How do they clean up the oil from oil spills, like the current BP spill?

to prevent it totally there is a better OIL that can power, Burns Hotter, longer cleaner and Faster. it is Cannabis Oil, which is non Toxic Yet Can do 25 thousand times what Oil from the Earth Does.. the area will be contaminated for the Next long time. what ever the Half life is.

Workers can place a boom around the tanker that is spilling oil. Booms collect the oil off the water. A boom may be placed somewhere before an oil spill. They can be placed around an entrance to the ocean, like a stream. They also can be placed around a habitat with many animals living there. These booms will absorb any oil that flows around it.

The workers can also use skimmers. Skimmers are boats that can remove the oil off the water. Sorbents are sponges that can collect the oil. An airplane can fly over the water dropping chemicals into the ocean. The chemicals can break down the oil into the ocean.

They also can burn freshly spilled oil with fireproof booms to contain the oil. They might not decide to burn the oil because this method causes air pollution.

There are just a few ways to clean the oil off the beaches. Workers can use high or low pressure hoses to spray the oil that is on the beaches. Vacuum trucks may be driven on the beaches to vacuum up the oil. They can also simply use shovels or road equipment to collect all the oil off the beaches.

The method they use to clean the beaches or oceans depends on many things. They have to look at the weather, the type and amount of oil spilled, if people live in that area, what types of animals live in that area, and many more things. In some situations, they may not react to a spill. It may not be helpful or it would just cause even more damage to that habitat.