Subject: Environmental studies, Dissertation   ( important, number of bids: 7 )

Topic:  Risk Appraisal and Remediation of Oil-contaminated systems  Instructions: Attention! Special software to be used.

First of all, it must be mentioned that the dissertation will draw upon the case of the Exxon Valdez oil spill using the data and the same conditions as in March 1989, when the spill occurred.

The aim of this dissertation is to deliver a final document that would match the following objectives: ? To identify and clearly determine the pollution linkages (source – pathway – receptor). Taking as initial point the spill a few weeks later than the 24th March, and processing the available data, the present study will examine the hazards posed on the receptors, trying to identify the pathways through which the chemicals of concern could reach the receptors. It is essential to establish a conceptual site model that will define the pollution linkages. For example, the heavy metals contained in crude oil may constitute a pollutant linkage with humans receptors and ingestion of potentially contaminated seafood as a pathway. Each part of the linkage will be described. Moreover, the linkage will be plotted as a graph with boxes showing how each part could be linked to the next one. ? To make a risk appraisal estimating the possible concentrations of the chemicals in the various receptors and assessing the significance of the potential risk posed by those concentrations. The risk appraisal will define and assess the qualitative and quantitative value of risk arising from the hydrocarbon pollution. The evaluation of the risk is related with the assumptions and the uncertainties linked to the input data. The software RISC4 (Risk-Integrated Software for Cleanups) will be used to produce the necessary calculations and specify whether the risk is acceptable. As far as the risk appraisal is concerned, this will be achievable through the use of a risk assessment model/tool developed by BP, RISK4. RISK4 is a risk-integrated software for cleanups, which was set up “to assist in the evaluation of the potential human health risk from contaminated sites” (Spence and Walden, 2001). ? Once the previous steps have been completed, a cleanup/remediation strategy will be designed, combining the available data on the remedial actions that were taken in the original phase of cleanup of the spill, and the data on newer and/or improved techniques (compared to the respective ones used in the past). The selection of the most suitable techniques forming the cleanup strategy will be based on justifiable preference over others available.

It must be said, that in the outcomes annotation chapter, there will be a part where the concentrations, plus the predictions until now according to those concentrations will be plotted and afterwards compared with newer data on the effects of the spill publicized 20 years after the accident date. According to published data 20 years later (i.e. data published in 2009,2010) than the spill date, the oil remaining continues to harm the wildlife of the area affected by the spill. Taking into consideration the recent data on the effects of the spill, there will be a comparison between them. — Referencing Requirements: – Alaska Oil Spill Commission, 1990. Spill. The wreck of the Exxon Valdez. Implications for safe transportation of oil. [pdf] Anchorage: Alaska Oil Spill Commission. Available at: < http://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/B/33339870.pdf > – Atlas R. M., Hazen T. C., 2011. Oil Biodegradation and Bioremediation: A Tale of the Two Worst Spills in U.S. History, Environmental Science and Technology, [online] Available at: < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3155281/ > – Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, 2009. Oil spill facts. [online] Available at: < http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/facts/index.cfm > – Fingas M., 2010. Review of the North Slope Oil Properties Relevant to Environmental Assessment and Prediction. [pdf] Anchorage: Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council (PWSRCAC). Available at: < http://www.pwsrcac.org/docs/d0082015.ANSpropRevw.pdf > – Klasner F., Sholly K., Pfeiffenberger J., 2009. 20 Years later…Exxon Valdez oil spill. [pdf] Seward: National Park Service US Department of the Interior: Available at: < http://www.nps.gov/kefj/naturescience/upload/KEFJ_EVOS_1989-2009_qa.pdf > – State On?Scene Coordinator’s Report, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, 1993. (http://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/B/31206602/31206602v1.pdf)

Special Ecological Sites in Alaska’s Eastern Prince William Sound and Copper River Delta, (http://www.pwsrcac.org/docs/d0024600.pdf)

NOAA/HMRAD OIL SPILL CASE HISTORY (http://www.akrrt.org/Archives/Response_Reports/ExxonValdez_NOAA.pdf)

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Fate and Effects in Alaskan Waters, edited by P. G. Wells, James Newton Butler, Jane S. Hughes (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7zCV2kAAgT4C&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141&dq=hydrocarbon+concentrations+over+the+first+months+of+Exxon+Valdez+oil+spill&source=bl&ots=5gtrDg9Xsj&sig=PTSh3ZmoValZPDRsaaWwu1OWej8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YI_2T43XHMeQ8QPs6PimCQ&ved=0CFYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=hydrocarbon%20concentrations%20over%20the%20first%20months%20of%20Exxon%20Valdez%20oil%20spill&f=false)

Exxon Valdez oil weathering fate and behavior: model predictions and field observations, Payne J.R. & Clayotna J.R. (http://www.crrc.unh.edu/mwg/exxon_valdez_oil_weathering_fate_behavior_payne.pdf)

Fate of spilled oil in marine waters, Health and Environmental Sciences Department, March 1999 (http://www.cleancaribbean.org/ccc_doc/pdf/API_Fate_of_Spilled_Oil.pdf)

Exxon Valdez Anniversary: 20 Years Later, Oil Remains, Christine Dell’Amore, National Geographic News, March 23, 2009 (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090323-exxon-anniversary.html)

Exposure to hydrocarbons 10 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Jewett S.C. et al, 2001, (http://www.scribd.com/doc/94881750/Exposure-to-Hydrocarbons-10-Years-After-Exxon-Valdez)

‘Exxon Valdez’ oil spill: impacts and recovery in the soft-bottom benthic community in and adjacent to eelgrass beds, Jewett S.C. et al, 1999, (http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/185/m185p059.pdf)

The Exxon Valdez oil spill: initial environmental impact assessment. Part 2, Alan W. Maki, 1991, (http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es00013a001)

And probably, another useful paper is: Exxon Valdez oil spill: FQAs, Links and Unique Resources at Arlis (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/oil-spill/docs/arlis-exxon-valdez.pdf)

&nbsp;