ed for this oil is in high demand, especially for homes and businesses. The most common material encountered today is plastic? Ever wonder what plastic is made of? You guessed it, oil. These are all modern uses for oil. Petroleum has been used for centuries. In England during the middle ages, when possible, oil was spread on battlefields, when the enemy was in the right position, the field and enemy were set ablaze. Boiling oil was often thrown over the sides of castles that were under siege. Later oil was thought to have magical powers due to its nature. It was thought to have medicinal powers at that time.So now what are the risks of oil? What dangers does it pose to me? To begin with, oil is a volatile substance. And the only way to get to oil in an efficient manner is to drill. Throughout the world there are millions of oil drillings and pumping stations. Companies drill a hole several miles into the ground, and pump the oil from the saturated ground. This seemingly simple process is very dangerous. There is the constant risk of the oil “blowing out” of the pipe. Fire is always on the workers mind. Oil itself is a liquid and therefore can be spilled if not properly collected. Once pumped from the earth’s crust, the oil must be shipped. The most popular way to distribute oil around the world is by a supertanker. These are huge specially designed ships, that hold millions of barrels of oil. These supertankers are huge in size but, just as any other ship or boat, they are susseptable to sinking, or running aground. This inevitably happens from time to time. The oil is then spilled into the oceans and waterways. The effects can be devastating on the environment. Even in an uneventful trip, the oil still has to be offloaded on shore. This is where the majority of spills occurs. However it is the small, frequent spills that do the most damage to the environment. They often are not reported and therefo...
