Oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill approaches the coast of Mobile, Alabama, on May 6, 2010.
Michael B. Watkins/Department of Defense
Oil spills can happen when pipelines rupture, ships collide, or drilling rigs explode.
Spills can wreak havoc on the health of marine life and the environment for years after the fact.
The 10 biggest oil spills in history include Deepwater Horizon in 2010, which was the second-worst.
10. The Odyssey oil spill released 40.7 million gallons of oilThe Odyssey oil tanker sank 700 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia, a Canadian province shown here.
Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
On November 10, 1988, the oil tanker Odyssey was in the North Atlantic off the coast of Canada. An explosion onboard caused it to sink, spilling an estimated 40.7 million gallons of oil into the ocean.
9. The MT Haven tanker oil spill released 45 million gallons of oilIn 1991, the MT Haven tanker exploded and sank off the coast of Italy.
SUBnormali Team
On April 11, 1991, a massive explosion ripped through the MT Haven. Estimates suggest it spilled more than 45 million gallons of crude oil into the Mediterranean.
8. The Amoco Cadiz oil spill released 69 million gallons of oilAmoco Cadiz grounding and oil spill, Brittany, France in 1978.
NOAA
The tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground off the coast of northern Brittany in France on March 16, 1978. It ultimately gushed 69 million gallons of oil into the ocean, according to Reuters.
7. The Castillo de Bellver oil spill released 79 million gallons of oilSupertanker Castillo de Bellver caught on fire and spilled oil in South Africa's Saldanha Bay, shown above, in 1983.
Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
On August 6, 1983, supertanker Castillo de Bellver caught fire about 70 miles northwest of Cape Town, South Africa. It resulted in the spill of 79 million gallons of oil, according to Reuters.
6. The ABT Summer oil spill released 80 million gallons of oilABT Summer tanker in flames in the Atlantic Ocean in 1991.
Getty Images
On May 28, 1991, the Liberian oil tanker ABT Summer exploded 900 miles off the coast of Angola, in Africa. NPR reported the explosion resulted in the spill of 80 million gallons of oil.
5. The Komi Pipeline oil spill released 84 million gallons of oilWorkers load crude oil into a container on October 28, 1994, in Russia's remote Komi region.
EMIL CHEMODANKIN/AFP via Getty Images
A ruptured pipeline in the Russian Arctic spilled an estimated 84 million gallons of oil during the summer and fall of 1994, according to newspaper reports at the time.
4. The Atlantic Empress oil spill released 90 million gallons of oilSS Atlantic Empress was a Greek oil tanker that collided with another tanker in 1979.
Bettman/Getty Images
On July 19, 1979, the SS Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain collided in the Caribbean during a tropical storm. NPR reported the collision spilled some 90 million gallons of oil.
3. The Ixtoc I oil spill released 140 million gallons of oilIxtoc I oil rig sinks in the Bay of Campeche, Mexico in 1979.
NOAA
On June 3, 1979, the Ixtoc I oil rig exploded in the Bay of Campeche, on the Gulf of Mexico. It released an estimated 140 million gallons of oil into the ocean.
2. BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill released 206 million gallons of oilFire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon, off Louisiana
US Coast Guard
On April 20, 2010, BP's Deepwater Horizon, a semi-submersible drilling rig, exploded, burned, and subsequently sank in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven people were killed, according to NOAA.
The five-month spill leaked approximately 206 million gallons of oil. According to estimates from The Center for Biological Diversity, 82,000 birds, 25,900 marine mammals, and a "vast" number of fish were harmed or killed.
1. The Persian Gulf oil spill released 380 million to 520 million gallons of oilA man walked near an oiled coastline after Persian Gulf Oil Spill in 1991.
CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
In January 1991, during the Gulf War, up to 520 million gallons of oil poured into the Persian Gulf as Iraqi troops withdrew from Kuwait, setting fire to oil wells.
Researchers said the slick of oil across 4,000 square miles was 4 inches thick.
Estimates suggest approximately 30,000 birds were killed due to the spill.
In five decades, at least 44 oil spills have affected US waters, according to NOAA.This graphic shows the largest oil spills in US waters since 1969.
NOAA
Every year, thousands of oil spills occur. NOAA is the agency tasked with responding to and cleaning up the mess.
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