Introduction
This essay is about unsafe environmental conditions caused by oil spills and nuclear accidents. There are three examples taken from the literature: the BP oil spill at the Gulf of Mexico, the Chernobyl nuclear accident and the Exxon Trans-Alaska pipeline spill. There is one common denominator over these three accidents – human error. We gathered that accidents sometimes cannot be avoided but they are aggravated by human laxity and error.
Preparedness and contingencies are important to avoid acquiring greater damage and casualties. In the case of the BP oil spill, which is believed the worst environmental disaster in history, human error is the primary cause. Contingency measures were also not taken seriously. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred primarily because the builders of the nuclear plant wanted low cost in the completion of the project. Finally, the Exxon Trans-Alaska pipeline did not have proper maintenance – the pipes had rusted with years of use. These accidents could have been prevented, minimized or contained with preparation and care from the operators and stakeholders.
The BP Oil Spill
A giant semi-submersible oil rig named Deepwater Horizon belonging to BP Oil exploded one cold night on April 10, 2010 at the Gulf of Mexico. The fire lasted for more than a day, 36 hours to be exact, before the rig went down in the deep causing the worst environmental disaster man has ever seen. Eleven people were killed, several others wounded while millions of barrels of oil were discharged into the open sea and to hundreds of miles of coastline of several states. Marine and wildlife habitats at the Gulf of Mexico were destroyed. It caused billions of dollars; the oil rig alone costed $560 million.
The cause of the accident was technical in nature. According to internal investigation conducted by BP, the pressure in the well got out of control when a specialized valve which was supposed to act in case the well had a blowout, failed to function. This valve known as the blowout preventer was supposed to seal the well but it failed to do its job, causing the leak.
A series of investigations were conducted. BP conducted its own internal investigation, employing more than 50 technical experts from its pool of talents and from the industry. Another group of experts, the Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation, combined the expertise of various US government agencies including the Coast Guard Marine Board of Inquiry. Another government panel was the National Commission. The US Senate also made its investigation and blamed the companies involved for their technical and human errors that caused the leak.
The disaster had a big impact on the Gulf of Mexico’s wildlife. It was believed that it would impact on the wildlife and natural habitat for many years. Concerned of the significance of the oil spill, US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano declared the spill of national concern. President Obama temporarily stopped oil drilling in other areas effective April 29, 2010. BP CEO Tony Hayward was also quick to take full responsibility of the disaster and initiate moves to pay the victims. The company provided a $20 billion trust fund to ensure the victims that funds were available as soon as claims were verified. The claims were adjudicated by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF). Individual and business claims were processed and paid accordingly.
Other moves the US government made included the mobilization of about 17,500 troops from the National Guards to help the clean up. The troops were distributed in the various coastlines of Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. On May 5, 2010, BP released news that it had stopped one of the leaks (because there were three leak points) although this did not altogether stop the overall rate of leak. Finally, the leaks were contained but environmental impact can still be felt in the coastlines of the states involved.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Accident
A major nuclear accident happened on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine. It happened when the operators of the nuclear facility were conducting an experiment at a time when the reactors were shut down. The test was to determine how long it would take the electricity-generating turbines to provide electricity while the reactors were shut down.
The cause of the accident was poor reactor design and human-made errors. The design is known as the RBMK (acronym for Russian terms reactor bolshoy moshchnosty kanalny) type, unique only to the Soviet Union. They were inexpensive and did not need enriched uranium unlike the others built with enriched uranium. The reactor was made of graphite-moderated with a boiling light water. Water surrounds each fuel element while water contained in the vertical tubes boils to produce steam that would eventually feed into the turbines to generate electricity. The design had an inherent fault, i.e. the “positive void coefficient”. This was exacerbated when the operators did not follow the normal operating procedures causing the test to go wrong and thus the accident occurred.
The burning graphite released radionuclides in the atmosphere which lasted for ten days, and as this happened there were also frequent weather condition changes. Areas in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, including parts of northern Europe, were contaminated. Contamination went as far as Sweden when workers were found to be contaminated.
