Do oil spills hurt the animals?
If an oil spill occurs, the platform crew members try to shutdown the source of the leak and then notify local, state, and federal agencies, including the Minerals Management Service. Companies such as Clean Seas and Marine Spill Response Corporation come in to respond to the incident with safety and specialized oil spill response equipment. The response teams first figure out if it is safe to clean up the spill and then use buoys to mark where exactly the spill has occurred in the water. Because oil floats on water, the response team uses a floating boom that acts like a wall to contain the oil in one location. Then, they use skimmers, or large brushes, to remove it from the water. The Minerals Management Service has an oil spill response research program that looks at new ways to clean up oil and improve methods we now have available. The Minerals Management Service reviews and approves the oil companys oil spill response plan and conducts surprise oil spill drills. They also inspect
