The most important problem facing  the operational forces was to rescue fauna and flora, in other words our environment.  It was very important for the rescuers to know that animals cannot immediately identify and protect themselves from the risk of contamination with mineral oil in their usual habitat.  The most important thing was thus to keep the animals away from the danger area by preventing them from returning to their usual habitats. 

The commanding officer of the St. Wolfgang fire brigade recognised this immediately and issued suitable orders.  The suspension of boat trips was not only a courageous decision but also a very preventative one.  The fire brigades (at the peak 15 fire brigades with 130 men were deployed)  thus had the task of skimming the leaked pollutant from the water as efficiently as possible or absorbing it using special textiles.  However, caution is to be advised with the usual oil binding granules which are scattered in the water in order to bind with the oil. 

After all these rescue measures however, there was still a large amount of residual pollutants which could not be recovered from the water mechanically.  As a result of oil landing between the stones on the shore, on landing stages, on quay walls, on shore plants etc, the pollutant is continually released into the water, producing a very thin film.  Streaks of oil remain. These oil streaks adversely affect oxygen exchange at the air-water boundary zone and these oil streaks adhere to the animals. The limnologically very important boundary zones with the residual oil are also reached and the pollutant can then cause damage via the generally known food chain. 

According to the manufacturer's description only very special products for removing residual organic pollutants such as mineral oil on water (BIOVERSAL products such as Bioversal QF, which is used by the fire brigade as fire-extinguishing foam or as an oil combatting product), should be used for these purposes.  Conventional oil binding agents are not to be recommended for removing residual oil from waterways because animals, mainly fish, confuse these granules with food or these granules sink to the bottom and then release the pollutant again very much later.  

This is why safety products having particular  environmentally-friendly properties are exceptionally important for aftercare.  For these reasons it is not recommended that the residual pollutants should be left to nature's self-cleaning force.  It is recommended that the pollutant residue should be treated with products which promote biological degradation so that the potential risk of permanent damage to the environment is reduced enormously and that is actively protecting the environment.

In addition, animals which have been damaged by oil should be washed with dermatologically safe cleaning products (e.g.. BIOVERSAL).  The animal is not primarily damaged by absorbing environmental poison via the skin but via oral uptake as a result of "cleaning behaviour" and this all too frequently results in death.

Nowadays it is necessary to use alternative environmentally friendly cleaning products which can themselves use the regenerating force of Nature through their own ingredients.  Normal detergents contain artificial tensides which have biotoxic effects on the necessary micro-organisms which occur naturally.  With these adverse effects Nature's regenerating force cannot take place.
Oil accidents which are dangerous for nature in the long term generally take place on lakes and rivers and to a large extent form a life-threatening situation for the animals living in and on the water.  Plants are also imminently affected by such events
In my opinion, the use of special cleaning agents which promote the regenerating force of Nature after oil accidents should be urgently recommended and in cases of usage is important for the following reasons.
If conventional cleaning agents are used, the tensides would negatively influence the ecology and thus the possible self-cleaning capability of the environment.  It is not useful to use highly degradable detergents for cleaning in unprotected natural environments since these contain complex forming agents and harmful substances can often be remobilised by these tensides.
The animals and also the equipment and the boats or ships operating on the "oil lake" must also be cleaned on site.  For these reasons I recommend using products with these properties and as a practicing vet with experience of cleaning animals which have been contaminated with oil, I plead with people to use products which have been assessed by domestic, technically competent institutes and for which the positive effect on pollutant degradation has been confirmed.

Summary:
The use of products containing "biotensides" is a logical and necessary supplement to the range of known methods (oil barriers, suction, skimming, oil binding) for combatting oil pollutants in natural environments.  These substances are of exceptional benefit to animals since their habitat is returned to the original state significantly more quickly and accurately.
The substances used must be biocompatible and have a good cleaning effect and must not adversely influence the biological degradation of any remaining pollutants so that the regeneration of the natural degradation sequence is not over stimulated.

Newspaper report in the "Ischler Woche":