Things You Should Know INTRODUCTION TO DISPERSANTS

Mechanical recovery will always be the most

widely used response option, because most
spills are small and nearshore.

Dispersants remove oil from the water surface

thereby protecting birds, mammals, and
sensitive shorelines.

Dispersants can be used under a broad range

of environmental conditions. For large offshore
spills, the limitations of other response options Dispersants are designed to break a slick up
may make dispersants the most effective into tiny oil droplets, which enhances the rate of
response tool. microbial degradation and ultimately removes
the oil from the environment.
Modern dispersants are biodegradable and
contain ingredients which are similar to, and Dispersant use is always based on a net
in some cases less toxic than those found in environmental benefit analysis (Fact Sheet 6).
many common household soaps, cosmetics,
shampoos and even food (Fact Sheet 2).
Scientists have been studying the effects of
dispersants on the marine environment for over 30
All environments contain naturally occurring years, and are still actively engaged in dispersant
microbes that feed on and break down crude oil. research, development and innovation.

Overview
Dispersants are products used in oil spill response to enhance natural microbial
degradation, a naturally occurring process where microorganisms remove oil from the
environment. All environments contain naturally occurring microbes that feed on and
Fact Sheet Series
break down crude oil. Dispersants aid the microbial degradation by forming tiny oil Introduction to Dispersants
droplets, typically less than the size of a period on this page (<100 microns), making
them more available for microbial degradation. Wind, current, wave action, or other Dispersants — Human Health and Safety
forms of turbulence help both this process and the rapid dilution of the dispersed oil. Fate of Oil and Weathering
The increased surface area of these tiny oil droplets in relation to their volume makes the
oil much easier for the petroleum-degrading microorganisms to consume (Figure 3). Toxicity and Dispersants

Dispersants can be used under a wide variety of conditions since they are generally Dispersant Use Approvals in the
not subject to the same operational and sea state limitations as the other two United States
main response tools — mechanical recovery and burning in place (also known as Assessing Dispersant Use Trade-offs
in-situ burning). While mechanical recovery may be the best option for small, near-
shore spills, which are by far the majority, it has only recovered a small fraction of Aerial and Vessel Dispersant Operations
large offshore spills in the past and requires calm sea state conditions that are not Subsea and Point Source Dispersant
needed for dispersant application. When used appropriately, dispersants have low Operations
environmental and human health risk and contain ingredients that are used safely in
a variety of consumer products, such as skin creams, cosmetics, and mouthwash Dispersants Use and Regulation Timeline
(Fingas et al., 1991; 1995). Dispersant Use in the Arctic Environment
This fact sheet summarizes what dispersants are, how they work, when their use
is considered, and any associated environmental trade-offs and potential human
health effects.

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 INTRODUCTION TO DISPERSANTS

