Detergents Use To Clean Up Oil Spills May Do More Harm Than Good

“‘The detergents may be the best way to treat spills in the long term because the dispersed oil is diluted and degraded,’ says Biology professor Peter Hodson. ‘But in the short term, they increase the bioavailability and toxicity of the fuel to rainbow trout by 100-fold.'” The study, published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, says that while detergents may help the survivability of surface-dwelling animals, they also disperse hydrocarbons from surface spills into the water column. From Science Daily.