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Understanding Oil Spills and Oil Spill Response
The purpose of this brochure is to provide information about oil spills. It outlines what oil spills are, their potential effects on the environment, how they are cleaned up, and how various agencies prepare for spills before they happen. Details about several oil spills and the resulting cleanup operations are provided to offer examples of the complexities involved in oil spill cleanup activities. Individual chapters of the Understanding Oil Spills and Oil Spill Response booklet are available for download in Portable Document Format (PDF) below. Click on a section title to download it. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader. |
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| Section | Download Size | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Document Cover (PDF) (1 pg, 1.8MB) | 1.8 MB | 1 |
| Introduction (PDF) (1 pg, 17K) | 17 KB | 1 |
| Table of Contents (PDF) (1 pg, 15K) | 15 KB | 1 |
| Chapter 1 - The Behavior and Effects of Oil Spills in Aquatic Environments (PDF) (4 pp, 503K) | 503 KB | 4 |
| Chapter 2 - Mechanical Containment and Recovery of Oil Following a Spill (PDF) (4 pp, 2.1MB) | 2.1 MB | 4 |
| Chapter 3 - Alternative Countermeasures for Oil Spills (PDF) (3 pp, 1.0MB) | 1.0 MB | 3 |
| Chapter 4 - Shoreline Cleanup of Oil Spills (PDF) (4 pp, 1.1MB) | 1.1 MB | 4 |
| Chapter 5 - Wildlife and Oil Spills (PDF) (6 pp, 1.7MB) | 1.7 MB | 6 |
| Chapter 6 - Preparing for Oil Spills: Contingency Planning (PDF) (4 pp, 37K) | 37 KB | 4 |
| Chapter 7 - Responding to Oil Spills: The National Response System (PDF) (5 pp, 55K) | 55 KB | 5 |
| Chapter 8 - Response to Oil Spills (PDF) (8 pp, 4.0MB) | 4.0 MB | 8 |
| Glossary and Further Information (PDF) (4 pp, 40K) | 40 KB | 4 |