What Are the Impacts of a Mineral Oil Spill?

Oil spills happen when mineral oil is released into an area, usually a waterway of some type. Large oil spills have occurred throughout recent history, including the well-known BP oil spill that occurred in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. This event lasted three months and like other major oil spills throughout the decades, caused effects that will be felt for years to come.

Wildlife

• Wildlife surrounding an oil spill is greatly impacted by the event. Seabirds, in particular, are affected when their plumage is soaked through with oil. They then cannot swim properly, get food or warm themselves, which usually results in starvation, drowning or freezing. Even if cleaned immediately after a spill, it is rare for a bird to survive an oil spill once its feathers have been severely damaged. Likewise, seals and otters suffer similar fates to seabirds.

Water

• While oil spills themselves release toxins into the water and have an effect on the purity of the substance, cleaning processes also can harm the water. If chemicals are used to disperse the oil, those too can have adverse effects on the water. Because of its nature, water can't be treated in parts or separated from itself to be purified, thus most of the damage from an oil spill is irreversible. In fact, the toxins can move from one body of water to another and infect waters in which the spill never occurred.

Coastline

• Coastlines are greatly affected by oil spills because the substance naturally accumulates at the shoreline. This results in oily buildup in and around the shores where the spill took place. Shores are resilient and most tend to recover from oil spills, although some changes to landscape do occur as a result. Some plant species may not fully recover, but for the most part, those that thrive in shore areas should be able to restore themselves after a short while.

Human Impact

• Effects on humans who are involved in cleanup activities related to oil spills so far are minimal. Worry has been expressed about breathing in fumes from the oil or ingesting toxins from eating food that was caught in or around the area. Thus far, traces of long-term toxicity haven't been found and it seems that eating food caught in areas where there have been oil spills is safe.