THE OIL BUG

Major oil spills are surprisingly few, considering the amount of oil that is being transported over the seas. More important, the rate of oil spills is constantly declining.

But even if an oil spill does happen, coast guards and oil companies are no longer as helpless as they wore when the Torrey Canyon broke in two off the Cornish coast in March 1967. Not only prevention, but also clean-up techniques have drastically improved since the need became evident. There are now dozens of methods to disperse, emulsify, dissolve, absorb, soak up or sink the spilled oil. Fencing in the oil by floating "booms" alone (before the other methods are applied) has given rise to an entire industry. While the armchair ecologists have been praying for another Torrey Canyon to boost their cause, scientists and engineers have made the world a little safer.

Now comes news of what may be the ultimate method of cleaning up oil spills: a bug that eats oil. Using the oil digesting abilities of four different strains of Pseudomonas bacteria, General Electric biologist A.M. Chakrabarty developed a microbe that can digest about 2/3 of the hydrocarbons of crude oil, devouring it faster and more efficiently than any other biodegradation system. What the bug leaves after lunch is carbon dioxide and proteins, both usable as nutrients in the nutrition-starved maritime environment.

General Electric expects 3 to 5 years for developing a practical product to clean up oil spills this way.