An oil spill can be defined as an accidental or deliberate dumping of oil or petroleum products into the ocean, or on land and possibly into rivers or lakes. Between one and ten million metric tons of oil are put into the oceans every year. This oil is released, mostly in small amounts from tankers, industries or from on shore waste disposal. Tanker spills cost the United States more than one hundred million dollars every year. The Atlantic area near Europe averages eight spills a year, the American area seven, and the Pacific two. Spills of more than ten thousand metric tons account for about two and a half percent of total spills, and spills above fifty thousand metric tons occur on average once a year. The average spill size is around seven thousand metric tons. If left alone, oil spills will eventually break up naturally. The natural degradation process is influenced by temperature, wind, wave action, how much oil there is, how far it is spread out, and how well the oil has mixed with the water. There are eight stages in the natural degradation of oil. The first step is s......

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