Environmental Toxicology. Oil Spills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Environmental Toxicology. Oil Spills - Essay Example The catastrophe instantly hit the dwellers of neighboring regions as about 6000 metric tons of oil were observed along the beaches in Mexico and even the United States, and the rest of the oil sank to the bottom of the Gulf. It resulted in a drastic reduction (up to 70 percent) of amount of fish as was marked by the locals (Arne, 1981). This predictably had an impact on economical life of the region as most of the dwellers earned their living by fishing. Miglierini (2010) in his article claims that a number of factors decreased harmful consequences substantially. Among them it is possible to name high sea temperatures, which contributed to faster oil diffusion, and the flows in the part of the sea. Nevertheless, the long-term effects of the oil spill can still be witnessed in Mexico. According to Arne (1981), the decline of flora and fauna in the tidal zone was marked by reduction of certain species of crabs and fish as well as extinction of several species of algae, sea grasses, and corals. Due to its chemical toxicity (in the vicinity of the well) and through its physical properties (stickiness) the oil from the Ixtoc I blow-out acutely affected the species by changing their distinctive properties in the Campeche Bay area. Even after three decades the remnants of the oil spill linger in water an on land: it is possible to find tar mats (almost the same materials as the asphalt on the highways) among the reefs. Despite scientific e vidence, dwellers of the area are persuaded that strange black formations of coagulated oil noticed along the coast are the heritage of the catastrophe on Ixtoc I (Miglierini, 2010). Moreover, the most unpleasant evidence were contamination of brooks and sandy bays which resulted in decrease in reproduction of certain species of fish and birds. Nevertheless, few decades later the scientists marked the populations of endangered species