Environmental impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Environmental impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill The 2010 "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been described as the worst environmental disaster in the United States, releasing about of crude oil making it the largest marine oil spill. Both the spill and the cleanup efforts had effects on the environment. The oil spill was called the "worst environmental disaster the US has faced" by White House energy adviser Carol Browner. The spill was by far the largest in US history, almost 20 times greater than the usual estimate of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Factors
Amoco Cadiz oil spill Amoco Cadiz oil spill The oil tanker "Amoco Cadiz" ran aground on Portsall Rocks, from the coast of Brittany, France, on 16 March 1978, and ultimately split in three and sank, all together resulting in the largest oil spill of its kind in history to that date. NOAA estimates that the total oil spill amounted to 220,880 metric tonnes of oil. En route from the Persian Gulf to Rotterdam, Netherlands, via a scheduled stop at Lyme Bay, Great Britain, the ship encountered stormy weather with gale conditions and high seas while in the English Channel. At around 09:45, a heavy