Landmark case: Nigerian villagers sue Shell over oil spills

Pius Utomi Ekpei / AFP - Getty Images, file

A man walks near spilled crude oil in the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in the Nigerian oil-producing region of Ogoniland, in June 2010.

LONDON -- Around 11,000 Nigerian villagers who say their livelihoods were ruined in oil spills launched a legal battle Friday to seek compensation from Shell.

The case marks the first time any oil firm has faced claims in the U.K. from a community in the developing world for environmental damage caused by oil extraction operations, the villagers' lawyers said.


Shell, the largest international firm operating in Nigeria, admitted liability for two oil spills in August 2011. However, the two sides dispute the amount of oil spilled and the extent of the damage caused, one of the villagers' London-based lawyers told msnbc.com.

At the crux of the disagreement is whether the spills that devastated the area were due to so-called operational failures on the part of Shell, or if they were the result of sabotage, illegal refining and theft.

Farmers, fishermen
Shell Petroleum Development Company (Nigeria) has admitted responsibility for two spills amounting to around 4,000 barrels. 

However, experts representing people in the Bodo community, a network of 35 villages whose inhabitants were mainly subsistence fishermen and farmers, maintain that amount is closer to 600,000 barrels, one of the villagers' lawyers told msnbc.com.

100 miles of oil: Spill likely Nigeria's worst in decade

"We have urged them to have their expert work with our expert," said Martyn Day of law firm Leigh Day & Co. "But (Shell has) totally refused."

Day said that negotiations broke down last week.

'No need for the legal activity'
Shell spokesman Jonathan French told msnbc.com that the firm cannot discuss details of the legal process, but said the company was dismayed that the case was going to court.

"There really has been no need for the legal activity which has delayed the the payout and cleanup," he said. "We accepted responsibility at the earliest point we could ... there was no need for this firm of London solicitors to take action."

PhotoBlog: Nigerian oil industry photos reveal extremes of poverty, wealth

"Nobody is saying is that there isn’t a problem with oil spills in the Niger Delta," French added. "The point is that there is this formula enshrined in Nigerian law that spells out level of compensation."

Instead of resorting to court, the villagers should have followed the process already in place in Nigeria, French said, adding that the involvement of law firms such as Leigh Day "can serve to delay compensation."

$1 billion cleanup tab in Nigeria oil mess, UN says

Shell paid out $4 million in compensation to victims of operational oil spills in 2009, and $1.7 million in 2010, French said.

Shell has been criticized for its behavior in Nigeria before.

In Aug. 2011, the United Nations released a report saying the company and the Nigerian government had contributed to 50 years of pollution in the Niger Delta that could need the world's largest ever oil cleanup. The work would take up to 30 years and require an initial tab estimated at $1 billion, the report said.

On February 17, Amnesty International issued a report saying that:

"Shell's failures persist despite significant evidence based calls on the company to make meaningful changes in the way it operates in the Niger Delta. In 2011 the evidence confronting Shell was confirmed in a ground-breaking study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that looked at the impact of oil pollution in the Ogoniland region of the Niger Delta. The UNEP report confirmed that serious environmental damage had occurred in Ogoniland, one area of the Niger Delta, over many years. It found systemic failures in Shell’s approach to cleaning up pollution and rehabilitating land, which have exposed tens of thousands of people to a sustained assault on their economic, social and cultural rights."

 

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Oil Spill Eater II EMULATING MOTHER NATURE

HOW BIOREMEDIATION OCCURS IN MOTHER NATURE

We need to first explain what happens In Mother Nature when a hazardous

material is spilled. (Note that the key words used here are set in bold and defined in a simple glossary on the last page.)

There is a myriad of bacteria everywhere on the planet. Where a toxic spill comes in direct

contact with bacteria, that bacteria is killed or dies off. Bacteria that is proximal [near] to the spill but not in direct contact, reacts in several ways:

  • First, the bacteria separate themselves far enough away so as to protect themselves from the toxicity of the spill.
  • Second, the bacteria then releases enzymes and biosurfactants to attack the

spill.

  • Third, the biosurfactants emulsify and solubilize the spill.

