Effect of oil spills on marine environment | |
| Author | Bawazir, Said Salim |
| Call Number | AIT SSPR no. 68 |
| Subject(s) | Petroleum pollution of water Marine ecology |
| Note | For the Diploma |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Oil spills are not only aesthetically unacceptable, but are also lethal to aquatic life. The presence of soil spills on water surface is actually a complicated problem; it will create, if not immediately treated, a pollution problem, and when chemically dispersed, the resultant mixture\'s long term effect on the marine ecosystem is not properly known. Although experimental results are not too precise to be used as reference, yet they will project an expected pattern of occurrence of the effect of oil spills on water characteristics. Oil and dispersants individually are found to be less toxic than their mixture. This fact could be used as a guide when testing the dispersants for toxicity to avoid reaching wrong conclusions. Dissolved oxygen in water is greatly affected by an oil-dispersant mixture and within less than 3 hours could be reduced to a level of 2.5 mg/l. Therefore, repeated treatment of oil spills with dispersant could induce harmful effect to the marine organisms. Light transmittance through water is significantly retarded by an oil dispersant mixture. The mixture acts, when continuously agitated, as a suspension reflecting the light path, similar to the behaviour of turbid water. Based on these experimental results, it is recommended that the first alternative to be considered for cleaning oil spills, should be "Mechanical means". |
| Year | 1974 |
| Type | Special Study Project Report (SSPR) |
| School | Student Research Before 1980 |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | AIT SSPR (Year <=1978) |
| Chairperson(s) | Htun, Maung Nay |
| Examination Committee(s) | Samorn Muttamara ; Chen, C.S. ; Mahmud, Z. |