Book 6, Question 133
Why Is Oil in Water So Hard to Clean?
Oil and water don't mix. Spilled oil floats, spreads into a thin film, and gets pushed around by wind. It sticks to feathers and marsh grass.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 6
More fun facts
- Oil usually floats because it is lighter than the same amount of water.
- Experts in Canada expect only 10 to 15 percent of an oil spill at sea to ever be picked up from open water.
- A blotch of oil the size of a dime can kill a seabird in cold water.
- Spraying hot water at high pressure can clean oil off big rocks and seawalls.
- But if it is done the wrong way, high-pressure spraying can push oil down into beach sand, where it gets trapped.
- Workers pressure-washed rocks in Alaska after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.
Sources: NOAA, Smithsonian Magazine, NOAA
Questions kids ask
How much of an oil spill can be cleaned up at sea?
Often only about 10 to 15 percent is ever recovered from open water.