Environmental Justice

Clean Up Efforts

In efforts to clean up the spill, the earliest responders to the spill were the National Response Team, which consisted of the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Several methods were used during the clean-up that reflected clean up efforts of previous oil spills.

The dispersant, Corexit, was used to assist in removing the oil from the surface of the water. A dispersant is a type of substance that allows fat or oil to mix with water. Though this was widely used as a method to prevent the spill from spreading, it was also harming the physical marine environment and health of humans.

Another method that was used was a method in which booms were used. Booms are a barriers which are long and help to prevent the spread of oil on the surface. Once the booms were placed, the oil inside the boom was either burned off or siphoned, or re-collected off the surface of the water. The Coast Guard clean-up patrol ended for Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi in June 2013, and ended for Louisiana in April 2014.

BIB:
The Ocean Portal Team. Gulf oil spill. 2015. http://ocean.si.edu/gulf-oil-spill.

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