Introduction FIGURE 1. Effectiveness limits of response options due to sea conditions and
average oil thickness (Source: Coolbaugh, 2011, Modified with
Unfortunately, when an oil spill occurs adverse impacts will permission from A. Allen/Spiltec)
occur. The goal of oil spill responders is to rapidly determine
which options will reduce these impacts as much as possible
given the conditions of the specific incident. The main categories
of response options available for marine spills include:
• On-water (surface) mechanical recovery (boats, boom,
skimmers, etc.).
• Surface or subsea applications of dispersants to enhance
natural microbial degradation.
• Controlled burning, known as in-situ burning (burning in
place on the water surface).
• Monitor and evaluate — allowing natural processes to
take place with monitoring.
All of these options have their place in oil spill response because
of the extreme variability of marine spill conditions. Mechanical
recovery will generally be the most important and widely used
oil spill response option because most spills are relatively small, to lose the ability to contain oil in those conditions and become
close to shore, and often near locations where boats, boom, less efficient as wave heights increase, causing slicks to wash
skimmers, and trained responders are available. over or under booms. As depicted in Figure 1, potential wave-
Dispersants become a critical response tool for larger spills far height and average oil thickness have an effect on the operating
from shore, spills more distant from stockpiles of recovery and windows for the three main offshore response options.
containment equipment, when weather and ocean conditions Dispersants, however, retain their effectiveness when mixing
preclude the use of other options, or when weather conditions energy in the form of waves increases, since the greater the
are predicted to become more severe. This is because in mixing energy, the smaller the resulting dispersed oil droplets.
addition to vessel-based operations, dispersants can be rapidly This both reduces the potential for resurfacing of droplets
applied from aircraft as well; they are efficient when wind and (small droplets rise much more slowly) and creates additional
waves prevent vessel-based mechanical recovery or in-situ surface for microbial degradation—tiny droplets have a
burning operations, and they are the only effective option when greater surface area to volume ratio than larger droplets. In
slicks have spread very thin (< 0.1 mm) (Figure 1). addition to this, larger waves cause greater mixing that helps
Additionally, dispersant aircraft can typically travel to spill locations to reduce the concentration of dispersed oil in the water
at speeds over 150 knots (170 mph; 275 kph) compared to 7 column even more rapidly.
knots (8 mph; 13 kph) which is the typical speed of a response Containment boom also has limitations when attempting to
vessel transiting to a spill location. Arriving at the spill location collect thin oil slicks. As mentioned, oil slicks rapidly spread and
quicker allows an effective response to start before slicks have become extremely thin within hours of a spill. Low-viscosity oils
spread, moved, or broken apart into smaller surface slicks. will eventually become as thin as 0.1 mm on average (Lehr et
Additionally, aircraft are also able to travel between slicks located al., 1984) with sheen being even thinner (NOAA, 2007). Slicks
only a few miles apart in a matter of minutes, while vessel- and sheen this thin simply cannot be collected efficiently in
based response options may require many hours to haul in the boom because only a small volume of oil is encountered and
equipment, move to a new location, and redeploy the equipment. collected within the boom at any time. For example, a boom
Seas with breaking waves greater than 3-5 feet (approximately 1 with a 330 foot (100 m) opening (also known as “swath”) width
to 1.5 meter) reduce the efficiency of both mechanical recovery collects a 0.1 mm thick slick at approximately 19 m3 per hour
and in-situ burning. This is because both options require (120 barrels or about 5,000 gallons/hour) because vessels
containment boom to corral and contain slicks in an effort to can only move forward at about 1 knot (1.2 mph; 2 kph) for
thicken slicks for efficient operations. However, booms begin most types of boom systems to keep the oil contained. There
are boom systems that can move faster, but they do not

FACTSHEET I No.1 I Oil Spill Prevention PAGE 2 OF 7

 INTRODUCTION TO DISPERSANTS

have swath widths approaching 100 m. In contrast, a large reduce interfacial tension, thereby enhancing the breakup of
dispersant delivery plane operates at 150 knots (170 mph; 275 a slick into tiny oil droplets (Figure 2). When mixing energy is
kph) and has a swath width of 130 feet (40 m) allowing it to treat applied (e.g., wind, waves, currents), the dispersant-treated
a 0.1 mm thick slick at a rate of approximately 525 m3 per hour oil slick will break up into many tiny droplets that are less than
(about 3,300 bbls or 140,000 gallons/hour) which is a significant 100 microns in diameter (smaller than the size of a period on
improvement of any boom system. More detail is provided in this page) (Figure 3). This means that effectively dispersed oil
Fact Sheet #7 – Aerial and Vessel Operations. droplets are unlikely to ever resurface, and if they do, the next
wave will likely re-transfer them into the water. When impacted
Although dispersants have many operational benefits, dispersant
by waves, untreated slicks on the water surface tend to form
use, as with any response option, is only justifiable when it is
larger droplets that rapidly resurface and reform into a slick.
clear that it will provide a net environmental benefit; that is, its
use does more good than harm (Fact Sheet #6 – Assessing During surface applications, the tiny dispersed oil droplets
Dispersant Use Trade-offs). The decision to use dispersants
FIGURE 2. Dispersants are comprised of two parts. Dispersant molecules attract
involves trade-offs between decreasing the risk that oil on water on one end, and oil on the other. Dispersants reduce surface
the water’s surface presents to surface animals and shoreline tension between oil and water so that oil slicks can break apart.
habitats while increasing the potential risk to organisms in the
water column. Time-critical choices must be made regarding
which options are best to manage potential impacts.
The goal of this Fact Sheet is to provide a clearer understanding
of dispersants and the basis for their consideration in an oil spill
response decision-making process.

