A recent and widely publicised study is giving serious concern to governments and other parties who rely on the use of dispersant as an essential component of their oil spill response preparedness arrangements.

The implication is that Chemical Dispersant can suppress the activity of natural oil-degrading microorganisms.

Not everyone agrees with this conclusion and in issue 511 of the ISCO Newsletter the independent oil spill consultant, Alun Lewis, challenges the conclusions reached by the authors of the study report.