Immediately after the accident, there were panic and chaos, people were evacuated, fear and tension engulfed the people in the areas surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Radiation poisoning was one of the health dangers the shift workers suffered. Feelings of dizziness and nausea, vomiting, awkward taste in the workers’ mouths, were some of the symptoms. Fire fighters became victims themselves.
Health consequences to the population as a result of the Chernobyl accident were great. There were acute short- and long-term effects to health due to radiation. Immediately after the accident, the population around the site, including children, were subjected to considerable stress with fears of prolonged health damage due to radiation. Some of the sicknesses that showed early symptoms were chronic radiation sicknesses characterized by fatigue, loss of memory, and other psychosomatic symptoms.
The Soviet authorities refused to admit the dire consequences of the accident. Only 30 months had elapsed did they have the nerve to admit that there was widespread contamination. And they did not also admit the deaths and the sicknesses that were caused by the disaster.
Trans-Alaska Pipeline Spill
The Trans-Alaska pipeline spill was built in the 1970s to transport oil from Prudhoe Bay to the south, but the oil spill occurred in March 2006. The problem was maintenance since the pipes had rusted and so they gave up in 2006. The section that gave up was owned by BP which they used to connect their oil field to the Trans-Alaska pipeline. It seemed it was a simple problem because only a dime-sized hole started it all. For five days, the hole was able to leak as much as 6,400 barrels of oil. It took days for workers from the company to respond to such an emergency.
The company Alyesca Pipeline Service Company was a conglomerate of companies BP Exploration, ARCO, Exxon, and several others which had stake on the pipeline that ran from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez Bay in the south. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, which was approved by President Richard Nixon on November 16, 1973, approved the operation of the pipeline system which consisted of an 800 mile-long pipeline, pump stations and a terminal at Valdez. It was built with an amount of $8 billion.
The industry in Valdez is fishing but due to Alaska’s dependence on TAPS and Alaskan fishermen receiving TAPS dividend check, Alyeska got the go signal to pollute the waters. There were also lapses in the building of the pipelines. Congressional requirements were not fulfilled as promised, such as the 14 additional storage tanks, an incinerator, stainless steel, etc. With the existence of oil and hydrocarbons, Alaska air became polluted with 1000 tons of hydrocarbon.
On the other hand, stakeholders were quick to provide an alibi. They said that there were contingency plans in case of oil spill. Alyeska was mandated by state law to develop a contingency plan for quick and effective responses. There was the National Response Team (NRT) which provided technical expertise and equipment including training, coordinated responses with the communities, etc. The NRT also coordinated its efforts through the Regional Response Teams (RRT).
At the time of the spill, 1300 miles of shoreline unexpectedly received oil coming from the spill. Exxon said that they spent $2.1 billion on cleanup alone with 10,000 workers involved, using boats airplanes and helicopters.
The impact on human health and environmental conditions were extensive. Birds and animals of different species, including eagles, sea otters, harbor seals and various marine life species were killed.
President George Bush ordered the National Response Team to investigate the cause of the oil spill. The NRT recommended that:
- Prevention should be of primordial concern to minimize oil spills.
- The preparation made by Exxon and Alyeska and the state of Alaska was not enough.
- Response teams and preparedness should be enhanced. Collaboration should also be enhanced between public and private agencies particularly in the field of research on how to improve the cleanup technology.
- Public and private agencies should be united in the preparation to minimize the impact.
- Legislation pertaining to responsibilities and compensation should be provided.
- Federal planning should be a part of the safeguards.
- Environmental and health studies should be instituted by government and private agencies.
Conclusion
Unsafe environmental conditions caused by various factors impacted on human health and safety. The accidents discussed above could have been prevented and avoided if precautions were made. But as it is, selfishness and carelessness are primary ingredients of human error; or, humanity has become a scapegoat for accidents and disasters to happen.
It is hoped that in discussing the causes and aftermath of disasters we can provide, at least, a minimum of awareness and care on the part of the builders and operators of these giant projects which are aimed, primarily, to provide benefits to people but in the end create disasters and cause the loss of lives and properties.
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