What is one primary goal of pollution response?

One primary goal of pollution response is to restore natural habitats to their pre-spill conditions. This objective focuses on the ecological recovery and rehabilitation of affected ecosystems, which is critical for maintaining biodiversity and ensuring that wildlife populations can thrive post-incident. Successfully restoring habitats involves various actions, such as cleaning up contaminants, reintroducing native species, and monitoring ecosystem health over time. This restoration process not only benefits the environment but also helps communities that rely on these ecosystems for recreation, tourism, and other economic activities.

The other choices address important aspects of pollution response but do not encapsulate the primary goal. Reducing cleanup costs is beneficial for management and resource allocation but is secondary to the overarching mission of environmental restoration. Limiting public access to affected areas is often necessary for safety and prevention of further contamination but does not directly contribute to mitigating the impact of the pollution itself. Gathering data for future research is important for improving responses to incidents but serves as a supportive function rather than the primary aim of pollution response actions.