This research paper discusses oil spills as an environmental issue with particular reference to the East Coast of the United
States. In recent years, the East Coast has suffered a large
number of oil spills, a few of which have occurred in New England, but it has thus far avoided the very large spills of the type which have occurred elsewhere. Oil spills pose a major threat to the human and marine environment in the oceans, inland waterways and surrounding areas. This will continue so long as the world continues to rely to a large degree on petroleum as a major source of energy. Since the major Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989, the United States has begun to take measures to control the incidence and consequences of such spills, but further steps are required to minimize damage to the environment.
Oil Spills as an Environmental Hazard
The spillage of oil, in its crude or refined state, into the waters of the world constitutes a major environmental hazard. Waterways are polluted by many sources, including sewage, industrial waste, air pollution and oil. A 1973 study by the National Science Foundation estimated that only two to six percent of water pollution relates to oil. Lean says that "every year about 4 million metric tons of oil contaminates the sea. Only about half comes from ships-the rest is from land-based pollution-and less than a third of that is spilt by accident."
Stein says that "one tenth to one percent of the world's
annual oil production (an estimated 5 million tons) makes its way into ocean waters each year." Most dangerous are spills near the coasts or in adjacent inland waterways. Spillage in the open seas, such as occurred as a result of U-boat sinkings of oil tankers in the two world wars, is of lesser concern because, as Farhall says, "the sea . . . a relatively stable ecosystem has learned to live with oil." Spills in coastal and inland waters adversely affect beaches and commer...