Impact of dispersed fuel oil on cardiac mitochondrial function in polar cod Boreogadus saida.

In this study, impact of dispersed oil on cardiac mitochondrial function was assessed in a key species of Arctic marine ecosystem, the polar cod Boreogadus saida. Mature polar cod were exposed during 48 h to dispersed oil (mechanically and chemically) and dispersants alone. The increase observed in ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites in bile indicated no difference in contamination level between fish exposed to chemical or mechanical dispersion of oil. Oil induced alterations of O2 consumption of permeabilised cardiac fibres showing inhibitions of complexes I and IV of the respiratory chain. Oil did not induce any modification of mitochondrial proton leak. Dispersants did not induce alteration of mitochondrial activity and did not increase oil toxicity. These data suggest that oil exposure may limit the fitness of polar cod and consequently could lead to major disruption in the energy flow of polar ecosystem.

Evaluation of burn injuries related to liquefied petroleum gas.

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a fuel that is widely used for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes. LPG is also commonly used in restaurants, industries, and cars; however, the home continues to be the main site for accidents. In Turkey, the increased usage of LPG as a cooking or heating fuel has resulted in many burn injuries from LPG mishaps. Between January 2000 and June 2011, 56 LPG-burned patients were compared with 112 flame-burned patients. There were no significant differences with respect to the mean age, sex, hospitalization time, and mortality in both groups. In the LPG-caused burn cases, 41 burns (73.2%) occurred at home, seven (12.5) were work-related mishaps, and eight (14.3) were associated with car accidents. The majority of the LPG burns (82%, 46 patients) resulted from a gas leak, and 18% of them were related to the failure to close LPG tubes in the patients' kitchens (10 patients). Burns to the face and neck (82 vs 67%, P = .039) and upper (62 vs 23%, P = .000) and lower (70 vs 45%, P = .002) extremities were significantly higher in LPG-caused burn cases than flame-burned cases. General awareness regarding the risk of LPG and first aid for burns appears to be lacking. The LPG delivery system should be standardized throughout countries that widely use LPG.

Successful skin homografting from an identical twin in a severely burned patient.

Flame burns are a serious condition and usually have high morbidity and mortality because they affect large areas of the body surface as well as the lungs. In these patients, it is especially difficult to find healthy skin for grafting if they have more than 70% third-degree burns. Repeated autografting or synthetic wound care materials are the only treatment options to cover burned areas. Partial-thickness skin grafting from the patient's identical twin sibling may be an alternative treatment option, if possible. Here, we report a patient with severe flame injury treated with skin from his identical twin. The patient had third-degree burns covering 70% of his body surface. Initial treatment consisted of fluid and electrolyte replacement, daily wound care, and surgical debridements, as well as nutritional support. After initial treatment, we performed a successful skin grafting from his identical twin. Skin grafting between identical twins might be an alternate method for severely burned patients.

Occupational exposure to chlorinated and petroleum solvents and mycosis fungoides.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential association between occupational exposure to chlorinated and petroleum solvents and mycosis fungoides (MF). METHODS: A questionnaire on lifetime job history was administered to 100 patients diagnosed with MF and 2846 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated as the measure of the association between exposure to each specific solvent and MF. RESULTS: In the total sample and in men, cases and controls did not differ in relation to exposure to any of the solvents studied. In women, an association with MF was seen for the highest level of estimated exposure to perchloroethylene (OR = 11.38; 95% confidence interval: 1.04 to 124.85) and for exposure less than the median to kerosene/fuel/gasoil (OR = 8.53; 95% confidence interval: 1.11 to 65.62). CONCLUSIONS: These results do not provide conclusive evidence that exposure to solvents may increase risk of MF because they were not found in men.

Oil pollution increases plasma antioxidants but reduces coloration in a seabird.

It has been suggested that condition-dependent signals may be a useful measure of environmental quality. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that oil pollution enhances oxidative stress and impairs expression of a carotenoid-based signal in a wild population of the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis). During the courtship period, a group of gulls were fed a supplementary diet containing heavy fuel oil from the Prestige oil spill and were compared with control gulls fed a similar supplementary diet without fuel oil. Blood levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the most toxic components of crude oils, were higher (30%) in the Prestige oil-fed gulls than in the control gulls. Plasma concentrations of vitamin E and carotenoids were also significantly higher in the Prestige oil-fed gulls (31 and 27%, respectively). Although, the plasma levels of lipid peroxidation markers were higher (13%) in gulls fed with Prestige oil than in the control gulls, these differences were not significant, possibly because of the small number of gulls analyzed. The red bill spot was significantly smaller (16%) in the oil-fed gulls than in the control individuals. This study provides the first experimental evidence that a carotenoid-based signal in a free-living seabird is affected by exposure to oil pollution and is hence indicative of environmental quality. Since the yellow-legged gull belongs to a complex of species widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, the method described may constitute a useful tool for evaluating sub-lethal effects of oil spills in seabirds.

