Inability to remove oil remains

2002/10/24 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Ozeanografia
• Ingurumena

The Florida ship suffered an accident in 1969 on the coast of Massachusetts, where 700,000 litres of oil were dumped. Since then, the influence of oil poured into the local ecosystem has been analyzed and the final results have not been satisfactory.

Although more than 30 years have passed since the accident, oil remains remain evident. Scientists then calculated that in 10 years the ecosystem would return to its normal state. However, recent studies have found that there is still oil in underwater sediments and in concentrations far higher than expected.

This type of serious data indicates that estimates of the impact of oil spills are less adequate. Oil spills affect longer than expected, and if nature is not cleaned, the coast will remain blackened in the coming decades.