ry?
              Are the required number of trained equipment operators and maintenance personnel available?
             When a great deal of mixing energy is applied at the oil-water interface, i.e. such as a rough sea surface, the oil may disperse naturally.
             Using dispersant as a strategy involves the use of chemicals to speed up the process of natural dispersion. FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION MUST BE OBTAINED IN EACH CASE BEFORE THE USE OF DISPERSANTS.
             Dispersants act in the same way as household detergents; when they are added to a film of oil on the surface of the water the oil breaks up into very small droplets forming thin emulsions which disperse in the water column. In effect, they speed up the natural processes of dispersion. In dispersed form the oil is subject to degradation by micro-organisms which occur naturally in the sea. A characteristic plume can be seen spreading slowly down the water surface shortly after treatment if an oil has been satisfactorily dispersed. Dispersants do not destroy the oil. However, this must be weighed against the fact that dispersing the oil in the water column makes its toxic components more readily available to marine organisms, particularly in shallow water.
             Dispersants do not work on all types of oil or in cold weather conditions under which oil tends to become very viscous. Evaporation and emulsification which render oil resistant to dispersant occur over time and in most cases, dispersant will likely be ineffective after a day or two. If the oil is very viscous (thick) dispersants are ineffective, since they tend to run off the oil into the water before they can penetrate. As a general rule, dispersants can be effective in dispersing most liquid oils and liquid water-in-oil emulsions with viscosities less than about 2000 centistokes. Oils that may be more susceptible to treatment on first entry to the water become progressively less so as mousse forms or weathering takes place.
             There are seve...