http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/california-attempts-to-battle-silent-oil-spills/article/380529
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California attempts to battle ‘silent oil spills’
By Justin King
Apr 11, 2014 in Environment
Sacramento - The California legislature will take up the issue of silent
oil spills this year with a measure aimed at reducing the amount of oil
contaminating the soil and water in the state. The measure rests its
hope in technological advances in bio-based oils.
Most of the world is familiar with the threat of contamination from
tragedies like the Exxon Valdez or the BP oil spill along the Gulf
Coast. Over the last 100 years, around 2.7 billion gallons of oil has
fallen into the environment due to accidental spills, damaging the
environment substantially in the affected areas. These well-known and
well-documented oil spills, however, represent only a fraction of the
oil contaminating the environment.
“Silent oil spills” occur daily when oil is released into the
environment during use or illegally dumping. Silent oil spills generate
around 10 billion gallons of contamination in a single year. According
to the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Developing a used oil
recycling program” fact sheet, 40 percent of the pollutants in the water
come from motor oil.
California’s bill, SB 916, attempts to address this by encouraging the
use of bio-based motor oil. Most bio-based motor oils are made from the
organic fatty acids found in various plants. The oil is non-toxic and is
biodegradable. In most brands of bio-based motor oil, the product has
biodegraded around 70 percent in just 28 days. Technical data available
for Biosynthetic SE7B, a bio-based motor oil marketed by Biosynthetic
Technologies, shows the oil has a Viscosity Index of 173. Any score
above 110 places it in the most efficient category. As a comparison,
Pennzoil markets PENNZOIL ULTRA™ as
"The cleanest clean Pennzoil has ever created."
Depending on the formula, its technical data shows it has a Viscosity
Index ranging from 149 to 165; slightly lower than the Biosynthetic product.
Sponsor of the California bill, Senator Lou Correa, said
"California needs to support greater business investment in clean
technology. Working with our business partners, we can improve water and
air quality, support greater water reuse, all the while improving
vehicle performance and fuel economy. "
Gregory D. Blake of timeforanoilchange.org and Biosynthetic Technologies
explained
"These biosynthetic oils offer tremendous technical and environmental
performance advantages that can mitigate much of the damage caused by
“silent oil spills.” Silent Oil Spills is our attempt to give a name to
the problem of used oil in the environment. Nearly everyone is aware of
the 2010 Gulf spill and that it released approximately 200 million
gallons of oil into the Gulf. However, very few are aware that 200
million gallons of used motor oil is illegally dumped in the United
States every single year. Anyone my age has certainly heard of the Exxon
Valdez spill, but I have yet to see a news report mentioning that more
than twice as much motor oil enters the near shore waters off Los
Angeles every year from urban runoff.
According to the EPA, petroleum based lubricants biodegrade slowly, they
bioaccumulate in the tissues of marine organisms and they have high
levels of aquatic toxicity. They also have much higher GHG [greenhouse
gas] emissions relative to bio based alternatives, and of course, they
are not renewable. They have identified Vegetable Oils and Synthetic
Esters as more environmentally acceptable lubricant choices."
The fight to bring bio-based motor oil into the mainstream is an uphill
battle for those seeking to unseat the deeply entrenched and deep
pocketed gas and oil industry. Last year alone, the industry spent $144
million lobbying on legislators at the federal level.
Blake hopes that public outcry and concern for the water supplies of the
United States can trump the hundreds of millions of dollars in lobbying
efforts and advertising of the oil industry.
"...the petroleum industry has successfully used their influence to
maintain the status quo. It is my belief that if people were aware of
the health issues and pollution caused by used motor oils and other
petroleum based lubricants, there would be public outcry to move to
petroleum alternatives. "
The bill was coauthored by Senators Block and Galgiani.
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