Word: crude
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Since the concentrations of oil off the Shetlands are now low, seabirds are less likely to take on a fatal coat of crude than their counterparts in other spills. That is small comfort for the more than 700 birds that died in the early stages of the spill, or to the thousands more that may become sick from ingesting oil while preening or feeding on contaminated food. But the spill seems to have affected fewer birds than expected...
...vigorous wave action worked as a high-energy cleanser of rocks and beaches. Thus the Shetlands are likely to be spared the costly and environmentally disruptive cleanup that followed the spilling of nearly 11 million gal. of crude (less than half the amount lost by the Braer) into Prince William Sound in Alaska. Says Robert Spies, chief scientist for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council: "There is ample evidence that overzealous cleanup can be harmful." The chemical detergents, high-pressure sprays and brushes used to clean beaches and rocks after a spill destroy microorganisms that are an important part...
...Shetlands also had a lucky break in the kind of oil carried by the Braer: a light variety called Gullfaks, which, unlike other crudes, resists taking up water and forming a stable emulsion. The viscosity of most crudes causes them to form hard, tight masses that are difficult to break up. The tar balls and gooey globs that plagued Alaska have not appeared in the Shetlands because of the peculiar nature of Gullfaks. Says Dan Lawn, an environmental engineer who works in Prince William Sound: "When I flew over the site in the Shetlands, I was astounded to see that...
...would be a mistake to underestimate the resilience of nature. Studies of other spills reveal remarkable recoveries -- even from shocks like the estimated 250 million to 350 million gal. of crude that was deliberately pumped into the Persian Gulf in 1991 by Saddam Hussein's army. Though the majestic coral reefs in the gulf still show the effects of their trauma, they are slowly rebuilding. Says Sylvia Earle, a former chief scientist of the U.S.'s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who visited the gulf last year: "The reef was like a weedy lot, not a healthy wilderness...
...ironies of the Persian Gulf spill, which some experts predicted would destroy the area's ecosystem, is that certain parts seem cleaner and healthier now than they were before the Iraqis dumped their crude. According to a study published last August in the journal Nature, the levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments and some mollusks from Bahrain in June 1991 were lower than those recorded in prewar surveys. Scientists suspect that the reason for this startling finding is that during and after the war, tanker traffic in the gulf was cut back. "Normal" oil pollution, largely from tankers clearing their...