How Dispersants Work

Dispersants generally contain surface active agents (surfactants)
and solvents. Surfactants are the active ingredients in many
common household products including soaps, cosmetics,
detergents, shampoos, and even food (Fingas et al., 1991;
1995). Dispersants work because surfactant molecules have
one end that is attracted to oil while the other end is attracted
to water. They align themselves at the oil/water interface and

FIGURE 3. Process of dispersing oil into water column for accelerated microbial degradation (Source: Nedwed, 2011).

FACTSHEET I No.1 I Oil Spill Prevention PAGE 3 OF 7

 INTRODUCTION TO DISPERSANTS

rapidly spread within the top 30 feet (~10 meters) of the water dispersants should not be ruled out before being tested in the
column and provide an easy target for microbial degradation. field with the understanding that thicker or heavier oils may
Oil-degrading bacteria are present everywhere in the marine disperse more slowly than light oils.
environment, from the Arctic to the equator, from the sea
Initial elevated concentrations of tiny dispersed oil droplets
surface to the seafloor and at all water depths in between.
will rapidly dilute and their impact will be very short-lived
Thus, as mentioned above, dispersants enhance removal of oil
and localized. Field trials and wave-basin tests show that
from the environment through microbial degradation.
dispersed oil dilutes to concentrations below 1 ppm within
Dispersants work best on fresh oil that has not weathered hours after application of dispersants. These concentrations
significantly (e.g., become thicker) and are generally are below most toxicity thresholds for marine organisms that
considered to be most effective on oils that have been on have undergone testing with constant exposures to dispersed
the water for less than 72-96 hours (NRC, 2005). Therefore, crude oil for 48 to 96 hours. This rapid dilution explains why
decision-makers must decide quickly whether to use fish kills have never been observed in areas where there is
dispersants during a spill in order for dispersant use to be significant water depth (10 meters or greater) after dispersants
the most effective. A batch (everything spilled at once) or a have been properly used.
continuous (oil continues spilling over time) spill is also an
The dispersed oil droplets will continue to dilute and are
important consideration because a continuous spill may
expected to have concentrations less than a few ppb within
require continuous dispersant applications.
2 days (Nedwed, 2011). Research indicates that microbes
Oils also vary in viscosity/thickness and composition and colonize dispersed oil droplets within 1 – 2 days (MacNaughton
dispersants may work differently on different types. In general, et al., 2003) at which point the microbial degradation process
the less viscous or lighter the oil is, the more easily it is dispersed. becomes rapid. By this time, the dispersed oil concentrations
Fact Sheet #3 – Fate of Oil and Weathering provides more are too dilute to exhaust the available nutrients (primarily
information on the types of oil and the changes oil undergoes nitrogen and phosphorus) or available dissolved oxygen.
after being spilled into the environment. As a result, aerobic microbial degradation proceeds much
more efficiently than it would on a shoreline or in near shore
Research and experience has shown that dispersants
sediments. In general, the components of oils that are of
work best on light oils and medium to heavy weight crude
the most concern are typically the smaller, most soluble and
oils (Table 1, Groups II and III) (Nedwed and Coolbaugh,
volatile compounds that will tend to rapidly evaporate and
2008). Dispersants can effectively disperse light products;
dissolve. These also tend to be biodegraded first because
however, these materials such as gasoline and diesel tend
they are easier for microbes to consume. As the oil droplets
to rapidly evaporate and biodegrade when spilled, so the
are biodegraded, they become less toxic over time.
use of dispersants is not recommended. Conversely, due to
the composition of very heavy oils like bunkers or asphalt- Dispersants make it more difficult for oil droplets to stick back
like products (Table 1, Groups IV and V), their components together or to other objects, like sediment, sand, wildlife,
limit the dispersion action. However, research has shown that vegetation, rocks, or other hard surfaces in the nearshore
dispersants can be effective on more viscous oils and that environment. Because dispersed oil droplets do not reform

TABLE 1. Oil Type and dispersants effectivness

Group Common Products Specific Gravity API Natural Dispersion Chemical Dispersion

