Minutes from where four crude oil tanks caught on fire in eastern Alberta earlier this week, scientists and firefighters are testing ways to stop smoke in its tracks.
Experiments show that crude oil exposed to sunlight weathers differently in cold seas than in warmer ones, a finding that has implications for cleanup efforts of high-latitude marine oil spills.
In the decade since the record-breaking use of oil dispersants in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response, science shows they’re dangerous, potentially deadly, and rarely useful. A new court case is forcing the US EPA to reconsider their use.