Is it difficult to clean up different oil spills?

Answer 1

I think its something to do with the fact that oil is thicker that water. So the 2 are separate. If it floats on the surface of the water then that might be why it is difficult to clean up. Also the oil could spread out over a large distance e.g a kilometer. This would mean more boats would have to be used.

Answer 2

containment and skimming to clean up the slick. Long, buoyant booms which float on the water and a skirt that hangs below the water contain the slick and keep the oil from spreading out. T­his makes it easier to skim oil from the surface, using boats that suck or scoop the oil from the water and into containment tanks.

A slick like this may also call for sorbents -- large sponges that absorb the oil from the water. Cleanup crews may set the oil on fire in a process called in situ burning, but this produces toxic smoke, and probably wouldn't be used in a spill near coastal settlements.

An oil spill reached relatively quickly and located away from towns is the easiest to clean up by one of these methods. But rarely do things work out so easily. Oil spills are generally very messy, hazardous and environmentally threatening. Spills may reach shorelines, have time to spread and affect wildlife. In these cases cleanup crews use other measures. Read the next page to learn about other methods of cleaning oil spills.

Microbes can also be used for cleaning oil spills.

Answer 3

The oil moves very quickly so trying to scrape it off the top of the water can be nearly useless as it spreads so quickly.

Answer 4

It is hard to clean up an oil spill because oil spills you cannot control it from spreading it is harder when it is in water