The first question arise how massive oil spills take place? Oil spills occur when crude oil is accidently released into a water body by a refinery, oil tanker, storage facility, under water pipeline or offshore oil-drilling rig. Oil spills need to be cleaned as soon as possible because these are hazardous as well as threatening to the environment.

When an oil spill occurs, it spread on the surface of the water and create a millimeter thin layer. Oil spill affects the marine life adversely and put many plants, animal and other species to death. Mostly the sea otters and sea birds that are found on the sea surface or shore lines affected by the oil spill, because oil destroys the heating ability of the fur-bearing mammals and water repellency of the bird. Thus it results in, exposing these creatures to harsh elements. The oil spill affects the plants & creatures tremendously. Workers determine the location of the oil spill, weather condition, potential hazards, waves & currents and then define four ways to clean or contain oil spill:

Natural means

If there is no possibility of polluting marine life and coastal regions, then let the oil disperse and evaporate by natural means. A combination of sun, wave action, current and the wind will naturally disperse the oil. Light oils disperse quickly than heavy oils.

Contain spill with booms and collect using skimmer equipment

Contain the spill with bloom and collect on the water surface through skimmer equipment. Spilled water floats on water and initially forms millimeter thick slick. There are many types of booms that can be used to surround or isolate the slick or block the passage of slick. The long buoyant, solid or inflatable tubes, sucks the oil from the surface and scoop the oil in containments tanks or sea shore vessels. But this technique is difficult to use on high seas and high wind conditions.

Biological agents

You can use a biological dispersant to quick biodegradation of oil spill. Biological agents mostly washed up the oil along the shoreline. The bacteria and microorganisms break down the oil into CO2 and other fatty acids. This process is called as biodegradation. This process can speed up by adding Nitrogen & Phosphorous. This technique depends on many factors like the ground has pebbles or sand, fertilizer is water soluble, etc.

Use dispersants

Chemical dispersants are used to break down the oil spill and hasten the biodegradation. Dispersants reduce the surface tension and stop mixing the oil with water. Dispersants are more successful when it is used within one or two hours of the oil spill.