A break in an ExxonMobil oil pipeline on July 1 near Billings, Montana, released about 1,000 barrels of oil into the Yellowstone River and has deepened the controversy over the proposed Keystone II pipeline that will bring new supplies of Canadian oil to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. The EPA reported last Friday that its water pollution sampling of the affected area of the river found “no petroleum hydrocarbons above drinking water standards in that region,” while its air pollution tests finds that “there continues to be no public health concerns resulting from the release of oil into the river.”
As with air travel, automobile fatalities, and other mass risks, the long-term trend of oil spills from tankers and pipelines alike has experienced a long-term declining trend.
Figure 1: Average Annual Petroleum Industry Oil Spillage
Source: American Petroleum Institute
According to research by Dagmar Schmidt Etkin, the leading researcher on oil spill statistics, between the decade of the 1970s and today, average annual oil spill amounts from all sources (oil well blowouts, tanker accidents, refinery spills, rail transit accidents, etc.) fell 77 percent, and spills from pipeline accidents fell 70 percent (Figure 1). (See Analysis of U.S. Oil Spillage, API Publication 356, August 2009.)
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These are very interesting facts regarding oil spills! It is great that there are resources such as this one so that readers can have an idea of the matter. Thanks for sharing a very informative article.
btw doing an assignment on oil spillls and need help
reply if you know something plz
dates are much needed plus the most recent
thankies
plus oil spills kills birds and makes donkey awsome
thanx >:)
for your info those farmers are trying to earn a living an to you it may not be much but they have just lost there years work and some has to pay for that compo (taxpayers) plus the soil will be damaged for commercial food growth
thanx for listening
Tim Seibel says: “demonstrates the “shriek and fret” emotional approach of today’s environmentalist.”
It’s not just about this particular spill… it’s about the record. And the record is not good…
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/10/business/energy-environment/agency-struggles-to-safeguard-pipeline-system.html?pagewanted=all
Although these statistics are reassuring, the concerns I have relate to actual impact. For example, the occurrence of a “medium” sized spill in 1970 would have far less impact than a “medium” sized spill in 2020. Due to increased dependency from person to person (globalization) and higher population densities, a large impact somewhere along a pipeline in nebraska could have a much greater impact on the world as a whole (e.g. food prices….agriculture). Not to say that this will happen, but it is important to know that payoffs change over time and can be consequential. Spill trends can be modeled, but what about impact trends?
Things are getting safer. Whether that is because of advanced engineering or consumer advocacy and government regulations isn’t clear. However, many of the fear-mongers make it sound like modern humanity is doomed because of these technologies.
Looks like a triumph for environmental regulation.
White lies,Damn lies,Statistics. the EPA ,the minion of big oil.You might want to consider the blight suffered by the farmers along the river where the toxicity levels are within accepable limits ,yet the crop damage is uniform for three miles down river.yes the response will be, a small price to pay for a small insignificant group of farmers, so we can drive our cars.Having worked in the sector for over thirty years the hiding games continue,the greed factor always rules and will continue until one day the Big Upset will occur and change the lives of many.It’s unfortunte we have to learn our lessons the hard way
Barack Obama’s EPA as a “minon” of “big oil” is laughable.
The Yellowstone River is 692 miles long; 3 miles were affected. That’s 0.43%.
Farmers will be compensated for their crop damage one way or another, whether through administrative processes or civil lawsuit.
Soil damage, to the extent it occurred, is either temporary or will be mitigated (again one way or another).
So, in the end we see that the evil spill affected a tiny part of massive Montana and its effects are remedied and temporary. Paul Dodsworth’s reaction demonstrates the “shriek and fret” emotional approach of today’s environmentalist.