95,000 t oil spill November 15-December 14, 1979 Bosphorous, Turkey

1,200-1,300 t oil spill November 11, 2007 Strait of Kerch, Ukraine and Russia

20,000-30,000 t oil spill July 13-July 15, 2006 Harbour of Byblos, Lebanon

100,000-103,000 t oil spill February 23, 1980 Navarino Bay, Greece

28,000-45200 t oil spill December 28, 1980 Arzew, Algeria

127,000-136,500 t oil spill August 1 1980-1981 800 km south-east of Tripoli, Libya

72,600 t oil spill April 16, 1992 Maputo, Mozambique

45,500 t oil spill June 13, 1968 Durban, South Africa

44,800-47,000 t oil spill June 1, 1970 Seychelles

77,600-79,000 t oil spill July 6, 1979 Forcados, Nigeria

27,000-40,000 t oil spill February 27, 1971 Agulhas Reef, 5 miles from Cape Agulhas, South Africa

62,000-80,000 t oil spill December 19, 1989 400 miles north of the Canary Islands  

8,200 t oil spill February 11, 1969 Ponta Delgado, Azores

34,300 t oil spill April 22, 1988 600 km off Cape Race, Newfoundland

25,000-28,000 t oil spill December 15, 1976-December 22, 1976 South-east of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

55,000-97,000 t oil spill November 15, 1979, December 14, 1979 Newtown Creek, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York

35,700-36,200 t oil spill January 31, 1975 Delaware River, Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania

25,700 t oil spill March 27, 1971 120 miles north-east of Hatteras, North Carolina

1,090 t oil spill August 10, 1993 Tampa Bay, Florida

8,930 t oil spill July 30, 1984 Cameron, Louisiana

13,600-16,500 t oil spill June 8, 1990 Gulf of Mexico, south-east of Galveston, Texas

8,440-34,700 t oil spill November 1, 1979-January 8, 1980 Galveston Bay, Texas

1,400-1,500 t oil spill March 16, 2011 Nightingale Island, South Atlantic

51,000-59,000 t oil spill December 6, 1960 Off the Brazilian coast

16,000-17,000 t oil spill October 27, 1979 Manaus, Brasil

Waste product dumping in Peruvian Amazon 1975-present Peruvian Amazon

165,000-171,000 t oil spill 1972-1992 Ecuadorian Amazon

38,000 t oil spill February 4, 1976 30 miles west of Cabo Mangalares, Colombia  

50,000-53,000 t oil spill August 9, 1974 Eastern Strait of Magellan, Chile

35,300 t oil spill June 10, 1973 Guamblin Island, Chile

11,000-13,600 t oil spill January 28, 1969, February 7, 1969 Santa Barbara Channel, California

188 t oil spill November 7, 2007 San Francisco Bay

40,000-43,300 t oil spill February 28, 1968 550km west of Oregon

690-867 t oil spill March 2, 2006 Alaskan North Slope

95,000-101,000 t oil spill February 23, 1977 300 nautical miles off Honolulu, Hawaii

568-686 t oil spill January 16, 2001 Near Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island, Galapagos

Estimated 2,500 barrels oil spill October 5, 2011 Off the coast of Tauranga, New Zealand – Astrolabe Reef

1,500,000 t oil spill January 23, 1991 Gul

272,000 t oil spill March-September 1983 and March 1983-May 1985 Site of several 1983 oil spills Persian Gulf, Iran  

Estimated 216 t oil spill August 14, 2011 180 km from Aberdeen, Scotland

120,000 t oil spill March 1967 Off the western coast of Cornwall, UK

223,000 t oil spill March 16, 1978 5km from the coast of Brittany, France

144,000 t oil spill April 11, 1991 Off the coast of Genoa, Italy

Impact still unknown, estimated at 40,000 barrels of crude oil December 20, 2011 Royal Dutch Shell Bonga field off the Nigerian coast

260,000 t oil spill May 28, 1991 Off the coast of Angola

252,000 t oil spill August 6, 1983 80 km off Table Bay, South Africa

330 barrels p/d oil rig spill November 2011 Frade Field, 120 km off the coast of the Rio de Janeiro state

287,000 t oil spill July 19, 1979 Between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados

132,000 t oil spill November 10, 1988 1,300 km from the coast of Nova Scotia  

68,000+ t oil spill 20 April – 15 July 2010 Well officially sealed: 19 September 2010 Macondo Prospect

480,000 t oil spill June 3, 1979 Bay of Campeche

37,000 t oil spill March 24, 1989 Prince William Sound, Bligh Reef

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. The 2011 earthquake and tsunami was a tragedy that destroyed homes and lives, but the effects of the Fukushima nuclear power plant may be the most long-lasting danger. The worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, the incident caused meltdown of three of the six reactors, leaking radiation [...]

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. Home to one of the world’s worst and most infamous nuclear accidents, Chernobyl is still heavily contaminated, despite the fact that a small number of people are now allowed into the area for a limited amount of time. The notorious accident caused over 6 million people [...]

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. Considered one of the top ten most polluted sites on Earth by the 2006 Blacksmith Institute report, the radiation at Mailuu-Suu comes not from nuclear bombs or power plants, but from mining for the materials needed in the processes they entail. The area was home to [...]

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. Once the location for the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons testing, this area is now part of modern-day Kazakhstan. The site was earmarked for the Soviet atomic bomb project due to its “uninhabited” status — despite the fact that 700,000 people lived in the area. The facility [...]

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. Mayak is not the only contaminated site in Russia; Siberia is home to a chemical facility that contains over four decades’ worth of nuclear waste. Liquid waste is stored in uncovered pools and poorly maintained containers hold over 125,000 tons of solid waste, while underground storage [...]

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. Located on the west coast of England, Sellafield was originally a plutonium production facility for nuclear bombs, but then moved into commercial territory. Since the start of its operation, hundreds of accidents have occurred at the plant, and around two thirds of the buildings themselves are [...]

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. The industrial complex of Mayak, in Russia’s north-east, has had a nuclear plant for decades, and in 1957 was the site of one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents. Up to 100 tons of radioactive waste were released by an explosion, contaminating a massive area. The [...]

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. The Italian mafia organization just mentioned has not just stayed in its own region when it comes to this sinister business. There are also allegations that Somalian waters and soil, unprotected by government, have been used for the sinking or burial of nuclear waste and toxic [...]

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. For years, there have been allegations that the ‘Ndrangheta syndicate of the Italian mafia has been using the seas as a convenient location in which to dump hazardous waste — including radioactive waste — charging for the service and pocketing the profits. An Italian NGO, Legambiente, [...]

One of the ten most radioactive places on Earth. The Hanford Site, in Washington, was an integral part of the US atomic bomb project, manufacturing plutonium for the first nuclear bomb and “Fat Man,” used at Nagasaki. As the Cold War waged on, it ramped up production, supplying plutonium for most of America’s 60,000 nuclear [...]