Conversion of spent solid phosphoric Acid catalyst to environmentally friendly fertilizer.

Solid phosphoric acid (SPA) catalysts are widely used in the petroleum industry. Despite a high phosphorus content the spent catalyst is generally not reused. Moreover, due to the limited life spans that are achieved industrially, large quantities of spent catalyst requires disposal, often by landfill. SPA can be readily converted to fertilizer, but the presence of carbonaceous deposits on the catalyst presents a potential environmental hazard. This work demonstrates that these deposits are mostly polyaromatic (amorphous carbon) with smaller amounts of oxygenates and aliphatics. Neither the chemical makeup nor the physical structure of the catalyst or the presence of coke precludes it from use as fertilizer. Subsequently, the spent catalyst was milled, neutralized with lime and ammonium hydroxide, and then calcined to yield a phosphate-rich fertilizer. Toxicity characteristic leaching tests of the spent catalyst fertilizer showed low levels of metals and organics, establishing that no harmful compounds are likely to be absorbed into plant life or groundwater. A plant growth study of the spent catalyst fertilizer indicated that it is approximately as effective as superphosphate fertilizer when used in alkaline soil. The spent catalyst fertilizer is environmentally benign and economically efficient.

Genetic damage induced by accidental environmental pollutants.

Petroleum is one of the main energy sources worldwide. Its transport is performed by big tankers following some established marine routes. In the last 50 years a total amount of 37 oil tankers have given rise to great spills in different parts of the world, Prestige being the last one. After the accident, a big human mobilisation took place in order to clean beaches, rocks and fauna, trying to reduce the environmental consequences of this serious catastrophe. These people were exposed to the complex mixture of compounds contained in the oil. This study aimed at determine the level of environmental exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC), and the possible damage induced on the population involved in the different cleaning tasks by applying the genotoxicity tests sister chromatid exchanges (SCE), micronucleus (MN) test, and comet assay. Four groups of individuals were included: volunteers (V), hired manual workers (MW), hired high-pressure cleaner workers (HPW) and controls. The higher VOC levels were associated with V environment, followed by MW and lastly by HPW, probably due to the use of high-pressure cleaners. Oil exposure during the cleaning tasks has caused an increase in the genotoxic damage in individuals, the comet assay being the most sensitive biomarker to detect it. Sex, age and tobacco consumption have shown to influence the level of genetic damage, while the effect of using protective devices was less noticeable than expected, perhaps because the kind used was not the most adequate.

Effects of subchronic inhalation exposure of rats to emissions from a diesel engine burning soybean oil-derived biodiesel fuel.

There is increasing interest in diesel fuels derived from plant oils or animal fats ("biodiesel"), but little information on the toxicity of biodiesel emissions other than bacterial mutagenicity. F344 rats were exposed by inhalation 6 h/day, 5 days/wk for 13 wk to 1 of 3 dilutions of emissions from a diesel engine burning 100% soybean oil-derived fuel, or to clean air as controls. Whole emissions were diluted to nominal NO(x) concentrations of 5, 25, or 50 ppm, corresponding to approximately 0.04, 0.2, and 0.5 mg particles/m(3), respectively. Biologically significant, exposure-related effects were limited to the lung, were greater in females than in males, and were observed primarily at the highest exposure level. There was a dose-related increase in the numbers of alveolar macrophages and the numbers of particles in the macrophages, as expected from repeated exposure, but no neutrophil response even at the highest exposure level. The macrophage response was reduced 28 days after cessation of the exposure. Among the high-level females, the group mean lung weight/body weight ratio was increased, and minimal, multifocal bronchiolar metaplasia of alveolar ducts was observed in 4 of 30 rats. Lung weights were not significantly increased, and metaplasia of the alveolar ducts was not observed in males. An increase in particle-laden macrophages was the only exposure-related finding in lungs at the intermediate and low levels, with fewer macrophages and fewer particles per macrophage at the low level. Alveolar histiocytosis was observed in a few rats in both exposed and control groups. There were statistically significant, but minor and not consistently exposure-related, differences in body weight, nonpulmonary organ weights, serum chemistry, and glial fibrillary acidic protein in the brain. There were no significant exposure-related effects on survival, clinical signs, feed consumption, ocular toxicity, hematology, neurohistology, micronuclei in bone marrow, sister chromatid exchanges in peripheral blood lymphocytes, fertility, reproductive toxicity, or teratology. This study demonstrated modest adverse effects at the highest exposure level, and none other than the expected physiological macrophage response to repeated particle exposure at the intermediate level.

