Uncovered oil spills

1998/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Zoologia
• Ingurumena

News about accidents and oil spills are too frequent in the media. When there are accidents, but in other cases they are unwanted discharges when cleaning the tanks.

In these cases, the knowledge of the controller is usually not simple and, to a certain extent, these discharges are made under this anonymity.

However, these kinds of tricks have ended as biochemist Michael Whiticar has developed a technique to locate the culprit by analyzing spilled oil.

For this purpose it uses the isotopes present in oil. Isotopes are used to do many things, usually as markers.

This technique makes it possible to know the exact origin of this oil and, knowing the spill area and the origin of the fuel that have been transported by the boats that have passed through the place in those dates, it is easily detectable.

According to Whitic, this technique can have many applications from now on. He has also set an example, the United States and Canada have many disputes when it comes to setting salmon fishing quotas, as salmon raised in the sea from one can go to the river from the other, creating an immediate session. Using this technique, and analyzing the plankton that salmon eat, you can know if the salmon trapped in Canada has been fed or not in Alaska.