Are we talking on a personal level or on a mass co-ordinated level?
On a personal level, prevention is better than cure so ensure that if you ever have use for oil and need to dispose of it you do so responsibly. Don’t pore it down the drain, take it to your local hazardous waste disposal centre. Ensure your car and/or your boat are free of leaks if not it will end up in the sea and the sea is not a dumping ground!
But if the oil has already reached the waterways, there are still ways of cleaning it up and preventing further damage to the environment. Remember to report any spills immediately and volunteer in the clean-up effort, it’s usually a labor-intensive activity.
You are likely to encounter booms which are basically floating oil barriers. These surround the spill and prevent it from further dispersal across the surface of the water. The old adage is that oil and water don’t mix and that is still true, however heavier particles can sink to the sea bed and the waves can churn up oil and water making it difficult to separate. Booms can’t help with particles sinking to the seabed.
Neither can skimmer boats but the quicker they are deployed the less will sink to the seabed. There is also the possibility of pumping the affected surface water into an oil recovery tanker and filtering it.
Another option is to use certain chemicals to help break down the oil although these chemicals in themselves can be harmful to the environment if used carelessly.
There is also the option of burning the oil off although that just transfers the problem to the air. Still it can save beaches.
If it gets to the beach (and it will unless Mother Nature steps in and keeps it out to sea which is unlikely) you’ll need to get some large sponges, which are sorbents, to soak up the oil.
There are specific vacuum vehicles which can suck oil from the beaches and off the surface of the sea but sometimes these coastal areas are hard to reach.
That is where good old elbow grease and man hours come in to play.
As I said prevention is easier than cure.
On a personal level, prevention is better than cure so ensure that if you ever have use for oil and need to dispose of it you do so responsibly. Don’t pore it down the drain, take it to your local hazardous waste disposal centre. Ensure your car and/or your boat are free of leaks if not it will end up in the sea and the sea is not a dumping ground!
But if the oil has already reached the waterways, there are still ways of cleaning it up and preventing further damage to the environment. Remember to report any spills immediately and volunteer in the clean-up effort, it’s usually a labor-intensive activity.
You are likely to encounter booms which are basically floating oil barriers. These surround the spill and prevent it from further dispersal across the surface of the water. The old adage is that oil and water don’t mix and that is still true, however heavier particles can sink to the sea bed and the waves can churn up oil and water making it difficult to separate. Booms can’t help with particles sinking to the seabed.
Neither can skimmer boats but the quicker they are deployed the less will sink to the seabed. There is also the possibility of pumping the affected surface water into an oil recovery tanker and filtering it.
Another option is to use certain chemicals to help break down the oil although these chemicals in themselves can be harmful to the environment if used carelessly.
There is also the option of burning the oil off although that just transfers the problem to the air. Still it can save beaches.
If it gets to the beach (and it will unless Mother Nature steps in and keeps it out to sea which is unlikely) you’ll need to get some large sponges, which are sorbents, to soak up the oil.
There are specific vacuum vehicles which can suck oil from the beaches and off the surface of the sea but sometimes these coastal areas are hard to reach.
That is where good old elbow grease and man hours come in to play.
As I said prevention is easier than cure.
