Exposure to Oil Spill Chemicals and Lung Function in Deepwater Horizon Disaster Response Workers

Overview

Journal J Occup Environ Med

Specialty Environmental Health

Date 2018 Feb 2

PMID 29389810

Citations 9

Authors

Kaitlyn B Gam

Richard K Kwok

Lawrence S Engel

Matthew D Curry

Patricia A Stewart

Mark R Stenzel

John A McGrath

W Braxton Jackson 2nd

Robert L Jensen

Maureen Y Lichtveld

Aubrey K Miller

Dale P Sandler

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between total hydrocarbon (THC) exposures attributed to oil spill clean-up work and lung function 1 to 3 years after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster.

Methods: We used data from the GuLF STUDY, a large cohort of adults who worked on response to the DWH disaster and others who were safety trained but did not work. We analyzed data from 6288 workers with two acceptable spirometry tests. We estimated THC exposure levels with a job exposure matrix. We evaluated lung function using the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1; mL), the forced vital capacity (FVC; mL), and the FEV1/FVC ratio (%).

Results: Lung function measures did not differ by THC exposure levels among clean-up workers.

Conclusion: We did not observe an association between THC exposure and lung function among clean-up workers 1 to 3 years following the DWH disaster.

Citing Articles

Toxicological Effects of Inhaled Crude Oil Vapor.

Fedan J, Thompson J, Sager T, Roberts J, Joseph P, Krajnak K Curr Environ Health Rep. 2024; 11(1):18-29.

PMID: 38267698 PMC: 10907427. DOI: 10.1007/s40572-024-00429-8.

Association of Lung Function Decline with All-Cause and Cancer-Cause Mortality after World Trade Center Dust Exposure.

Goldfarb D, Hall C, Choi J, Zeig-Owens R, Cohen H, Cannon M Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2023; 20(8):1136-1143.

PMID: 36961515 PMC: 10405606. DOI: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202212-1011OC.

Associations between airborne crude oil chemicals and symptom-based asthma.

Lawrence K, Niehoff N, Keil A, Jackson 2nd W, Christenbury K, Stewart P Environ Int. 2022; 167:107433.

PMID: 35921771 PMC: 9378681. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107433.

Exposure patterns among Coast Guard responders to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A latent class analysis.

Gribble M, Keshav T, Denic-Roberts H, Engel L, Rusiecki J Environ Epidemiol. 2022; 6(3):e211.

PMID: 35702499 PMC: 9187181. DOI: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000211.

Acute and longer-term cardiovascular conditions in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Coast Guard Cohort.

Denic-Roberts H, Rowley N, Haigney M, Christenbury K, Barrett J, Thomas D Environ Int. 2021; 158:106937.

PMID: 34688052 PMC: 8688193. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106937.

References

Urrutia I, Capelastegui A, Quintana J, Muniozguren N, Basagana X, Sunyer J . Smoking habit, respiratory symptoms and lung function in young adults. Eur J Public Health. 2005; 15(2):160-5. DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/cki113. View

Buist A, McBurnie M, Vollmer W, Gillespie S, Burney P, Mannino D . International variation in the prevalence of COPD (the BOLD Study): a population-based prevalence study. Lancet. 2007; 370(9589):741-50. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61377-4. View

Mogel I, Baumann S, Bohme A, Kohajda T, von Bergen M, Simon J . The aromatic volatile organic compounds toluene, benzene and styrene induce COX-2 and prostaglandins in human lung epithelial cells via oxidative stress and p38 MAPK activation. Toxicology. 2011; 289(1):28-37. DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2011.07.006. View

Gam K, Kwok R, Engel L, Curry M, Stewart P, Stenzel M . Lung Function in Oil Spill Response Workers 1-3 Years After the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. Epidemiology. 2018; 29(3):315-322. PMC: 5882518. DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000000808. View

Bonisch U, Bohme A, Kohajda T, Mogel I, Schutze N, von Bergen M . Volatile organic compounds enhance allergic airway inflammation in an experimental mouse model. PLoS One. 2012; 7(7):e39817. PMC: 3389035. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039817. View

Miller M, Hankinson J, Brusasco V, Burgos F, Casaburi R, Coates A . Standardisation of spirometry. Eur Respir J. 2005; 26(2):319-38. DOI: 10.1183/09031936.05.00034805. View

Eisen E, Robins J, Greaves I, Wegman D . Selection effects of repeatability criteria applied to lung spirometry. Am J Epidemiol. 1984; 120(5):734-42. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113941. View

Middlebrook A, Murphy D, Ahmadov R, Atlas E, Bahreini R, Blake D . Air quality implications of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 109(50):20280-5. PMC: 3528553. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1110052108. View

Zock J, Rodriguez-Trigo G, Rodriguez-Rodriguez E, Espinosa A, Pozo-Rodriguez F, Gomez F . Persistent respiratory symptoms in clean-up workers 5 years after the Prestige oil spill. Occup Environ Med. 2012; 69(7):508-13. DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2011-100614. View

10.

Wang S, Bai Y, Deng Q, Chen Z, Dai J, Li X . Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure and lung function decline among coke-oven workers: A four-year follow-up study. Environ Res. 2016; 150:14-22. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2016.05.025. View

11.

Hankinson J, Odencrantz J, Fedan K . Spirometric reference values from a sample of the general U.S. population. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999; 159(1):179-87. DOI: 10.1164/ajrccm.159.1.9712108. View

12.

Zock J, Rodriguez-Trigo G, Pozo-Rodriguez F, Barbera J, Bouso L, Torralba Y . Prolonged respiratory symptoms in clean-up workers of the prestige oil spill. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2007; 176(6):610-6. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.200701-016OC. View

13.

Kan H, Heiss G, Rose K, Whitsel E, Lurmann F, London S . Traffic exposure and lung function in adults: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. Thorax. 2007; 62(10):873-9. PMC: 2094260. DOI: 10.1136/thx.2006.073015. View

14.

Meo S, Al-Drees A, Rasheed S, Meo I, Al-Saadi M, Ghani H . Health complaints among subjects involved in oil cleanup operations during oil spillage from a Greek tanker "Tasman Spirit". Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2009; 22(2):143-8. DOI: 10.2478/v10001-009-0011-x. View

15.

Rodriguez-Trigo G, Zock J, Pozo-Rodriguez F, Gomez F, Monyarch G, Bouso L . Health changes in fishermen 2 years after clean-up of the Prestige oil spill. Ann Intern Med. 2010; 153(8):489-98. DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-153-8-201010190-00279. View

16.

Zock J, Rodriguez-Trigo G, Rodriguez-Rodriguez E, Souto-Alonso A, Espinosa A, Pozo-Rodriguez F . Evaluation of the persistence of functional and biological respiratory health effects in clean-up workers 6 years after the prestige oil spill. Environ Int. 2013; 62:72-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2013.09.020. View

17.

Burton D . Using the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. Occup Health Saf. 2001; 70(4):20, 22. View

18.

Stewart P, Stenzel M, Ramachandran G, Banerjee S, Huynh T, Groth C . Development of a total hydrocarbon ordinal job-exposure matrix for workers responding to the Deepwater Horizon disaster: The GuLF STUDY. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2017; 28(3):223-230. PMC: 6104396. DOI: 10.1038/jes.2017.16. View

19.

Greenland S, Pearl J, Robins J . Causal diagrams for epidemiologic research. Epidemiology. 1999; 10(1):37-48. View

20.

Goldstein B, Osofsky H, Lichtveld M . The Gulf oil spill. N Engl J Med. 2011; 364(14):1334-48. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1007197. View