The Impacts of an Oil Spill on Electrical Cables

Between August 2005 and July 2011 there have been 41 recorded oil spills around the world both on land and in the oceans. Oil spills can devastate the ecology of the regions they take place in, contaminating the land and water, harming wildlife, and damaging infrastructure as well. While it is important to understand the impact oil spills have on the environment, it is also necessary to understand how they effect man-made equipment such as electrical cables, which can become dangerous if damaged.

Insulation Corrosion

• Crude oil can corrode the insulation protecting electrical cables.

  Crude oil is corrosive and can damage the rubber or rubber-like polymer used to insulate many electrical cables. According to Daniel Engber, crude oil pumped out of the ground is "a hot mixture of water, carbon dioxide, sulfur, and microorganisms." These characteristics of crude oil contribute to its corrosive nature and account for the damage it can cause. Electrical cables that are on or in the ground and exposed to spilled crude oil are at risk of corrosion.

Wiring Damage

• If the insulation protecting an electrical cable corrodes, the inner wiring can be exposed. This is dangerous, as electrical cables carry electric currents. If these inner wires are exposed to crude oil, further damage can be done as the water in the oil can cause electric currents to become unstable and produce electrocution. In addition, exposure to water and oxygen can cause the electrical wiring in the cables to oxidize, damaging the wires permanently.

Systems Failure

• Once exposed electrical wiring is damaged by crude oil, there will be a chain reaction of failures to systems the cables were connected to. Electrical cables are insulated to keep the electric currents from being emitted into the surrounding environment. If exposed, this electric current can interfere with other electrical signals being emitted and cause system failures. Depending on what the damaged electrical cable is used for, additional damage can be caused as fried cables short out their connected systems and create additional health and safety concerns.

Ground Contamination for Future Electrical Cables

• Crude oil spills are extremely difficult to clean up as the oil penetrates the ground and contaminates the soil. According to the Green Good website, "oil spills are devastating not because oil doesn't biodegrade, but rather because the amount of oil is much greater than the number of microorganisms available to degrade it." Corrosive crude oil can remain in the ground for decades, creating the possibility for damage to any subsequent electrical cables run in or on the contaminated ground.