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. 2023 Aug 15;231(Pt 1):116069.
doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116069. Epub 2023 May 5.

Exposure to volatile hydrocarbons and neurologic function among oil spill workers up to 6 years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster

Dazhe Chen  1 , Emily J Werder  2 , Patricia A Stewart  3 , Mark R Stenzel  4 , Fredric E Gerr  5 , Kaitlyn G Lawrence  2 , Caroline P Groth  6 , Tran B Huynh  7 , Gurumurthy Ramachandran  8 , Sudipto Banerjee  9 , W Braxton Jackson Ii  10 , Kate Christenbury  10 , Richard K Kwok  11 , Dale P Sandler  2 , Lawrence S Engel  12
Affiliations

Exposure to volatile hydrocarbons and neurologic function among oil spill workers up to 6 years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster

Dazhe Chen et al. Environ Res. .

Abstract

Background: During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster, oil spill response and cleanup (OSRC) workers were exposed to toxic volatile components of crude oil. Few studies have examined exposure to individual volatile hydrocarbon chemicals below occupational exposure limits in relation to neurologic function among OSRC workers.

Objectives: To investigate the association of several spill-related chemicals (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, n-hexane, i.e., BTEX-H) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (THC) with neurologic function among DWH spill workers enrolled in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study.

Methods: Cumulative exposure to THC and BTEX-H across the oil spill cleanup period were estimated using a job-exposure matrix that linked air measurement data to detailed self-reported DWH OSRC work histories. We ascertained quantitative neurologic function data via a comprehensive test battery at a clinical examination that occurred 4-6 years after the DWH disaster. We used multivariable linear regression and modified Poisson regression to evaluate relationships of exposures (quartiles (Q)) with 4 neurologic function measures. We examined modification of the associations by age at enrollment (<50 vs. ≥50 years).

Results: We did not find evidence of adverse neurologic effects from crude oil exposures among the overall study population. However, among workers ≥50 years of age, several individual chemical exposures were associated with poorer vibrotactile acuity of the great toe, with statistically significant effects observed in Q3 or Q4 of exposures (range of log mean difference in Q4 across exposures: 0.13-0.26 μm). We also observed suggestive adverse associations among those ≥ age 50 years for tests of postural stability and single-leg stance, although most effect estimates did not reach thresholds of statistical significance (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Higher exposures to volatile components of crude oil were associated with modest deficits in neurologic function among OSRC workers who were age 50 years or older at study enrollment.

Keywords: Crude oil; Hydrocarbons; Neurologic function; Oil spill; Peripheral nervous system; Volatile organic compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Cumulative exposure (quartiles) to crude oil chemicals and vibrotactile threshold (micron) among all participants and stratified by age at enrollment
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Cumulative exposure (quartiles) to crude oil chemicals and visual contrast sensitivity performance score among DWH disaster oil spill workers
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Cumulative exposure (quartiles) to crude oil chemicals and ln-transformed postural sway speed (mm/s) (eyes open) among all participants and stratified by age at enrollment
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Cumulative exposure (quartiles) to crude oil chemicals and ln-transformed postural sway speed (mm/s) (eyes closed) among all participants and stratified by age at enrollment
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Cumulative exposure (quartiles) to crude oil chemicals and inability to maintain single leg stance among all participants and stratified by age at enrollment (note that y-axis is on the log scale)
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