OIL AND ITS DERIVATIVES IN THE FACE // OF WATER POLLUTION

Hello dear readers, this time I want to share with you a topic of environmental concern and how the different petroleum derivatives have affected the environment in general, but particularly on this occasion we will focus on the effects of this on water (rivers, seas, beaches, among others).

Today we must call the conscience of all human beings to the care and conservation of our waters, since it is fundamental for the subsistence of life on earth, in addition to beautify our tourist sites, although visitors are one of the main causes of pollution of oceans and beaches around the world and if we add the various toxic substances that are dumped in the same during the exploitation and production of petroleum products, the results tend to be alarming.

Water (ocean) pollution should be considered a worldwide problem, however Venezuela does not escape from this fact and even more being a country whose main economy is based on oil exploitation, therefore in its waters, even when it cannot be seen with the naked eye, it is common to find large amounts of plastic and oil waste, which seriously affect aquatic life.

The different non-governmental entities are cleaning up this garbage and even though a specific figure of the amount of solid waste found in the ocean is unknown, it can only be indicated that the damage it causes to our maritime ecosystem is alarming.

For no one is a secret the large amount of plastic that can be left on the beaches or rivers of our beautiful ecosystem, what is sometimes unknown is the serious damage caused to our waters with these containers and bottles, as they are manufactured with a non-biodegradable petroleum derivative, called Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET).

Since plastic is considered a non-biodegradable material, it takes a number of years to decompose, and yet it is one of the most widely used products in the world, so its most common final destination is the bottom of the seas, rivers and oceans.

Similarly, there is another plastic material that is difficult to count in this case we refer to microplastic. In 2017 the presence of this material was detected in all the world's oceans, which is used to produce larger plastics, this study was developed by the United Nations Environment Program.

The different marine species have been affected by the large amount of solid waste found at the bottom of the oceans to such an extent that there is a great diversity of species that feed on microplastics and are of great commercial interest such as brown shrimp, clams, mussels, oysters, among others.

We also have the case of other marine species such as crustaceans and mollusks, which are characterized by being consumed whole and represent a great risk to consumers because all that amount of plastic they consume is trapped in their stomach and then reach the population to be digested by them.

Currently, due to the effect of the pandemic crisis, it was expected that the volume of plastic material deposited on the beaches and oceans would decrease as a consequence of the preventive isolation that has been implemented since last year, these results have not been as expected, since the effect of retention of marine pits has been presented, which consists of the accumulation of garbage as a result of the dragging of the same by the waves of the sea. This situation confirms the lack of environmental awareness and education of all users of planet Earth.

During the year 2020, an oil spill occurred off the coast of Venezuela that affected more than 100 marine species, specifically in the state of Falcon in the Morrocoy National Park, which brought as a side effect a stain of about 4 kilometers that caused the death of many biological species that lived there.

A similar case occurred in 2018, when an oil spill affected the consumption of drinking water for all the inhabitants of Maturín, and also brought secondary effects to the Guarapiche forests and mangroves of the San Juan river.

Zulia does not escape from all the environmental effects caused by the oil spill, since for several years it has been suffering from this problem, in addition to the large amount of plastic and solid waste that are dumped into Lake Maracaibo by its inhabitants and tourist visitors, so a call is made to reflect on the care and conservation of our ecosystem.

Finally, the implementation of an adequate environmental education is sought, in such a way as to achieve the awareness of all human beings regarding the preservation of our rivers, seas, oceans and lakes, since water is a vital liquid for the different species that make up the world and a bad management of these oil derivatives has aggressively affected all aquatic life and therefore the great consumers of marine crustaceans and other species.

We also call on oil companies to implement new strategies for the conservation of our environment, since during their industrial processes they cause serious damage to our ecosystem, bringing adverse effects on the health of all human beings and, due to the duration of these pollutants over time, also to future generations.

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Zamora, Alejandra Carolina. (2010). Oil industry activities and the legal environmental framework in Venezuela. A critical view of its effectiveness. Source:

Rivera Garibay, Omar Oslet. (2020). Impact of plastic pollution. Source: