Oil Spills

An oil spill can be defined as an accidental or deliberate dumping of oil or petroleum products into the ocean and its coastal waters, bays, and harbors, or onto land, or into rivers or lakes (Holum 1977). Between one and ten million metric tons (one metric ton is 1000 kilograms) of oil are put into the oceans every year. The oil is released, most often, in small yet consistent doses from tankers, industry, or on shore waste …

…continue. The best prevention mechanism to help stop large spills usually associated with tankers, is by careful boat navigation (Beer 1983). As to how to stop the general spillage and leakage that occurs continuously, there is no answer yet. Human error accounts for a lot of the destruction of marine ecosystems, and until people become more concerned and aware of the problem, outside of the large tanker spills, the problem will continue and probably get worse.