Carelessness that caused havoc

Carelessness is a synonym for disaster. There are several examples that can be recounted for utter carelessness, among which is that of British Petroleum (BP) oil spill ...an example of how mismanagement and poor decisions led to a mass spillover that led to serious issues for our natural resources. Corruption rules the very system designed to overpower it. How then, do we control the damage and make a reasonable deal with the nature?

If there could be anything hazardous to mankind, it is carelessness in all its capacity, indeed. What else could be said for the mess created by BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the 20^th of April 2010? While this has jeopardized the marine life there, it does pose a great threat to health and environment all around. Thousands of barrels of oil leak per day has opened the Pandora’s Box of myriad problems; especially long-term psychological and stress-related health issues. The chemicals released with the crude oil and dispersant are believed to trigger such health problems. Can any amount of fines justify the plight caused by the oil spill?

While most accidents are a matter of chance, this one surely scores way above the simple ‘chance’ factor. For, it is inevitably the result of gross human carelessness at the cost of environment. The fact that BP ignored many warning signs during the drilling makes this a sad example of sheer neglect. Even if the company had no intention of neglecting things deliberately, it sure was in a jiffy for completion of well, way before it could be technically tested.

History has been witness to many such mishaps that led to major disaster. The Gulf War fought in Persian Gulf - Iraq and Kuwait in 1991 led to 6,000,000 – 8,000,000 barrels of oil spill per day, destroying the marine life completely besides jetting out colossal fumes resulting in major pollution. The Iraqi soldiers opened valves at the Sea Island oil terminal and discharged crude oil into the Persian Gulf as a war policy thus causing a total upheaval. There were nearly 700 oil wells set afire by the Iraqi forces. It has been 14 years since then; the full recovery is still a long chase. It is presumed, it would take many years before life comes back to normal there.

Lakeview Gusher is another oil spill case in Kern County, California. It is, perhaps, one of the largest in the history, after the Kuwaiti Oil/Gulf War spill. Lakeview Gusher oil spill took 1.6 years to extinguish, having poured 9 million barrels of crude oil. The explosion took place owing to the pressure developed by extremely large quantity of crude oil in the area.

In-Situ Burning (ISB):

This process refers to controlled burning of the oil where it spilled. Fire-resistant booms are placed in the water. These booms help hold the oil within, which is then set on fire to burn away (5.5 million feet of boom was used for BP oil spill to collect oil on the surface of water). With the oil vapourising after being burnt, it results in the spill clean-up. However, the authorities need to ensure whether there is enough proper channel or method to disperse the vapours/fumes that emerge owing to ISB! There are many parameters that need to be heeded upon. While ISB is considered quite an effective oil-removing technique from sea waters, it works best with fresh oil spill....because the combustible elements in the oil have their volatile property still intact. The oil can thus be burned away to fumes quickly. This method does not prove that effective for a spill which dates back. This is so because of the loss of ignition property over time...of the elements present in oil. 

We have been exploiting nature to its every bit; it is high time all businesses have ample risk management, disaster recovery and eco-friendly policies in place. We cannot progress by surpassing nature. Global Warming, Tsunami, earthquakes, explosions – all these are critical warning signs to us – the so called superior man. Either tame your own flow or get ready to receive the blow.

-- T