Oil Spill Cleaning Approaches That Save Wildlife and Habitats

Oil is a leading energy source for those across the nation and the entire globe. However, it is not evenly distributed across the world, so it has to be drilled and transported by ships across vast oceans and hundreds of miles of pipelines on land. Oil spills have happened while vessels were transferring oil, during transportation, from the breaking of a pipeline, or when drilling into the earth’s crust.

The most devastating oil spills surely make their way to top news stories, but there are smaller incidents that happen more regularly than people would want to believe. Oil spills contaminate coastlines, estuaries, beaches, and can lead to terrible health consequences for both land and ocean species.

We must always be ready to identify and quickly respond to an oil spill in any natural body of water. Oil is less dense than water, so it floats when spilled into it. The oil forms a layer on the water surface, and can expand or get washed into sensitive habitats. Approaches that may be utilized in an oil spill cleanup include:

• Burning
• Dispersants
• Sorbents
• Oil Booms
• Skimmers

Areas where oil spills have occurred often causes tragic health problems and death to species such as dolphins, whales, sea otters, fish, and more. Some of the oil may break down slightly and then fall to the sea floor, further harming ecosystems at a deeper oceanic level.

As the oil spill cleanup crew at Nielsen Environmental can attest to, the impacts of an oil spill can be reduced greatly through prevention, rapid response, and strategic cleanup approaches.