The Best Way to Clean Up Oil Spills

Oil spills are one of the leading ways the oceans are being destroyed. In the spring of 2010, the Gulf of Mexico was devastated by an explosion of an oil well and the United States Coast Guard worked hard to contain it and clean up the oil spills. There are several methods of cleaning up spills, including green ones that are safer for the environment.

Things You'll Need

• Boom
• Skimmer

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Instructions

• 1

  Place a boom around a tanker that is spilling oil. A boom is a 100-foot by 50-foot vinyl, nylon or polyester tarp that is placed down to contain oil by collecting it off the water. It can also be used as a preventative tool and placed around an animal habitat or the entrance of a body of water and will absorb any oil that flows around it.

• 2

  Use a skimmer to remove oil from water. A skimmer is a boat that collects oil by way or a sorbent, a type of sponge.

• 3

  Burn the freshly spilled oil with fireproof booms. This will contain the oil, although it may cause pollution in the air. This is the method that was used to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which happened in the spring of 2010, with the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

• 4

  Spray a beach that has suffered an oil spill with a high- or low-pressure hose by using a vacuum truck. Vacuum trucks are driven on beaches to vacuum up oil, or shovels can be used to collect the oil.

• 5

  Apply dispersants to break up the oil and speed up its natural biodegredation. A dispersant will reduce the surface tension to prevent the oil from mixing with water.

• 6

  Apply biological agents to speed up the process of biodegredation. Oil can be broken down by bacteria and other substances, including carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide. Nitrogen and phosphorous can be added as a fertilizing agent to further stimulate the process.