Geographic distribution of oil production worker exposures reported to Texas poison centers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Forrester MB
• Description:
  Background: Oil production is increasing in the United States, particularly in Texas. Injuries, including exposures to potentially hazardous substances, may occur among oil production workers. Methods: This study used data collected by Texas poison centers during 2003-2012. All records with any of the following terms in their notes fields were identified: oil field, oil rig, oil drill, oil work. These records then were reviewed to identify those that appeared to relate to exposures that occurred to workers while they were involved in oil production. The distribution of the exposures was determined with respect to geographic groupings based on caller location: caller county, Public Health Region (clusters of counties), and counties grouped into rural or urban based on US Office of Management and Budget definitions of metropolitan and non-metropolitan. Rate per 1,000,000 population was calculated based on the 2010 Census. Results: There were 432 exposures. Calls were received from throughout the state (115 of 254 counties). Counties with the highest rates were Reagan (1,485), Andrews (1,217), and Upton (1,192), all counties in Public Health Region 9. Public Health Region 9 had the highest rate (244.8), followed by Public Health Regions 2 (54.5) and 3 (33.3). The rate was 74.8 in rural counties and 9.2 in urban counties. Discussion: The oil production worker exposure rate varied greatly throughout the state, being much higher in Public Health Region 9 than any other region. Geographic location of the exposures was likely related to the location of oil and its production in the state. The Permian Basin, much of which is located in Public Health Region 9, is a significant oil-producing area in the state. A major limitation of this study is that it depended on the occupation or industry related to the exposure being recorded in the record notes, which was not standard practice. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Geographic Information Systems Hazardous Substances Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Oil And Gas Industry Safety
• Keywords:
  Employee Exposure Exposure Assessment Geographic Information Systems Hazardous Materials Health-hazards Information Systems Materials Handling Oil Industry Oil Refineries Oil Refinery Workers Poison Control Recordkeeping Surveillance-programs

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• ISSN:
  2574-5859
• Publisher:
  Texas Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  9-10
• Volume:
  67
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048108
• Citation:
  Tex Public Health J 2015 Winter; 67(1):9-10
• Contact Point Address:
  Mathias B Forrester, BS, Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, Texas, United States
• Email:
  mathias.forrester@dshs.state.tx.us
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Texas State Department of Health Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20060701
• Source Full Name:
  Texas Public Health Journal
• End Date:
  20160630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e5725bce73ee4352d6a7cc205fea47e892d8bbfa8eaa12f180cf696981c8fc2382ae1ed2eea2c8dca3b63098d7dddf4e3edc22be4dbe5ef4e24abd1227e27064
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202969/cdc_202969_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.81 MB ]