Usinsk oil spill David Harvey and Damian Warren

Contents The problem – Leaking pipelines Engineering issues and the environmental impact Alternative Solutions Outcomes

Oil Spill from Russian Pipeline Spillages contained by berms and dams. November Collapse of these dams due to heavy autumnal rain and snow. Oil (100,000 tonnes) streams across the frozen arctic tundra. Frozen land causes oil to travel large distances. A pipeline carrying oil across Arctic Russia had numerous leaks in it.

Engineering Issues Russian environmental policy is decades behind the West. Millions of barrels of oil are lost through faulty pipeline equipment. Spillages have been accepted as the norm throughout Russia and Siberia. Collapse of the earth dams meant a sudden surge of oil cascaded over the land

Impact Consequences include –Devastation of the tundra - taking away food sources for reindeer. –Leakage into rivers effecting whale, fish and bird species. Oil covered bird Oil lakes form in the fragile bogs and marshland

Alternative Solutions For Land For Water For Water Sorbents – Sorbents – Dispersants – Burning – Gelling Agents – Burning – Mechanical Methods Sorbents – Sorbents – Bioremediation

Burning 95-98% efficient Requirements: Combustible substrate A burn promoter (non-combustible substrate) Trenches (sedimentary substrates)

Mechanical Methods Scraping –Clean contaminated ground away from site. Pumping –Removal of moresubstantial depths of oil.

Sorbents Sorbents –Insoluble materials or mixtures of materials used to recover liquids through the mechanism of absorption, or adsorption, or both. Absorbents –retain liquids in recipient Adsorbents –surface of recipient 3 types of sorbents Natural organic sorbents Natural inorganic sorbents Synthetic sorbents

Bioremediation Involves applying chemicals or organisms that increase the rate at which natural biodegradation occurs. 2 main bioremediation technologies Bio-stimulation (nutrient enrichment) – phosphorus & nitrogen Bio-augmentation (additional micro organisms) Limiting factors: Temperature, microbe, nutrient and oxygen levels Bioremediation is not suitable for removing large amounts of oil.

Outcomes Very fragile environment, years for recovery The lakes of oil were burnt which meant: –Large smoke clouds blacken the sky downwind. –Soot fallout, increased acid rain and chemical contamination including of lichen. –climate circulation patterns causing disruption of seasonal precipitation. Incident has had little effect on leakages