Review of effects of land oil spills from tanesco power distributionsystems attributing to environmental degradation in Tanzania

The aim of this study was to review the effects of land oil spills from Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) power distribution systems for the past ten years versus environmental degradation in the three districts of Arusha, Meru and Monduli in Arusha region, Tanzania. The study employed structured interviews, experiments, and office records to collect data on the effects of power distribution transformer mineral oils intended for cooling and insulation between windings but leaks posing land oil spills. Data analysis was performed on subsets of land surface-based oil spill effects on plants, soils and water bodies, and the results indicated that plants from forb species were affected much (13%) in the samples of (forbs, grass, shrubs and trees. Clay soils were affected by 12% in the group of clay, gravel, sand and silt soils. Ponds were affected much (14%) in the group of gullies, ponds and swamps where distribution transformers were installed. The variables for oil spill places were fitted with distributions, while Xlstat was used to generate result spreadsheets of oil spill series data based on the fitted distributions. The general results indicated that 51% of distribution transformers found with oil leaks were installed on improper soil surfaces affecting soils (16%), plants (17%) and water (18%). It is concluded that transformer mineral oil spills degrade the environment by posing health risks to human beings and biodiversity.