oil and paint contamination

Oil and Paint Contamination and Clean Up

Grade 8 Earth and Space Science-Water Systems on Earth (WS)

Outcomes:

WS8.1 Analyze the impact of natural and human-induced changes to the characteristics and distribution of water in local, regional, and national systems.
WS8.3 Analyze natural factors and human practices that affect productivity and species distribution in marine and fresh water environments.

Lesson 1- Create an Oil Spill

Materials: 

* Teacher Note * Be careful in your choice of feather.  Some species of feather are deemed sacred among the First Nations.  Duck or chicken feathers are appropriate.
* Teacher Note * Unused motor oil is safe to use in this experiment because of the very small amount needed.  You could use some vegetable oil mixed with cocoa (for coloring). Vegetable and motor oil are basically the same from an environmental cleanup standpoint.

Instructional Procedures:

1. Show students some motor oil in a clean container.  Talk about how we are going to use this oil to demonstrate the effects of oil spills in our ponds, sloughs, oceans, etc.
2. Pour a little oil, slowly, from about 1 cm above the surface, into a clear container containing water.  You may choose to colour the water with food colouring to help see what is going on.  Observe what is happening.

What is happening to the oil?  (Floats on the water and will slowly spread across the surface.)
What conclusion can you draw about oil and water? (Oil and water do not mix.) Thinking about what you have seen, what do you think happens when oil gets into an ocean or slough?

3. Use string to try to corral the oil for containment.  How could this be useful?  This is called containment and is important because otherwise the oil will keep spreading out, creating a thinner and thinner layer, covering more and more surface area.
4. Dip craft feather/craft stick into the “mixture”. What happens to the feather/craft stick? (Oil adheres to the feather/stick)
5. Add a few mini-marshmallows to the oil, representing wildlife.  Observe what happens.
6. Using the straw, gently blow on the oil, representing wind and waves.  What happens?  Blow harder; again, what happens?
7. Observe the sides of the container. Oil should be sticking to the sides.
8. Sprinkle some cinnamon on the surface of the oil.  Using a spoon, try to scoop the cinnamon off.  Is this easy to do? Would it be useful on a large scale for a spill?  This is called skimming and is used in conjunction with containment if the spill can be reached in time.  It uses a boat that scoops or sucks the oil from the surface of the water.
9. Use the sponge to try to absorb the oil.  How does it work?  Are you able to absorb it all?  Does the sponge absorb water as well as oil?  In a real-life application this is done using large sponges called sorbents.
10.  Discuss how this activity relates to a real oil spill (ocean or slough).  In a real-life spill there are many options or approaches used in oil cleanup.
11. One litre of used motor oil can contaminate 1 million litres of water.  Talk about the magnitude of the contamination when huge amounts of oil are spilled into the environment.  Show pictures of a large oil spill. Discuss with the class the amount of energy, cost, manpower, etc. needed to clean up a spill.

 
Photos of oil spills

Photos of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Paint Extension Activity: Add a small amount of paint to the water in your container.  Follow steps 3-9 to test and observe what happens to the paint and how it affects the water and objects.  How successful are attempts to clean the water?

For more information on safe recycling of used oil go to:
http://usedoilrecyclingsk.com/
For more information on safe recycling of used paint go to:
http://www.recyclesaskatchewan.ca
And to promote the safe use of storm sewers: http://www.yellowfishroad.org

Lesson 2- Clean Up Oil and Paint Spill

Materials

*Cleaning supplies could include dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, baking soda, cotton swabs, paper towels, etc.  Either the teacher should choose which ones the students will use, or let them choose and rationalize their choices.

Instructional Procedures

1. Review findings from lesson 1.
2. Divide students into groups (half the groups will need feathers, the other half will need “fur”).  The feathers groups will be working on cleaning up marine birds affected by an oil spill or paint contamination and the fur groups will be working on cleaning up marine animals affected by an oil spill or paint contamination.  This works out to 4 groups (oil-feather, paint-feather, oil-fur, paint-fur).
3. Students will follow handouts to complete the activity.

   Oil - Feathers worksheet

   Oil - Fur worksheet

   Paint - Feathers worksheet

   Paint - Fur worksheet

4. Students will join together in like groups (feather/fur) and share their findings as to what worked well and what didn’t in the clean up.
5. Bring all groups together and discuss all findings.  Some of these cleanup options may work but what would the impact be on the animals?  Example:  soap
6.  Discussion – What can we do to avoid all the energy and work needed for an oil or paint spill cleanup?  What organizations can help us?  Think about proper disposal of oil filters, used oil, leftover paint, etc.

For more information on where to recycle paint and oil in Saskatchewan go to:
http://www.recyclesaskatchewan.ca

 Resources for additional inquiry

Fact Sheet - "Painting Without Pollution"

Printable PDF version including all worksheets and Resources sheet

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