Oil spill facts for kids
Oil from ships and oil tankers can spill onto the sea water and pollute the water. Oil poisons and harms the aquatic organisms and sea birds. The fur of sea mammals and the feathers of sea birds can be damaged by the oil. The animals may suffer, and the effect may be fatal for them. When birds get soaked in oil they can't fly and they can't go in water.
The pollution of the environment with crude or mineral oil or their by-products is called an oil spill. Most often the term is used for marine environments, where coasts, lakes, rivers and oceans are polluted. There are three main ways to combat such pollution once it has occurred:
- Use of barriers to limit the pollution to a given zone.
- Skimming of the oil with specially constructed ships
- Chemical dispersion of the oil
- Controlled burning of the oil
- Bioremediation, using microogranisms that consume the oil or oil-related products
An oil spill can not only affect the coasts, lakes, rivers and oceans but also the environment and the ecosystems. Many animals could get injured and later die without help. Also all the vegetation could be affected by the oil.
Images for kids
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Oil slick from the Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea, September 2009
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Ballsh, Mallakaster, Albania 2019 17 - Crude Oil
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A bird covered in oil from the Black Sea oil spill
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Chemical dispersants may be deployed from boats, planes, and underwater vehicles in response to an offshore oil spill
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A U.S. Air Force Reserve plane sprays Corexit dispersant over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Clean-up efforts after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
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A US Navy oil spill response team drills with a "Harbour Buster high-speed oil containment system".
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Oil slicks on Lake Maracaibo
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Volunteers cleaning up the aftermath of the Prestige oil spill
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Bags of oily waste from the Exxon Valdez oil spill
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See also
In Spanish: Derrame de petróleo para niños
