How to Clean Up Oil Spills From Water
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 14,000 oil spills occur in the United States each year. Specially trained emergency response teams are mobilized by oil transport companies, the EPA and the Coast Guard to clean up these spills to prevent contamination to ocean ecosystems, contamination which can harm sea animals, birds, fish and plant life.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Use booms to contain the oil. According to the University of Delaware Sea Grant Program (UDSGP), spilled oil floats on water, so clean up teams contain it in one area first and then try to take it out of the water. Booms prevent the oil from polluting shorelines and other resources and concentrate it into a thicker substance that is easier to collect. The EPA describes booms as having four elements. A "freeboard" sits about 1 meter above the water to contain the oil and prevent waves from splashing the oil over the top of the boom, and a flotation device keeps it afloat. A "skirt" hangs about 1 meter below the water to contain oil beneath the surface and reduce the amount of oil lost under the boom. A chain or cable called a "longitudinal support" runs along the bottom of the skirt and strengthens the boom against wind and waves as well as providing a weight to support the boom and keep it upright.
-
2
Use skimmers to suck or scoop up the oil. According to the UDSGP, skimmers float across the top of the oil within the boom and scoop the oil into storage tanks on nearby vessels or on the shore. The EPA describes three types of skimmers. Weir skimmers trap the oil into a well, oleophilic skimmers blot the oil from the water surface, and suction skimmers vacuum up the oil. Skimmers are only effective in relatively calm water; in choppy seas, they usually recover more water than oil.
-
-
3
Use dispersants to break up the oil. Dispersants are chemicals that reduce the surface tension that prevents oil and water from mixing, thus breaking the oil up into small droplets that help speed its natural biodegradation, according to the UDSGP. Oil will naturally break down if left alone, but when there is threat of polluting coastal regions or harming wildlife, it's necessary to speed up this process. Dispersants can only be used within the first 1 or 2 hours of a spill, however, to be most effective. Dispersion of oil into the ocean can adversely affect marine life, so it is not always the best option. According to the EPA, dispersants are not effective on gasoline or diesel spills and cannot be used in freshwater.
-
4
Use biological agents to hasten biodegradation. The UDSGP reports that most of the components of oil along shorelines can be broken down using bacteria and other microorganisms. These biological agents break oil into harmless substances, like fatty acids and carbon dioxide. Fertilizing nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous stimulate the growth of these microorganisms to speed up the biodegradation process, and they are mostly used in sensitive areas such as shorelines, marshes and wetlands. According to the EPA, clean up teams use species of bacteria that do not naturally exist in areas where spills occur to increase the population of microorganisms that can biodegrade the oil.
-
5
Use physical methods to clean up oil that has been washed to shorelines. According to the EPA, pressure washing, raking and bulldozing can be used to clean up oil from shorelines. It's also necessary to keep wildlife away from spill areas, so clean up teams use devices like helium-filled balloons and floating dummies, to scare away animals.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit gull image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
