needed is the political will of the Nigerian government to go after the oil companies to pay for clean up and to compensate the populace in the same way that the US pursued BP for the spill in the Gulf of Mexico.Once the cash is there all you need is to make sure it is spent on what it was intended for. Perhaps that is the most difficult task of all.
Alan
monitored natural remediation is slightly different than doing nothing. First of all one could try to remove hot spots and protect potable water resources.
As said causer should clean up or at least pay.
Dear Fredrick Mbanaso
One PhD student carried out extensive work on modelling the movement of oil in Mangrove areas. Unfortunately his thesis is written in Persian and therefore I attach a published paper of his. His work somehow covers the idea of Prof. Titus. Anyway, the mixture of land, water and plants makes the collection of oil spill very tedious. But one may consider large (1 to 2 cm in diameter) saw-dust for absorption of oil that are floating on water surface.
Truly yours
karbassi
The source of spill has to be identified and perhaps stopped. Most times it is through punctured hole on pipeline transporting crude. The hole should be closed and clamped. Then the spill can be removed by combination of various methods; boom to contain and suction into tanks. Contingency Agency has to be consulted, because the situation may be an emergency one, so the issue of cost effectiveness should not arise. In combating spill; one is saving lives of the citizens and protecting the environment ecosystem- land, water (groundwater) and air.
After identification of spill source, cleaning-up for recycling follow by bioremediation to regain wasteland for productive usage.
After identification of spill source, cleaning-up for recycling follow by bioremediation to regain wasteland for productive usage and environmental sustainability.
The best way is to become the prevention of pollution.
To answer this question, needed more numerous information !
Mbanaso
Oil spill control thing is very broad and not just easy to come by. I have had an experience in an oil and gas field where a similar control at the source of emission is conducted. But most times you do not get 100% efficiency in the whole process. as such gradual remediation process continues.
In Nigeria we have a more pressing crises of the Ogoni Saga of Rivers State where ecosystem activities has been hampered by this same oil pollutant similar to what you mentioned as it spreads to water, land, vegetation and other media.
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has a plan of action which I believe the government have also intervened as well to its control . The UNEP white paper I presume is available online. because it has some tips and program of action.
Someone mentioned about contingency plan... I think National Oil Spill Detection Response and Control Agency (NOSDRA) has this plan when you check it up it give you and idea because in Oil spill control, contigency plan must be adopted.
also, In addressing response of this kind, you should know quite well about the institutional back up to enforcement and prosecution of such damages following the polluter pays principle. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) is the apex regulator in Oil and gas related pollution of this kind. You need to also find out what they have done in discharge of their duties. others clues can come from NEMA, NESREA, NOSDRA as mentioned before etc.
To strike my own idea here, I will state that total environmental clean up from oil polluted scenarios does not employ one technique only. It employs various technique depending on the ones that can be applied and the needful
1. the physical/ mechanical approaches involving the use of equipment like skimmers for suction, laky booms for containment of the spill on the surfaces of the water alone, sucking drum for containment, life vest/ jacket for human safety and other absorbents
2. Chemical application of materials, surfactants and dispersants capable of destroying the hydro carbon in a way which are not environmentally friendly
3. Bio remediation approach involving the spray of naturally available materials, living organisms cultured for the particular function capable of degrading the pollutants. e.g absorbents made of saw dust, living organisms like particular specie of algae etc. There are published works on the use of algae species in degrading oil pollutants.
though there are also other means employed which are not exhausted here.
The bottom line for these clean up following sustainability of the environment is that we must be sensitive in devising environmentally friendly approach to controls for sustainability sake which is central
Charles Anukwonke
On soils? Incorporation of manure and biosolids. They possess lots of bugs for chewing up TPH and all the necessary nutrients. Make sure the soil pH did not get out of acceptable range; if so, adjust pH as well.
oil spill treatment is a large subject.....if it is on land i think it is possible to cover it by clean soil to adsorb oil then replace it with new clean soil
Hi Fred,
As few people have mentioned, the answer realies on a sociopolitical wil from the Nigerian government to invest in the remediation process. The use of petrolium-eating mushrooms are one available option to explore depending where the spil has taken place (in water, mushrooms are more efficient than in soil).
