|  | Public Health Safety | Environmental Health

Tools Needed to Clean Oil Spills

With the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, greater attention was focused on the dangers of oil drilling and the possible implications to the environment if oil should spill into oceans or other natural habitats. Many workers were forced to consider new ways of cleaning up oil spills. Many methods can be used to clean oil spills, each requiring different tools and levels of human intervention.

  1. No Human Response

    • One method of cleaning oil spills requires that humans do nothing. Oil is a naturally occurring substance. Thus, the planet has means of taking care of large amounts of oil on its own. Sun, wind, water current and waves all work to dispel oil and evaporate it quickly without any human intervention, thus requiring no human labor or tools to clean the spill. Still, those monitoring oil spills should keep in mind that this method works best with lighter oils in smaller amounts. For very large heavy oil spills, other means of cleaning the spill may be necessary.

    Containment

    • Another method of cleaning oil spills involves containing the spill to a certain area and skimming it from the surface of water. For this process, workers need a variety of tools. Beyond boats and other transportation methods to get to the spill, workers need large booms, used to encircle surface oil and keep it within a certain area. Booms can be made from inflatable neoprene tubes or from solid but buoyant materials. Workers also need advanced skimming equipment. Some of this equipment is designed to scoop the oil from the water, while other skimmers are designed to suck up oil like a vacuum. These tools can become ineffective in very windy or wavy seas.

    Chemical Dispersing

    • Workers tasked with cleaning an oil spill may also choose to use chemical dispersants. These dispersants reduce the surface tension of the oil and allow small drops of oil to mix with water, which increases the rate at which natural bio-degradation and evaporation of oil can occur. Like any oil-spill cleaning method, using chemical dispersants has its drawbacks. To be most effective, the chemicals must be used within hours of the spill, and the process can further harm many marine organisms.

    Biological Means

    • Workers can also use biological agents to clean oil spills. Introducing the kinds of bacteria and micro-organisms that break oil down into harmless fatty acids can contain and clean oil spills. Workers will fertilize the area where the spill has occurred with nitrogen and phosphorous, both of which stimulate more growth of these biological agents. However, this method is not always successful, and micro-organisms can be hard to control. Additionally, the fertilizer could further disrupt the ecosystem in the area of the oil spill.

Environmental Health - Related Articles