Follow Up Study Confirms Link between Oil Spill Exposure, Hematologic & Hepatic Toxicity

HOUSTON - Sept. 9, 2014 - PRLog -- In April 2010, Deepwater Horizon, an offshore drilling rig owned by British Petroleum (BP) exploded, spewing over 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This catastrophic disaster contaminated a coastal zone spanning over 600 miles of shoreline from Florida to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas with heavy crude oil. In addition, it disrupted the region’s fishing industry, destroyed renewable natural resources, and caused significant wildlife injury and death. This disastrous spill has raised numerous questions about its potential impact on the health of those living in the oil-exposed regions and surrounding communities. It is estimated that up to 170,000 people worked in some capacity to clean up the Gulf oil spill.

Research on the health consequences of those subjects exposed to the Gulf oil spill is emerging.  Investigations from the University Cancer and Diagnostic Centers, Houston, TX, conducted by Mark A. D’Andrea, MD, FACRO, and G. Kesava Reddy, PhD, MHA, focuses primarily on the health risks among the subjects who had participated in the oil spill cleanup operation. The initial findings published in The American Journal of Medicine; in September 2013 suggest that oil spill cleanup workers are at risk for developing hepatic or blood-related disorders. The follow up study which is just published in the 2014 September issue of The American Journal of Medicine confirms the earlier study findingsthat workers participated in the Gulf oil spill cleanup activities are at risk of developing alterations in hematological and hepatic functions.

In this follow up analysis, the investigators assessed a total of 117 subjects who participating in the oil spill cleanup activity. In the analysis, researchers assessed the blood profile and liver function data in comparison with the standard normal range reference values among the subjects who participated in the Gulf oil spill clean-up operation. Specifically, the outcomes were compared with the normal range reference values that were grouped into lower, middle, and upper limit ranges in addition to the above normal range.

Using subjects’ medical charts, clinical data including white blood cell (WBC) count, platelets count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) creatinine, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), and urinary phenol were gathered for the subjects who were exposed to the Gulf oil spill and analyzed.

Over 77% of subjects had WBC counts in the mid range (6 - 10 X 103 per μL) while none of the subjects had upper limit of the normal range (11 X 103 per μL). Similar pattern was seen in the platelet counts and BUN levels among the oil spill exposed subjects. Conversely, over 70% of the subjects had creatinine levels toward upper limit of the normal and 23% of subjects had creatinine levels above the upper limit of the normal range (> 1.3 mg per dL). Similarly, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were toward the upper limit of the normal in more than two-third of the subjects. AST and ALT levels above the upper limit of normal range (> 40 IU per L) were seen in 15% and 31% of subjects, respectively. Over 80% of subjects had urinary phenol levels more than detectable levels (2 mg per L).

The findings of the study suggest that subjects involved in oil spill clean-up operation are at an increased risk of developing health related sequelae and support the our earlier findings reported in the previous communication.