I Gasoline, Ker < 0.8 > 45 Rapid Not Recommended1

II Diesel, Heating Oil 0.8­­—0.85 35—45 Moderate–Rapid Rapid

Alaskan Crude Oil,

III 0.85—0.95 17.5—35 Moderate–Slow Rapid
Gulf of Mexico Crude Oil

Heavy Fuel Oil,

IV 0.95—1.0 10—17.5 Slow Moderate
Venezuelan Crude Oil

V Oil Sand, Bitumen, Asphalt > 1.0 < 10 Little or None Not Applicable2
1
As Group I oils, such as finished product gasoline evaporate rapidly, the use of dispersants is not recommended
2
As the specific gravity of Group V products is heavier than fresh water, these oils may sink and the use of dispersants may not be applicable
Source: Nedwed and Coolbaugh, 2008

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 INTRODUCTION TO DISPERSANTS

into slicks (or re-coalesce), it is unlikely that dispersed oil will

have the capability to form tarballs. For more information on this
Trade-offs in Decision-making
topic, refer to Fact Sheet #3 – Fate of Oil and Weathering. There is a general perception that the main trade-off associated
with dispersant use is the protection of surface, nearshore, and
shoreline resources at the expense of water column resources
When Dispersent Use is that otherwise would not have been impacted. Water-column
Considered organisms are not free of risk from undispersed surface slicks.
Surface slicks also release the toxic components of oil into the
Scientists have been studying the effects of dispersants on water column, but potentially over an extended period of time.
the marine environment for over 30 years, and are still actively While evaporation of some oil components will reduce their
engaged in dispersant research, development, and innovation. level to some extent, some of these soluble components may
Dispersants are often considered a first response option in a find their way into the water column whether dispersants are
number of countries around the world (ITOPF, 2010). In the US, used or not.
dispersants are typically considered for offshore oil spills when
The application of dispersants serves to rapidly transfer these
surface slicks become too large for effective containment by
compounds into the water column. As a result, dilution is rapid,
boom, when the spill is located far from stockpiles of mechanical
which tends to minimize any negative impact as scientific
recovery equipment, or when the sea state prevents, or will
studies by the EPA and others have shown (BenKinney et al.,
soon prevent, the use of other response options.
2011; Clark et al., 2001; Coelho et al., 2011; EPA online, 2011;
One way to assess response tradeoffs is by the Net Hemmer et al., 2010; Judson et al., 2010).
Environmental Benefit Analysis approach, also known as NEBA.
Another factor to consider regarding dispersant use is the
NEBA is a process used to compare all response options,
potential negative effect that they may have if they are used in
including natural recovery (no human intervention), with a goal
waters less than 30 feet (~10 meters) in depth. At these depths,
to determine which combination of options can best minimize
dispersed oil droplets may not dilute as rapidly and could
the spilled oil’s overall long-term impact on resources and the
affect water column and bottom dwelling plant and animal
environment (Fact Sheet #6 – Assessing Dispersant Use
communities. Dispersant use in such areas must take into
Trade-offs).
account the associated trade-offs to water column species in
As already discussed, oil spilled at sea can be very dynamic – relation to the potential benefits, such as preventing a slick from
rapidly spreading to become extremely thin, moving with winds entering environmentally sensitive or economically important
and currents, and breaking up into smaller slicks that can be nearshore or shoreline areas.
separated by large distances. This dynamic nature combined
Sub-lethal impacts from dispersed oil have been reported in
with the potential for rapidly changing weather conditions
recent studies (Whitehead, 2011) and are addressed in greater
means that all available response options should be considered
detail in Fact Sheet #4 – Toxicity and Dispersants.
to protect organisms, habitats, and human use areas.
Further, sub-lethal impacts are not limited to dispersed oil
In most marine environments, nearshore and shoreline areas
in the water column since untreated oil slicks can provide
are the most biologically rich and potentially most sensitive
similar aquatic exposure to oil components. Further still,
to oil spills. For this reason, keeping oil off of these areas is
chronic impacts (those from long-term exposure to elevated
necessary to minimize environmental impacts. The use of
concentrations) are more likely for untreated slicks that strand
dispersants is often the best option to help protect these
on shorelines or mix with the sediment in shallow near shore
sensitive areas but there are important factors to consider
areas since they provide a potentially longer-term source of
with the use of these materials.
crude oil components to the near-shore areas. Appropriately
applied dispersants can reduce the amount of stranded
oil onshore A Net Environmental Benefit Analysis will often
indicate that dispersants will provide the environment the best
opportunity to recover.

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 INTRODUCTION TO DISPERSANTS

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