Oil Spill Cleanup

An accident on April 20 has caused a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But oil spills are a lot more complicated than they may seem because they can have a huge impact on the environment. Spills can lead to a lot of questions. What causes oil spills? How are they cleaned up? What happens to the animals that are exposed to the oil?

An oil spill is a form of pollution that occurs when petroleum is released into the environment, which can happen on land or in the water. Oil takes a variety of forms, including crude oil, gasoline and diesel fuel. When people talk about oil spills, they are usually talking about marine oil spills in which oil is spilled into the ocean or coastal waters. Oil can spill when people make mistakes or machines are faulty.

Although oil spills seem to happen easily, they can be very difficult to clean up. The cleanup method depends on the type of oil spilled, the water temperature and the type of land or coastline involved. The methods include burning the oil, watching and waiting, using chemicals to break down or remove the oil, skimming the water when the oil is on the surface and vacuuming the beach or water surface.

Animals in affected areas have to be cleaned up as well. Oil coats the feathers of birds, making it hard for them to maintain their body temperature, float in the water and fly. Marine mammals, such as sea otters and seals, have similar problems regulating their body temperature when covered with oil. The rest of the food chain is affected by the oil as well because oil floats on top of the water, meaning less sunlight is able to shine through the water.

When an oil spill happens, people have to step in to clean up land, water and animals because of the negative environmental impacts that the oil creates.