Page:Niger Delta Ecosystems- the ERA Handbook, 1998.djvu/176

Environmental Impact of the Oil Industry

15.4.4 AREAS SURROUNDING INSTALLATIONS

The clearing of sites for Drilling, Flowstations and Terminals and the establishment and operation of these installations, have impacts upon the surrounding ecosystems in terms of altering hydrological conditions and the ecological conditions of forest area. Also noise and toxic emissions will spread over a wide area.

15.4.5 OIL SPILLS

The number of registered oil spillages is increasing. . . Depending on the area, oil pollution could cause adverse impact on people (water quality), vegetation (smothering mangrove trees, crops, shore vegetation and fauna (fish, shellfish, soil fauna). This is demonstrated in several Post Impact studies on the recent or old spill sites. The 25 year old 'Mystery Spill' of the trunkline in the Ejama Ebubu caused during the Civil War is a well known – but not sufficiently studied yet – example. (SPDC handbook of 1993)

Oil spills have three main sources:

• Oil Blowouts from wellheads as a result of poor maintenance or damage. The chances of blowouts are fairly high because Nigerian oil is naturally contained under pressure. Pollution from blowouts is made worse if the area around the wellhead is not properly sealed. Blowouts may also occur during drilling.
• Oil Spillage from pipelines and flowlines as a result of poor maintenance or damage.
• Oil Spillage at flow-stations during separation from water.

'The effects of oil spills on flora and fauna vary greatly: some species (such as crabs) hardly seem to be affected whereas other species (such as oysters, certain fish species, macrophytes die in large numbers. Effects on the continuity of fish populations have not been studied, but fishermen in the area report discoloration of fish.

In most cases – after a single oil spill – nature seems to recover in the short term, within about ten years. This is related to the volatility of Nigerian oil and a tropical climate, which promotes micro-organisms, which quickly break down the oil. The World Bank has concluded, with reservations, that there does not seem to be any large-scale oil pollution in the Niger Delta. At the same time it is noted that there is little scientific available.

It is clear, however, that oil spills can have serious consequences for the local environment and population. A farmer whose fields have been ruined by the oil pollution is not helped by being told that nature generally recovers within ten years. The same is true of a fisherman who sees the fish in a river decimated by an in spill. They have lost their sole source of income is in dire straits.

Van Gelder and Moerkamp in a Greenpeace Netherlands discussion paper, 1996.

A subsequent impact of oil spillage is on human health and especially mental health. In areas of intensive oil industry activity, local people often complain of increased physical and psychological symptoms which they blame on the presence of oil in their

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