Oil Spills And Their Affects On Our Beaches Research Paper

Oil Spills And Their Affects On Our Beaches - Research Paper ExampleOil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), which imposed unlimited liability on proprietors and operators of ships and shore facilities who discharge oilinto surrounding waters. This Act met with much criticism, especially from energy company lobbyists, for it contained relentless rules and regulations that had the potential to alter international oil trade. For example, the cost of compliance with OPA 90 was said to be $1.3 zillion over the next 24 years, but some say the figure will be approximate to $7 million by 2015. (Oshins, 1992, p.54) This is an important statistic in the context of this essay, for it indicates the real reason behind keep instances of oil spills namely, cost of compliance. Although the OPA 90 was supposed to deter sub-standard safety measures, it has not fulfilled that end. This is in expound due to the perceived excesses in some of its clauses. There is validity to those claims which portray OPA 90 in cast out light, attacking it for the severity of punitive measures it encompasses. For example, under the OPA 90, in addition to removal costs, the responsible party becomes reasonable for consequential damages harm to natural resources, economic loss to real or personal property, losings suffered by one who earns subsistence from natural resources, losses in tax revenues, loss to profit or earning capacity, and increase expense of public services. (Oshins, 1992, p.54) Hence, a major drawback of the legislation is its underlying assumption that exorbitant financial recompense after the event will somewhat prompt oil companies to tighten up their transportation procedures. and this assumption has proven weak. For example, although there ar some efforts by major oil companies toward making their ocean oil transport as risk-free as possible, the frequency of spills has not reduced. The recent British fossil oil hazard is another example of the systemic failure of oil i ndustry and government agencies. The recent BP disaster is as much a result of human failures as it is due to technical shortcomings and inadequate planning. blush as investigations were started and all pretense of earnestness were shown by politicians, the most important reason has been ignored namely, that complicated sea drilling is inherently risky and continued use of fossil fuels are already alter marine ecosystems through climate change. Another factor that amplifies risk of oil-spill is the generation of hydrate gas. Under a depth of 1000 feet or more beneath the sea-level hydrate gases such as methane are found in a solid state, compressed into molecular cages of ice. (Allen, 2010, p.12) But if they happen to delineate destabilized due to a reduction in pressure or rise in temperature, the gas-water compound dope quickly expand 164 times in volume. If ignited, even ice-bound hydrates burn. This could potentially block the blowout preventer stack, kill lines and chokes , obstruct the battlefront of the drill string, and cause serious operational and safety concerns including blowouts (Allen, 2010, p.12) In the last thirty years, 165 blowouts were witnessed in U.S. marine zones and 500 worldwide. The Minerals Management Service (MMS), which is the chief government agency looking into the problem, has not interpreted adequate steps to mitigate this risk. Even in the BP case, the MMS was suspected of colluding with the business corporation