Oil and Chemical Spill Clean Up

Which methods and tools people choose for clean up depends on the circumstances of each event:

• the weather,
• the type and amount of oil spilled,
• how far away from shore the oil has spilled,
• whether or not people live in the area, what kinds of bird and animal habitats are in the area, and other factors.

Different cleanup methods work on different types 

of beaches and with different kinds of oil

For example, road equipment works very well on sand beaches, but can't be used in marshes or on beaches with big boulders or cobble (rounded stones that are larger than pebbles, but smaller than boulders).

Methods used for clean up:

• booms, which are floating barriers to oil (for example, a big boom may be placed around a tanker that is leaking oil, to collect the oil).
• skimmers, which are boats that skim spilled oil from the water surface.
• sorbents, which are big sponges used to absorb oil.
• chemical dispersants and biological agents, which break down the oil into its chemical constituents.
• in-situ burning, which is a method of burning freshly-spilled oil, usually while it is floating on the water.
• washing oil off beaches with either high-pressure or low-pressure hoses.
• vacuum trucks, which can vacuum spilled oil off of beaches or the water surface.
• shovels and road equipment, which are sometimes used to pick up oil or move oiled beach sand and gravel down to where it can be cleaned by being tumbled around in the waves.