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TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThe focus of industry and government activities with respect to oil spills is on prevention. Despite best prevention efforts, however, some spills will occur and industry and government must be fully prepared to respond. After 30 years of studies and practical experience, there is now a definitive body of evidence that the use of dispersants to counter the effects of an oil spill can result in lower overall environmental impact than relying on other countermeasures, and for many large spills, it is often the only practical at-sea response technique. This conclusion is supported by numerous international organizations. A number of countries, including the U.S. have recently become more pro-active in supporting and advocating dispersant use. One major reason for this support has been the development of new dispersants with increased capability and improved toxicity characteristics. This paper focuses on new capability to disperse heavy and/or weathered oils such as bunkers. It summarizes the mechanism by which dispersants work, lists their advantages and reviews the results of recent large-scale field tests in the North Sea which conclusively demonstrated the capability of new products to disperse heavy and weathered oils.

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The Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 was the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history. It triggered a massive cleanup and accelerated major changes to the U.S. structure for combating oil spills. It also led to a number of successful new programs within Exxon and industry aimed at reducing incidents, minimizing spillage of oil worldwide, and improving the capability to respond in the event of a spill. Exxon's response effort is widely acknowledged as the largest peacetime industrial mobilization ever in the United States and possibly in the world. Exxon immediately accepted responsibility and committed resources and personnel to clean up the environment affected by the spill The Valdez spill is the most studied ever. The cleanup involved the use of technology not previously applied to large spills. Many of these applications are now the subject of ongoing international research programs aimed at improving the ability to respond. This paper, written by several Exxon scientists who conducted technical studies in support of the cleanup, summarizes many of the technical learnings and advances that came out of the spill, and subsequent research studies with emphasis on how these apply to today's spills. This paper discusses only the response and cleanup. Exxon also initiated a number of programs to mitigate impacts on people, communities and wildlife affected by the spill.