- Bioremediation: use of microorganism or biological agents to break down or remove oil; such as the bacteria Alcanivorax or Methylocella Silvestris.
- Controlled burning can effectively reduce the amount of oil in water, if done properly. But it can only be done in low wind,[citation needed] and can cause air pollution
- Dredging: for oils dispersed with detergents and other oils denser than water.
- Skimming: Requires calm waters at all times during the process.
- Beach Raking: coagulated oil that is left on the beach can be picked up by machinery.
- Bags of oily waste from the Exxon Valdez oil spill
- Equipment used includes:[48]
- Booms: large floating barriers that round up oil and lift the oil off the water
- Skimmers: skim the oil
- Sorbents: large absorbents that absorb oil
- Chemical and biological agents: helps to break down the oil
- Vacuums: remove oil from beaches and water surface
- Shovels and other road equipment: typically used to clean up oil on beaches
As oil spill, it floats on water and prevents sunlight to pass through it. The shiny substance that you see sometimes on top layer of water is nothing but oil which makes it difficult for plants and sea animals to survive. Cleaning up of oil spill is no easy task. Various factors need to be considered before carrying out operations. Some of them being amount of oil spilled, temperature of water, type of beaches and many more.
Oil spill can prove fatal for plant, animal and human life. The substance is so toxic that it can cause massive loss of species that live in the sea. Oil spill penetrates into the plumage and fur of birds, breaks down the insulating capabilities of feather which makes them heavier, disallow them to fly and kill them via poisoning or hypothermia.
Even though the public attention towards oil spills has grown in the last three decades, they have been happening for over a century. Since the coming of the industrial revolution, such accidents have been happening. However, the large scale problems that follow oil spills and their effects are more obvious to us today. There are two main types of effects seen after the spill.