Neurochemical perturbations and dopaminergic injury following short-term inhalation exposure to the oil dispersant COREXIT(R) EC9500A

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fedan, Jeffery S. ; Frazer DG ; Goldsmith WT ; Jackson M ; Jefferson AM ; Lin GX ; McKinney W ; Sriram K
• Description:
  Consequent to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, there are concerns about the short- and long-term adverse health effects of exposure to crude oil, weathered-oil products and oil dispersants. Approximately, 1.84 million gallons of dispersants were applied to contain the spill, of which 58% was applied on the surface. COREXITR EC9500A (CE) was the predominant dispersant used to enhance the oil biodegradation rate. As surface treatment with dispersants involved aerial application there is a likelihood that the response workers may have been at risk for exposure, primarily via inhalation. Health Hazard Evaluation surveys conducted by NIOSH suggested that the workers may have experienced abnormal psychosocial symptoms like depressed feeling and mood alterations. Unfortunately, as a significant number of workers who experienced health symptoms were likely exposed to both crude oil and dispersant, the health effects of dispersant alone were difficult to discern. To determine if CE per se poses a neurological risk, rats were exposed by whole-body inhalation to CE (27 mg/m3) either acutely (5 h/d x 1 d) or for a short-term (5 h/d x 9 d). After 1 or 7 days, changes in synaptic proteins, biogenic neurotransmitters and their receptors were evaluated because synaptic disruption and imbalances in dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) are known to be associated with depression, lack of coordination and short-term memory. Acute exposure to CE altered several axonal and synaptic proteins in discrete brain areas, indicative of aberrant neurotransmitter signaling. Short-term exposure elicited small but significant decrements (15-30 %; p<0.05) in DA, 5-HT and norepinephrine in the striatum, frontal cortex and hypothalamus. CE also altered Drd1, Drd2, and Htr1a receptor mRNAs in the striatum and frontal cortex. In addition, CE reduced striatal tyrosine hydroxylase (. 20 %; p< 0.05), while increasing Gfap mRNA (1.6-fold; p<0.05) and protein (23 %; p<0.05), suggestive of dopaminergic injury. Whether such changes will persist and cause progressive dopaminergic neurodegeneration remains to be elucidated. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Animals Chemistry Emergencies Emergency Responders Laboratories Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Safety

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• Keywords:
  Aerosol-particles Airborne-particles Animal-studies Chemical Agents Chemical Analysis Crude Oil Emergency Responders Emergency Response Exposure-chambers Exposure-methods Hazardous Waste Cleanup Inhalation-studies Laboratory-animals Laboratory-testing Long Term Exposure Oil Spills Short Term Exposure

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• ISSN:
  1096-6080
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  150
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047676
• Citation:
  Toxicologist 2016 Mar; 150(1):317
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  The Toxicologist. Society of Toxicology 55th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, March 13-17, 2016, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9444c2ee6d41054b4297b867163f047a5d38d836ecce8a2c1633417aead0273257fd0ee7db574feaf6d783132b0973a8b590354e7a0daf06a495cc5f79639351
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202681/cdc_202681_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 441.14 KB ]