Effects of acute inhalation of crude oil vapor on pulmonary function

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fedan, Jeffery S. ; Jackson MC ; Law, Brandon F. ; McKinney WG ; Russ KRA ; Thompson JA
• Description:
  Workers in the oil and gas industry are routinely exposed to hydrocarbon vapors and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Exposures occur while oil workers open the "thief hatch" of oil tanks during manual measurement or removal of crude oil samples. The effects of crude oil vapor (COV) inhalation upon the pulmonary system are unknown, and several aspects of its possible effects on the lungs were investigated in this study. Rats were placed in whole body chambers and exposed to a single 6 h inhalation exposure of 300 ppm total VOCs produced from Deep Water Horizon surrogate crude oil at a temperature of 75 degrees F. Control animals were exposed to air and endpoints were measured at 18 h and 28 d post-exposure. Total VOCs, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene concentrations were monitored and regulated during inhalation exposures to maintain COV concentration constancy. In anesthetized rats, vapor had no effect upon basal lung resistance (RL), basal dynamic compliance (Cdyn) or reactivity to inhaled methacholine (MCh). Transepithelial potential difference, short-circuit current and transepithelial resistance were measured using tracheas mounted in Ussing chambers and treated with the ion transport inhibitors amiloride (Na+ channel blocker), NPPB (Cl- channel blocker) and ouabain (Na+, K+ -pump blocker). There was no effect of COV treatment on basal or inhibitor-mediated bioelectric responses, indicating that ion transport and tight junction integrity in the airway epithelium were unaffected by COV. In isolated, perfused tracheas COV had no effect on reactivity to methacholine applied extraluminally or intraluminally indicating that epithelial integrity was intact and airway smooth muscle contractility was unchanged. Measurement of isometric contractions using isolated tracheal strips stimulated with electric field stimulation indicated that neural innervation of tracheal smooth muscle was not affected by COV. In conclusion, a 6 h exposure to COV did not alter function in the systems investigated in this study. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Benzene Environmental Exposure Hydrocarbons Immune System Laboratories Lung Methacholine Compounds Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety Solvents Toluene Toxicology Volatile Organic Compounds Xylenes

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• Keywords:
  Acute Exposure Airway Resistance Bioelectric Effects Crude Oil Deepwater Horizon Ethyl Benzene Exposure Assessment Exposure Chambers Exposure Levels Gases Immune Reaction Immune System Inhalation Inhalation Studies Ion Transport Laboratory Animals Laboratory Testing Lung Function Methacholines Oil Vapors Pulmonary Function Respiratory Function Vapors VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds Volatiles Xylene

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• ISSN:
  1096-6080
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  324-325
• Volume:
  156
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049452
• Citation:
  Toxicologist 2017 Mar; 156(1):324-325
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2) ; Ethylbenzene (CAS RN 100-41-4) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Oil and Gas Extraction
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  The Toxicologist. Society of Toxicology 56th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, March 12-16, 2017, Baltimore, Maryland
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:39339144c966f54df1d263220452de91aced5d88f74a1dcad644d33e31c057939a2d0881239ada7834caf52817318180f2296cd78bdba28baea4fe2cc34f3ac5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203896/cdc_203896_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 969.75 KB ]