DIESEL SPILLS

DIESEL SPILLS

Facts

Small diesel spills will usually evaporate and disperse within a day or less. When spilled on water, diesel oil spreads very quickly to a thin film of rainbow and silver sheens.

Diesel oil is much lighter than water. It is not possible for this oil to sink and accumulate on the river floor as pooled or free oil unless absorption occurs with sediment.

Diesel oil is readily and completely degraded by naturally occurring microbes, under time frames of one to two months.

In terms of toxicity to water-column organisms, diesel is considered to be one of the most acutely toxic oil types. Fish that come in direct contact with a diesel spill may be killed.

Small diesel spills can affect marine birds by direct contact, though the number of birds affected is usually small because of the short time the oil is on the water surface. Mortality is caused by ingestion during preening as well as hypothermia from matted feathers.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration