More oil was spilled in the U.S. in 2013 than in the past four decades since the government began recording data on oil spills, MSN reported Tuesday.

In 2013 there were multiple rail derailments, which spilled 1.15 million gallons of crude oil from rail cars. This amount includes the derailments in North Dakota and Alabama, according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration.

From 1975 to 2012 a total of 800,000 gallons of oil was spilled. This spike has led to a growing concern about the safety of shipping oil via rail even though it has become the preferred shipping method for oil producers.

This staggering number doesn’t include one of the biggest train accidents of 2013 in Canada. The derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec on July 6 caused over 1.5 million gallons of oil to spill after the train crashed and exploded killing 47 people.

The original cargo on the train was coming from North Dakota. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration doesn’t have final numbers on the oil spilled on December 30 after a train derailed in Casselton, North Dakota, but authorities believe 400,000 gallons were spilled.

Despite the fact that 1.15 million gallons of crude oil were spilled last year,  99 percent of all hazardous materials reportedly arrived to destinations across the nation without incident. Even with this knowledge it’s clear something must be done to improve the way oil is transported by rail.

According to MSN, members in Washington met last week to discuss how to enhance conditions for crude oil shipments by rail. The decisions from these safety meetings are expected to be announced within the next 30 days.

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