Oil Spill Cleanup Procedures

Oil spills occur when oil tankers wreck or when military attacks on oil wells cause oil to leak into bodies of water. Faulty pipelines and leaks from offshore oil rigs also lead to oil spills. There are a variety of ways to clean up an oil spill.

Containment and Skimming

• If a cleanup crew can reach a spill immediately after the accident, the crew can use containment and skimming to clean up the spill. Booms are floating barriers used to contain the spilled oil and keep the slick from spreading. T­his makes it easier to skim oil from the surface, using vacuums or oil absorbent ropes.
  This method works best before the oil gets too thick in the water. During the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, cleanup crews arrived on the scene too late, and the increasingly viscous oil clogged skimming equipment.

Chemical and Biological Agents

• Chemical dispersants can be used to dilute the oil and make them less dangerous to the environment. Small oil droplets created by dispersants can be eaten by oil-consuming bacteria that occur naturally. Chemicals were used during the Arabian Gulf spill in the first Persian Gulf War in 1991. Dispersants were also used in the Exxon Valdez cleanup effort, but had to be dropped on the spill via helicopter because the area was difficult to reach by land.
  Biological agents, such as fertilizers containing nitrogen or phosphorus, can be spread on the shoreline to break oil down into natural components that can be consumed safely by wildlife.

In Situ Burning

• Setting fire to the oil spill is the most efficient and inexpensive of the oil spill cleanup options. However, this method produces toxic smoke so it should not be done if the spill is near residences. In addition, burning should only be employed during low-wind conditions. Exxon crews executed a successful in situ burning during the Valdez crisis, but it was discontinued because of incoming winds.