Estimates of Inhalation Exposures Among Land Workers During the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Clean-Up Operations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Banerjee S ; Blair, Austin ; Engel LS ; Groth CP ; Huynh TB ; Kwok RK ; Ramachandran G ; Sandler DP ; Stenzel M ; Stewart PA
• Description:
  Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, thousands of workers and volunteers cleaned the shoreline across four coastal states of the Gulf of Mexico. For the GuLF STUDY, we developed quantitative estimates of oil-related chemical exposures [total petroleum hydrocarbons (THC), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and n-hexane (BTEX-H)] from personal measurements on workers performing various spill clean-up operations on land. These operations included decontamination of vessels, equipment, booms, and personnel; handling of oily booms; hazardous waste management; beach, marsh, and jetty clean-up; aerial missions; wildlife rescue and rehabilitation; and administrative support activities. Exposure estimates were developed for unique groups of workers by (i) activity, (ii) state, and (iii) time period. Estimates of the arithmetic means (AMs) for THC ranged from 0.04 to 3.67 ppm. BTEX-H estimates were substantially lower than THC (in the parts per billion range). Both THC and BTEX-H estimates were substantially lower than their respective occupational exposure limits. The work group, 'Fueled engines' consistently was one of the higher exposed groups to THC and BTEX-H. Notable differences in the AM exposures were observed by activity, time and, to a lesser degree, by state. These exposure estimates were used to develop job-exposure matrices for the GuLF STUDY. A correction to this article was published on April 7, 2022: https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxac018. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Benzene Emergency Responders Environmental Exposure Epidemiology Hazardous Substances Hydrocarbons Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Oil And Gas Industry Petroleum Safety Toluene Xylenes

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• Keywords:
  Analytical Methods Analytical Models Author Keywords: Bayesian Methods Biostatistics BTEX Chemical Hazards Chemicals Decontamination Deepwater Horizon Disaster Clean-up Disaster Recovery Disaster Sites Emergency Responders Ethyl Benzene Exposure Assessment Exposure Levels Hazardous Waste Cleanup Hexane Humans JEM Job Analysis Job Exposure Matrix N-Hexane Occupational Exposure Occupational Exposure Limits OELs Oil Industry Oil Spill Oil Spills Petroleum Oils Quantitative Analysis Regression Analysis Spill Cleanup Statistical Analysis Total Hydrocarbons Waste Treatment Workers Xylene

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• ISSN:
  2398-7308
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Maryland ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Pennsylvania ; Virginia ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  66
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063255
• Citation:
  Ann Work Expo Health 2022 Apr; 66(Suppl 1):i124-i139
• Contact Point Address:
  Tran B. Huynh, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, 3215 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19004, USA
• Email:
  tbh38@drexel.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2) ; Ethylbenzene (CAS RN 100-41-4) ; Hexane (CAS RN 110-54-3) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160901
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Work Exposures and Health
• Supplement:
  1
• End Date:
  20190831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:283652ef566e53c30bcc3c40c9652381dae77e54df6586e5b09deee4c22af65f201ea54e885d06f17cd0dede78cbe047813dd87b2a548ca8d7c3b13f69561247
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226349/cdc_226349_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 965.33 KB ]