Cleaning Up Massive Oil Spills, How Do They Do It?

A Brown Pelican sits on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast after being drenched in oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on June 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

In February and March, there have been four oil train derailments—in Illinois, Canada, and West Virginia—spilling gallons and gallons of oil into nearby waterways and on shores.

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• There’s 14,000 Oil Spills Each Year in the US

We’ve heard the reports of cleaning crews trying their best to minimize damage to wildlife and the environment. But, when there are gallons of oil spilling and spreading quickly, how do they clean it up and what are the chances of damage being caused by the cleaning methods?

Here’s how they do it:

1.  Weather

The weather can help to break down oil that spills into water. Oil usually floats in saltwater and freshwater, depending on the type, so one way to clean it up is to just leave it alone and let nature take its course.

However, heavy crude can sink in freshwater, mixing with sand as it sinks, which causes it to turn into tar balls. The balls aren’t a big contaminant, because they stay hard on the outside and soft on the inside, and disperse throughout the water making them less of a threat than concentrated oil slicks.

2.  Dispersants

When there are concentrated oil slicks in tropical areas chemicals are typically used to help the oil break down quickly. The chemicals, also called dispersants, break apart the oil slick into little oil droplets that can easily mix with the water and be absorbed by the aquifer system.

A pelican covered in oil is cleaned at the Fort Jackson Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Buras, Louisiana, on June 11, 2010. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

However, the combination of dispersants mixed with the oil are more toxic to tropical coral reefs than the raw crude oil. The mix is also absorbed by the marine life thus enters the food chain.

3.  Shoreline Cleanup

Another precarious situation is when an oil slick quickly spreads to a coastal area or the spill occurs near the coast. Biological agents like phosphorous and nitrogen are poured across the shoreline. The agents cultivate microorganisms, which break down the oil into natural components.

A worker picks up blobs of oil with absorbent snare on Queen Bess Island at the mouth of Barataria Bay near the Gulf of Mexico in Plaquemines Parish, La., on June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Severe spills close to aquatic habitats can hurt or kill wildlife. For example, oil can break down the water-resistant properties of a waterfowl’s feathers. Also the bird can become poisoned while licking its feathers, trying desperately to clean the oil off.

Source: science.howstuffworks.com