What this means is the biosurfactants will break up and partition the spill into a manageable consistency. In other words, it is breaking down the molecular structure of the spill or detoxifying it, so it can be used as a food source.

The enzymes then form binding sites on the emulsified or solubilize spill and

this is where the bacteria will initially attach themselves and start the digestive process.

There have to be large amounts of bacteria for this process to take effect, and, if left solely to nature, it is a long process for bacteria to acclimate themselves to a spill. It then takes further time for the bacteria to release enzymes and surfactants.

One of the limiting factors is the number of bacteria present to produce and release enough enzymes and surfactants to get the process started.

This is why you hear scientists talk about adding nutrients to jumpstart the rapid growth of bacteria so enough enzymes and biosurfactants can be released to affect the mitigation of the spill.

However, nutrients alone have limited uses because of concentration requirements which are compromised in various environments--washed away or diluted by wave motion—and that, compounded with the time it takes to grow a large population of bacteria, reduces their effectiveness.

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a means of emulating Mother Nature while at

the same time, speeding up the process to mitigate in hours, days or weeks what Mother

Nature takes months and/or years to handle on her own?

There is such a solution: OIL SPILL EATER II

OIL SPILL EATER II (OSE II) contains exact proportions of enzymes, bio surfactants, nutrients and other necessary constituents for complete life cycles and biodegradation.

When OSE II is added to a spill, it is not necessary to wait on the proximal bacteria to release enough enzymes or bio surfactants since they are already supplied by OSE II. Therefore, the minute you apply OSE II, there is sufficient biosurfactants to start the emulsification and solubilization process. This process generally takes just a minute or two, or possibly several more minutes depending on the consistency of the spill. As the bio surfactants do their job, the enzymes are attaching themselves to broken down hydrocarbon structures, forming digestive binding sites.

Note: Once this process has occurred, several important changes take effect:

1. The fire hazard has diminished.

2. The toxicity of the spill is rapidly diminished.

3. The odor or smell is almost non-existent.

4. The oil or spill will no longer adhere to anything.

5. The spill is caused to float, OSE II will prevent the oil from sinking.

If the spill has not reached a shoreline yet, but does so after application, it will not adhere to wildlife, sand, rock, wood, metal, or any vegetation.

If the spill has already attached itself, once application occurs, the spill will be

lifted from sand, rock, wood, metal or vegetation and wildlife. OSE II is the perfect solution for cleaning up oiled wildlife and marine life because it works so swiftly and is non-toxic, causing the oil to just easily slough off once sprayed on. This causes less trauma for the animal being cleaned and a much faster and easier cleanup process.

The spill is detoxified to the point that indigenous bacteria (natural to a given environmental location) can now utilize the oil as a food source. This also diminishes toxicity to marine organisms, birds or wildlife.

OSE II causes the oil to float on the surface of the water, which reduces the impact to the sub-surface preventing secondary contamination of the water column or tertiary contamination on the floor of the body of water associated with the spill area. The spill being held on the surface will make it easy to monitor.

OSE II also has an extremely efficient nutrient system which is activated once you mix

the product with natural water--water native to the spill environment.

While the spill is being broken down and detoxified, the indigenous bacteria already living in the natural water used to mix OSE II starts rapidly colonizing or proliferating the growth of large numbers of indigenous bacteria.

Once the bacteria run out of the OSE II’s readily available nutrients, they convert over to the only food source left: the detoxified oil spill. The spill is then digested to CO2 and water. In some cases you can see bacteria growing on the spill; however, in a short period of time, the oil will be digested to CO2 and water before your eyes on a contained spill. In laboratory tests, once you see the water in the test beaker or aquarium become turbid, you know it is only a matter of time before the contaminant is remediated to CO2 and water.

Unlike mechanical cleanup, which cleans up a maximum of 20% of the oil spilled, OSE II will actually address 100% of a spill. This information is substantiated by the EPA’s listing of OSE II on the National Contingency Plan for oil spills referred to as the NCP list, which contains the efficacy test performed for the EPA at LSU University. This documentation can be examined at:

Glossary of Key Terms:

Bacteria: are one-celled organisms with a simple cell structure. Some are helpful, some are harmful. Bacteria are probably the most numerous of all organisms. They can be found almost everywhere. Bacteria are important to the cycling of chemicals in nature. Without the good bacteria, the soil and water would soon become poor in nitrogen and all plants and animals would die.

