June 22, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kate or Ken Gooderham, (239) 489-2616 or exdir@asbpa.org

Oil and water: Spills and the shoreline, part 1

As oil continues to leak into the Gulf, what does it mean to beaches and the critters who rely on them? Answers to some of the common questions.

FORT MYERS -- The ongoing crisis surrounding the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has grabbed the nation's attention, as what is being dubbed as perhaps the nation's worst environmental disaster has released an untold amount of crude oil into the Gulf. This disaster has far too many aspects to be addressed in one sitting, but there have been numerous questions to ASBPA as to how the spill will impact the coastline. Therefore, the following FAQs will look at how the spill and the shoreline (and its users) interact.

Question: Is the only impact of an oil spill limited to the oil released into the water that can coat animals and ecosystems?

Answer: NO. That may be the main impact, but the short-term air quality issues when oil first reaches the surface also come into play. Within the first few hours, benzene and other VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) can degrade the air quality in the immediate area of freshly spilled crude oil, and the lingering odor can prove unpleasant (even unhealthy) for days to follow. See reports on air quality monitoring along the Gulf coast at http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/air.html . Oil that floats on the water can reduce the amount of sunlight reaching any plants below, causing damage without actually touching them. It may also lessen the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water, also harmful to water-based organisms. And the potential damage from undersea oil plumes is uncharted territory, as this is the first instance where scientists have reported finding them in conjunction with a spill.

Question: If while walking the beach you come upon a bird coated with oil, should you try to rinse it off?

Answer: NO. First, this is not an undertaking for the untrained. Animals will naturally be frightened by your approach (not to mention by the oil), and that fear can hurt you and them. Second, recovery is a lot more complicated than washing off a little oil, and likely will require veterinary care. Your best response is to contact local authorities -- either law enforcement or, if you know which agency is in charge, the group in charge of wildlife care in that area. They can call on people trained in animal recovery, who will have the tools and talent to help the animal survive.

Question: Can the greatest economic impact from an oil spill be from something that doesn't happen?

Answer: YES, at least if you're involved in a tourism-related business. For the entire Gulf Coast, and particularly Florida, the fear is that potential visitors will assume their favorite beach, estuary or fishing spot is an oily mire from the Gulf spill, and they'll change their travel plans accordingly. In any coastal community where tourists' cash keep businesses open and residents employed, a visitor drop on the magnitude some anticipate can wreck any economy fast. Expect to see a strong push to keep the Gulf beachfront status of the spill in the mind of the traveling public.

Question: Would a hurricane traveling through the Gulf of Mexico make the oil spill conditions worse?

Answer: MAYBE. High surf could drive oil further onshore and into wetlands and estuaries -- making it much more damaging. But it could also help remove oil from the beaches and nearshore waters, as happened in Texas after the 1979 Ixtoc I spill off the Mexican coast. It would certainly help disperse the oil slick, but could also dredge up some of the oil that had sunk into deeper waters or the ocean floor. All told, no one is feeling confident how the impact of a hurricane hitting the spill would play out. The change to currents, waves and winds by a large storm will have an impact on the spill, but are difficult to quantify since they are unique to each storm system.

Question: What's the scope of this spill in relation to similar disasters?

Answer: WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT. An accurate assessment of how much oil has actually been released will be a long time off, so it's hard to put it into perspective in comparison to other spills. Remember that no two spills are alike...one needs to consider the type of oil, type of shoreline, location, hydrology, climatic conditions, environmental resources and recovery patterns, etc.

Here are some numbers to consider (remember, 1 barrel equals 42 U.S. gallons):

• Gulf War spill, Persian Gulf, 1991: Almost 11 million barrels spilled...considered the worst oil spill (so far).
• Ixtoc I oil spill, Gulf of Mexico, 1979: More than 3 million barrels.
• Atlantic Empress/Aegean Captain ships, Trinidad and Tobago, 1979: A little over 2 million barrels.
• Well-known U.S. spills: Exxon Valdez (1989) released at least 250,000 barrels; the 1969 Santa Barbara blowout spewed just over 100,000 barrels.

Revised estimates of the Deepwater Horizon spill posit between 25,000 and 30,000 barrels a day were being released, depending on who you ask and what day you start measuring. (Oil losses after the June 3 cut in the riser pipe to install a cap may have reached 40,000 to 60,000 barrels per day by some estimates.)

What does this mean in terms of the water body in question? The Gulf of Mexico totals some 643 quadrillion gallons (or 15 quadrillion barrels); a quadrillion is equal to a million billion. The Mississippi River adds an average of 3.3 million gallons (or 78,570 barrels) of new water to the Gulf every second.

Question: Once the oil stops leaking, will we be able to define the full extent of the damage in short order?

Answer: NO. The Exxon Valdez spill -- which dumped 250,000 barrels of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound -- took 20 years and an estimated $3.5 billion to resolve. Experts are saying we won't know the full extent of the damages -- environmental, economic and more -- for years, and expect this disaster to be the focus of scientific and legal energy for years more after that.

For updates on the Deepwater Horizon spill, go to www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com . To learn more about beach issues and management, visit www.asbpa.org .

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ABOUT ASBPA: Founded in 1926, the ASBPA promotes the integration of science, policies and actions that maintain, protect and enhance the coasts of America. For more information on ASBPA, go to www.asbpa.org, facebook or www.twitter.com/asbpa.