Effects on the Environment
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- Most environments take about 2 to 10 years to initially recover
- However, large oil spills have impact that lasts for well beyond 10 years
- Ron Hetiz, an oil spills specialist, has recently shown that "minute amounts of polynuclear hydrocarbons in oil cause deformities in fish embryos that kill many of them before they reach adulthood."
- When spilled into rivers, streams, or marine environments, oil can damage ecosystems far from the initial spill site.