Biosurfactants: are surface-active substances synthesized by living cells; they are generally non-toxic and biodegradable. Biosurfactants enhance the emulsification of hydrocarbons, have the potential to solubilize hydrocarbon contaminants and increase their availability for microbial degradation. The use of chemicals for the treatment of a hydrocarbon polluted site may contaminate the environment with their by-products, whereas support of the natural process of enzymes and biosurfactants will efficiently destroy pollutants, while being biodegradable themselves. (See: Wiki details #Biosurfactants )

Emulsify: An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids which are normally immiscible (un-blendable). Hence surfactants emulsify and solubilize (make a substance soluble [able to be dissolved] or more soluble) e.g. oil and water are blended.

Enzymes: the chemical substances produced in the living cells of all plants and animals that act as catalysts in the regulation of biological processes. Some enzymes break down complex substances into simpler ones. All enzymes are proteins with a prosthetic group attached. The prosthetic group of an enzyme is the part of the molecule that catalyzes (causes or speeds) the chemical change.

Soluble: designed to be dissolved in water. Solubilize means to make something dissolve in water.

Turbid: not clear or transparent because of stirred-up sediment or the like; clouded; opaque.

  • 1 vote
Reply#27 - Fri Mar 23, 2012 10:43 PM EDT

One thing I'd like to point out on the subject at hand.

It wasn't untill the middle/late 1800's that the industrial use of oil and petrolium started getting into full swing, to produce many things.

In the relative short time since then, almost 50% the entire Worlds (estimated) supply of those resources has been used up in only around 200 years.

They ain't making any more of the stuff, people!

Expontentionally estimating the continued use at this rate,

    Reply#28 - Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:33 PM EDT

    Sorry! I clicked on spell check, and it got posted instead.

    I was going to say that we've only got about another 50-70 years of oil left, at the rate we're using it.

    Time to start serious efforts into other energy sources.

      Reply#29 - Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:41 PM EDT

      Honestly the first step we need are higher industry standards for miles per gallon it should be illegal to produce a car that gets under 40miles to the gallon across the board yes I realize almost no car currently gets that so what? Force the companies to produce them and force them to produce them cheaply enough that they can be bought there's no reason in 2012 for cars to get 20 miles or less miles to the gallon none what so ever.

      • 1 vote
      Reply#30 - Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:03 PM EDT

      Tiffany 1 #30

      I have a car that gets 40 mpg in town and about 47 on the highway. It is a Hyundai Atos. I live in Mexico which is where I bought it. It is made in India. I don't know why it isn't sold in the USA but I love it. It is your basic boxy economy car but it is very comfortable it has a 7 year 62000 mile warranty on it. I have the most expensive model and I paid $10,500 for it in November 2011.

      • 1 vote
      #30.1 - Sun Mar 25, 2012 11:39 PM EDT

      Unfortunately, the US has so over-regulated the auto market here, that any good, common sense, economical vehicle available anywhere, is doomed to fail here.

      If they weren't already being produced in the US, they'd insist on crash-zones, impact bumpers, and air-bags being added to Horses before you could buy one.

        #30.2 - Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:44 AM EDT
        Reply

        Oh No! Not Shell Oil!

          Reply#31 - Sun Mar 25, 2012 7:29 AM EDT

          It just dawned on me....

          Every lawyer in the US is eagerly supporting the XL Pipeline. They KNOW there will be continued payday(s).

            Reply#32 - Sun Mar 25, 2012 10:37 AM EDT

            Steve W 747922 (or whatever the number is)

            Good point on that list of items that are made using petroleum. They can all be replaced with hemp. Every single one of them and thousands more. If we would embrace it hemp could be the environments saving grace. Hemp can be used to create fuel it has the most biomass than any other grain used for the purpose. It burns clean. In most climates it is possible to grow 3 crops per year. Everyone do your homework on hemp. There is a viable alternative NOW. Whether anyone will open their eyes and embrace it is the question. Just a thought.

              Reply#33 - Sun Mar 25, 2012 11:33 PM EDT
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