The Significance of Oil Spill Dispersants

摘要

There is growing acceptance worldwide that use of dispersants to counter the effects of an oil spill offers many advatnages and can often result in a net environmental benefit when considered in relation to other response options. A major reason for this growing support and increased reliance on dispersants is the advent of improved dispersant products that are lwo in toxicity to marien life and mor eeffective at dispersing heavy and weathered oils - oils previously believed to be unidspersible. This capability has been demosntrated thorugh exensivek laboratory testing, field trials, and dispersant application on actual spills. This paper summarizes recent advances in dispersnat R&D and reviews the implicaions of technoogy advances.