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Oil Spill, Status and Solution

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Oil Spill, Status and Solution
SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

(COURSE PROJECT(

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(Lecturer: Hồ Văn Trung Thu ( Friday Morning Class )

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(Members: Phan Khắc Minh Hưng

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Lê Văn Mạnh Hùng

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Nguyễn Huy Hoàng

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Lê Tâm Trí

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INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS AN OIL SPILL?

An oil spill is the discharge of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activities, and is one form of pollution. An oil spill occurs when a vehicle, vessel, pipeline or drilling rig releases petroleum products into the environment uncontrollably. The first major oil spill on record happened when the Thomas W. Lawson schooner became beached in the Isles of Scilly in 1907, spilling 58,000 barrels of paraffin oil into the sea.

This term is usually applied in the aspect of marine oil spills, where oil is discharged into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Oil spills may be because of releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel) and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil.

OVERALL INFORMATION

Spilt oil punctures into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to fluctuations of temperature and much less buoyant in the water. Cleanup and recovery from an oil spill is difficult and depends upon many factors, including the type of oil spilled, the temperature of the water (affecting evaporation and biodegradation), and the types of shorelines and beaches involved. Spills may take weeks, months or even years to clean up.

CURRENT STATUS

LARGEST OIL SPILLS

Crude oil and refined fuel spills
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