Large oil spills are increasingly rare, but when they do occur, we are ill-prepared to handle them.  

The Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 released about 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, becoming one of the largest environmental disasters in history. In response, chemical dispersants like Corexit 9500A and 9527A were used extensively. As of 2022, these chemicals have been banned due to the risks they pose to human health and marine life, including links to cancers and birth defects. Instead, today, the industry relies on Polypropylene-based absorbents. Thankfully, these are non-toxic, but they are made of plastic and don’t biodegrade easily. In both cases, using these materials exacerbates a spill’s environmental damage rather than mitigating it.  

The Gulf War oil spill in 1991, the largest in history, released an estimated 10 million barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf. Despite $40 billion spent on cleanup efforts, vast areas remain toxic, with over 50 square kilometers of coastal and marine environments still contaminated. The harsh desert environment has made remediation particularly challenging, as the oil has deeply penetrated the sand and soil. No solution to the Gulf War spill has been forthcoming.