There are numerous risks associated with the use of HFO in the Arctic including (1) threats to the food security, livelihoods and way of life of Arctic communities; (2) risks to the Arctic marine environment; (3) harmful emissions that negatively impact the local and global climate; and (4) emissions that are harmful to human health.
HFO threatens the food security, livelihood and way of life of Arctic communities:
Many indigenous people in the Arctic region depend on marine resources as a primary food source, use marine resources as a source of clothing and equipment, as material for handicrafts, and to support their limited commercial fishing, hunting, and ecotourism activities. An HFO spill in the Arctic would have devastating consequences on these communities and the resources they depend on for their nutritional, cultural, and economic needs.
HFO poses a risk to the Arctic marine environment:
In Arctic conditions, HFO is nearly impossible to clean up. Due to its high viscosity, HFO not only emulsifies on the ocean surface, but dispersants, which break down oil into smaller droplets that more readily mix with water, are also comparatively ineffective.[1] In addition, in conditions with 10 percent or more ice coverage, conventional booms and skimmers, which are typically used for containing and retrieving oil spills, are rendered ineffective. All of these technical complications are compounded by the natural difficulties posed by the Arctic, including navigational hazards such as sea ice, lack of infrastructure, heavy storms, high winds, and seasonal periods of 24-hour darkness.
In addition, HFO spills have acute and long-term consequences for marine life. The immediate effects of an HFO spill include hypothermia and death in seabirds and marine mammals as a result of HFO coating or sticking to their fur or feathers.[2] Aside from the devastating acute impacts an HFO spill will have on an ecosystem and marine wildlife, studies on the long-term impacts of an Arctic spill demonstrate that oil can remain within the affected area for more than a decade, impacting growth and reproductive rates of various species.[3] These impacts affect all levels of the fragile Arctic ecosystem, with larger predators like beluga whales being directly affected by coming into contact with the oil in water and sediments, and indirectly by consuming smaller contaminated prey.[4] A decade after a 2003 HFO spill in the Russian White Sea, hydrocarbon pollution in near shore water was still 22 times the Russian Maximum Permissible Contamination level (MPC), and many low trophic level species like flounder were still 10 times higher than MPC.[5] In this Russian example, the local population of beluga whales has declined, and have completely abandoned their traditional calving grounds in the area.[6]
Finally, HFO produces a considerable amount waste sludge. In fact, one to five percent of fuel volume consumed, must be discharged onshore, incinerated, or burned as fuel after further processing .[7] One study found that shipping within the Barents and Norwegian Seas produces 13,000 metric tons of fuel oil sludge a year[8], while the use of many alternative fuels, such as marine distillate fuels or LNG, does not result in any sludge residue.
HFO produces harmful emissions that negatively impact the global climate:
The use of HFO as fuel produces harmful and higher emissions of air pollutants, including sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and black carbon (BC), than other marine fuels.[9] In particular, BC is a critical contributor to human-induced climate warming, especially in the Arctic.[10]
Black carbon influences the Arctic climate through two mechanisms. First, when black carbon is in the air, it directly warms the Arctic atmosphere by absorbing solar radiation that would otherwise have been reflected to space.[11] Second, when black carbon is deposited on light-colored surfaces, such as Arctic snow and ice, it reduces the amount of sunlight reflected back into space. This process results in the retention of heat and ultimately contributes to accelerated melting of Arctic snow and ice.[12] A recent study found that black carbon emitted from in-Arctic sources has five times the warming effect than black carbon emitted at mid-latitudes.[13]
HFO produces emissions that impact human health:
Emissions from shipping pose an acute and substantial risk to human health. In particular, pollutants such as particulate matter, BC, sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide have been linked to an increased risk of heart and lung disease as well as premature death.
[1] PEW (2010). Oil spill prevention and response in the U.S. Arctic Ocean: unexamined risks, unacceptable consequences. Report commissioned by Pew Environment Group from Nuka Research and Planning Group LLC and Pearson Consulting LLC, 137 pp. and WWF (2009). Not so fast: some progress in technology, but U.S. still ill-prepared for offshore development. Report commissioned by WWF from Harvey Consulting LLC, 15pp.
[2] Arctic Council, Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment 2009 Report, at 139 (2009), available at http://www.pame.is/index.php/projects/arctic-marine-shipping/amsa.
[3] Peterson, C. H., Long-Term Ecosystem Response to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, 302 Science 5653, 2082–2086 (2003), available at http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1084282.
[4] Andrianov, V.V. et al., Long-Term Environmental Impact of an Oil Spill in the Southern Part of Onega Bay, the White Sea, 42 Russian Journal of Marine Biology 3, 205–215 (2016).
[5] Andrianov, V.V. et al., Long-Term Environmental Impact of an Oil Spill in the Southern Part of Onega Bay, the White Sea, 42 Russian Journal of Marine Biology 3, 205–215 (2016).
[6] Andrianov, V.V. et al., Long-Term Environmental Impact of an Oil Spill in the Southern Part of Onega Bay, the White Sea, 42 Russian Journal of Marine Biology 3, 205–215 (2016).
[7] Arctic Council, Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment 2009 Report, at 139 (2009), available at http://www.pame.is/index.php/projects/arctic-marine-shipping/amsa.
[8] Arctic Council, Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment 2009 Report, at 139 (2009), available at http://www.pame.is/index.php/projects/arctic-marine-shipping/amsa.
[9] Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Summary for Policy-Makers: Arctic Climate Issues 2015, Short-lived Climate Pollutants, at 9 (2015).
[10] Bond T. C. et al., Bounding the Role of Black Carbon in the Climate System: A scientific assessment, 118 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 11, 5380- 5552 (2013).
[11] Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), AMAP Technical Report No. 4: The Impact of Black Carbon on Arctic Climate, at 45 (2011).
[12] Azzara, A., Minjares, R., and Rutherford, D., Needs and Opportunities to Reduce Black Carbon Emissions from Maritime Shipping, International Council on Clean Transportation (2015).
[13] Sand, M. et al., Arctic Surface Temperature Change to Emissions of Black Carbon Within Arctic or Midlatitudes, 118 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 14 7788-7798 (2013).