The runoff water is then collected. Sometimes these techniques cannot remove all the oil trapped under rocks or in beach sediments. A technique called bioremediation has worked to remove underlying oil. These microorganisms speed the natural degradation processes already at work. It is thought that the more microorganisms at work, the faster the oil will be removed.
Bioremediation is less disruptive to the environment than other techniques.
It simply improves on nature's own way of destroying oil. Several serious oil spills have brought attention to the damage that can result from oil spills. Three spill are discussed below. Although the war in the Middle East in the early months of 1991 was brief, it left behind a damaged environment. It was the largest oil spill in history.