It's a Greasy, Oily Mess Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dong Fang Ocean

The Exxon Valdez was refitted for a new career as an ore carrier. She was sold to a Hong Kong company that renamed her the "Dong Fang Ocean". After this oil spill, laws were enacted that required all oil tankers to have double hulls in an attempt to protect the environment.

Answer: Spain

In the blame game, Spain claimed Britain was at fault for allowing the aging ship, which was headed for Gibraltar, to cause damage to the Spanish coastline. Their reasoning was that had the "Prestige" had complied with the required security regulations this disaster would not have occurred. One of the ship's internal tanks ruptured and while several countries were denying the ship access to port, the ship's hull ruptured and the ship sank.

Answer: Gulf War oil spill

The Gulf War oil spill was estimated at 11 million barrels, and the oil was 5 inches thick in some areas. There were no accidents or explosions to cause this oil spill. During the war, oil valves at the Sea Island oil terminal in Kuwait were opened and the oil was allowed to dump into the sea. This happened in 1991.

Answer: Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

The "Argo Merchant" spilled enough oil after running aground on Nantucket Island to heat over 18,000 North American homes for a year. Because the winds off Nantucket Island were blowing out to sea, the island's flora and fauna were saved. The crew was saved, but weather prevented any salvage of the ship or its content.

This incident is listed in the 1979 publication of "The Book of Heroic Failures".

Answer: Human hair wrapped in nylon stockings

Strange as it may sound, human and/or animal hair stuffed into nylon stockings soaks up a lot of oil. This organization sent almost a million pounds of hair wrapped in recycled nylon stockings and pantyhose to the Gulf. They were just one of many groups that attempted to help contain and minimize this horrific spill of crude oil.

Answer: Red Adair

In 1969, John Wayne's character, in the movie, "Hellfighters", was based on Adair. Red Adair served as the technical adviser for the movie. He has been described as a man who probably did more than any other person to preserve the environment. He fought oil fires on land and on off-shore oil rigs preventing untold thousands of gallons of oil from further polluting the environment.

Answer: greatest loss of life in an offshore oil disaster

In 1988, 164 workers were killed in an explosion in the North Sea. A play, "Lest we forget" was written by Mike Gibb to commemorate the disaster. Famed oil-rig fire-fighter Red Adair was finally able to extinguish the fire three weeks later in weather that included 70 foot waves and 80 mph winds. Occidental was found guilty of violations of safety procedures and providing inadequate maintenance.

In spite of this, no criminal charges were ever brought.

Answer: Spill Prevention Containment and Countermeasures (SPCC)

The SPCC program contains information and requirements for preparedness for and prevention of oil spills. The program first began on December 11, 1973.

Answer: Inability to control body temperature

All of these can and do cause animals to die. However, far more animals, both aquatic and terrestrial, die from an inability to control their body temperature. The oil soaks the feathers of birds, and the fur of terrestrial animals, and the scales and shells of aquatic animals, making them unable to control internal body temperatures.

They die from both over-heating and from freezing to death. Death for these creatures is usually slow and painful.

Answer: False

This statement is false. Off the coast of southern California there are over 600 natural seepages a year that leak the equivalent of over one million barrels of oil a year into the Pacific Ocean. Underground oil has been leaking onto the ground and into the ocean for thousands if not millions of years.

The difference is that it occurs in amounts that allow local wildlife, both plant and animal, to adapt. Spills, when a ship sinks, disseminate massive amounts of oil all at once and the end result can be devastating. Often it can be confusing to decide who to blame. Was it the oil company, the ship's captain, the weather, or just bad luck?