Birds "cleaned up" after an oil spill have average life expectancy of less than two weeks?!?

[peacebird]

this report from a spill clean up in England: "The most visible effect of the spill was seen in the large number of oil covered birds that were shown on television and in newspapers.<2> Amongst the birds affected were guillemots, razorbills and the worst affected bird, the Common Scoter duck. 83% of the birds affected were Common Scoter, and it is estimated that 5000 of the 15000 population in the area were killed.<3><4> The RSPB set up a temporary bird hospital in Milford Haven to try and treat as many birds as possible. This centre is now a storage area but in the aftermath of the Sea Empress disaster it became a hive of activity where many birds were showered and cleaned as best as possible. Unfortunately the life expectancy of a cleaned bird that was oiled once it was let back into the sea was a very short 9 days. Members of the public also helped rescue the birds.<2> It was later revealed in a study by the British Trust for Ornithology that the average survival time for a rescued oiled bird was seven days.<4>"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Sea_Empress


"Post-release survival of oiled, cleaned seabirds in North America:
The number of days between ringing and recovery of oiled, cleaned and released seabirds was extremely low, usually a matter of a few days or weeks, and for three species was 5–100 times lower than for non-oiled birds. For oiled, cleaned Guillemots Una aalge, postrelease life expectancy was 9.6 days and long-term recovery rates were 10–20% of those of non-oiled birds. Measures of survival were not greater for oiled birds treated in recent years with modern methods. The cost and effectiveness of rehabilitation efforts for oiled seabirds need to be reexamined in the light of results showing low post-release survival."
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119202326/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Is the bird cleaning effort really just "greenwashing" by the oil industry to appease animal lovers and environmentalists?