Hi Fred,
Like Diego mentioned here, there has to be sociopolitical will. This has been expressed by the government. The problem in Niger Delta environment is not the fresh oil spills, which could be easily handled by remediation by natural attenuation (RENA) that is used by most IOCs. This method is successful on land but not in swamps or mangrove environment where availability of oxygen for effective bioremediation cannot be guaranteed. for the mangrove environment, there is the need to use pressure pumps to wash off the oil from the roots of the plants, then collect the mixture of oil and water for effective treatment. The real problem has to do with the old spills that have been there for upwards of 20 years, some have encrusted into the soil where they on land as in the case of Ogoni land earlier referred to by other contributors. For such cases, the best approach will require ex-situ treatment. The extent of penetration of hydrocarbon has to be determined and the contaminated soil excavated to that depth and taken out to be treated by Waste Treatment / Management Companies, then excavated area replaced with fresh top soil. The level of TPH, PAH in the affected area has to be monitored to ensure that they will guarantee ecosystem recovery and biodiversity rehabilitation.
For groundwater pollution, this will require oxidation process to ensure faster degradation, although the use peroxides for this process may have their safety related issues. There are several literature on this and I guess if proper experts, particularly indigenous ones working in collaboration with others with more sophisticated facilities for oil pollution treatments, the issue oil pollution in Nigeria can be effectively handled.
Being from a developing country, I would suggest collecting the large patches of oil to be consequently used as boiler fuel. Those oil that have been stuck on land or on any water bodies, try to absorb it with available biomass. these biomass can be composted or again used as boiler fuel. when the maximum amount of oil has been collected, cover the area with fresh soil if it is on land or if it is at sea, cover the damaged coast with sand to allow nature to remediate the situation via its own processes of dispersion.
I would like to address Alan's answer about the "political will" and how the US and BP came to an agreement for clean up in the Gulf. The US has a history of favoring the oil companies whan it comes to cleaning up oil spills. The EXXON Valdese, and the most recent settlement; EXXON and the State of New Jersey. The state of NJ recently settled a 7 billion dollar law suit for 250 million dollars.And EXXON in now not responsible for the clean up. Do not depend on the political will of government. The government only has its own interest in mind when developing and implementing a clean up policy.
Be proactive and get involved with safety and drilling operations. Address problems with current conditions. Get environmental groups and government officials that are not owned by the oil companies involved. Get the poeple involved and educate them on the harzards of spills, and how to start addressing the problems. It will be the social will of the people to address these problem but they will need help. There is no easy answers...oil clean up is a dirty and dangrous job and care should be taken when addressing it.
Kindly note, that large scale oil spills from the oil and gas industry next to metals such as mercury, commonly contain heavy oils with large C-number, also asphaltenes and waxes which is not suitable for bioremediation. Cheap alternatives is a dream, only.
Fred, there are many bioremediation products in the market that are good in cleaning up oil spillages, but however there are many factors influencing the success (oil type itself,climate, soil type, etc). Please google products like Kleensweep, Sawdust, etc and I used them before and work to certain extend.
I don't think we need to bring in political will to address the question. There are a number of ways to clean up oil spills. First, depending on the location and quantity of oil spilled you could leave it alone. It will break down by natural processes. With the combination of wind, sun, and ocean current, which includes wave action, the oil will disperse and evaporate.
Second, contain the spill with booms and use a collection method ,such as skimmer equipment. But this could be hampered by strong winds and currents.
Third, use dispersants...this is a process that I'm against because of the environmental damages of the dispersants. Using dispersants must be done within a few hours of the spill. And not all oil is appropriate for the use of dispersants.
Fourth, you can introduce biological agents which will hasten biodegradation. If the oil washes up along the shoreline it can be broken down by using bacteria and other microorganism which will breakdown the oil into harmless fatty acids and CO2. Also, the use of human hair packed into pillow will aid in the absorption of the oil.
All these suggestion are depending on the environment you are trying to address. The effectiveness of the techniques depends on the factors of the environment where the spill occurs.
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