Slick Death: Oil-spill treatment kills coral

Chemicals used to disperse marine oil slicks may harm corals more than the oil itself does, according to a new study. The finding suggests that chemical dispersants should be used near reefs only as a last resort, when oil approaches a shoreline where it might devastate wildlife and plants for decades.

TOUGH BREAKUP. Workers on a barge spray dispersants onto a burning oil spill discharged by a well in the Gulf of Mexico.