Cancer mortality among petroleum refinery and chemical manufacturing workers in Texas.

Epidemiologic historical cohort studies of petroleum refinery and chemical manufacturing workers in Texas were reviewed to examine their cancer mortality in comparison to the U.S. and to assess the possible impact of cancer mortality among these workers on the State of Texas as a whole. Summary standardized mortality ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for 20 cancer types, taking into account the heterogeneity of individual studies. There were 4314 cancer deaths among the 92,318 workers employed in 10 independent plant populations. Overall, there was a significant deficit in cancer mortality among petrochemical workers compared with the general U.S. population (SMR = 88, 95% CI = 80 to 96). Only the summary SMRs for brain cancer (SMR = 113, 95% CI = 96 to 133) and leukemias (SMR = 112, 95% CI = 94 to 130) approached statistical significance. Lung and liver cancer mortality excesses, noted for Texas as a whole, were decreased in these workers. Additional follow-up of these cohorts, their expansion to include minority and female workers, and additional study of possible occupational contributions to leukemia and brain cancer are recommended.

Aviators intoxicated by inhalation of JP-5 fuel vapors.

This case of intoxication of two aviators by inhalation of JP-5 fuel vapors emphasizes a dangerous safety hazard. One or both aviators experienced burning eyes, nausea, fatigue, impairment of eye-hand coordination, euphoria, and memory defects when their cockpit became overwhelmed with the odor of JP-5 fuel. Physical and laboratory examinations were normal except for their ill appearance, conjunctivitis, and mild hypertension, which resolved without sequelae. Exposure to JP-5 fuel vapor occurs frequently, particularly after acrobatic flight in some aircraft. The neurologic effects and insidious nature of intoxication makes continued operation under such conditions extremely hazardous. The following is recommended: in the event the odor of JP-5 or any noxious or irritating substance is detected in the cockpit, serious consideration should be given to terminating the flight, using precautionary emergency landing procedures and 100% O2.

The toxicopathology of Prudhoe Bay crude oil in chicken embryos.

Microliter amounts of Prudhoe Bay crude oil were applied to the shell of fertile leghorn chicken eggs on Day 9 of incubation. Gross and microscopic pathological changes were examined in embryos surviving 4 days after exposure. Gross lesions seen consistently were extensive edema, superficial zones of pale hepatic tissue, distension of the heart, and enlargement of the spleen. Histologically, the pale liver tissue corresponded to areas of hepatocyte necrosis. Additional histological lesions were cellular casts and mineralization in the renal tubules, distension of the glomerular capillaries, and accumulation of hematopoietic tissue in the liver and spleen. Dose-related increases in the number of mitotic figures in hepatocytes and in weights of liver, spleen, and heart were observed.

Fire deaths in aircraft without the crashworthy fuel system.

Cases reported to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology were examined for occupants of helicopters without the crashworthy fuel system (CWFS) who survived crashes but died as a result of postcrash fires. There were 16 fire deaths in the 9 such accidents which occurred between January 1976 and April 1984. All of these victims would have survived if there had been no postcrash fire. Partial body destruction by fire probably prevented inclusion of many other cases. The dramatic reduction in fire deaths and injuries due to installation of the CWFS in Army helicopters is discussed. The author concludes that fire deaths and injuries in aircraft accidents could almost be eliminated by fitting current and future aircraft with the CWFS.

[A case of pneumonia caused by aspiration of diesel fuel]. / Sluchai pnevmonii, vyzvannoi aspiratsiei dizel'nogo topliva.

The study describes a case of severe pneumonia caused by diesel fuel aspiration and accompanied by middle lobar atelectasis and distinct local endobronchitis. The use of a set of measures comprising curative and diagnostic bronchoscopy enables one to achieve a good therapeutic effect.

Mortality in a recent oil refinery cohort.

A retrospective cohort mortality study of 10,763 Amoco Corporation oil refinery workers employed between 1970 and 1980 showed low overall mortality; the standardized mortality ratio for all causes of death was 73 for white males and 68 for black males. White male mortality was examined by several exposure classifications devised for group cohort members by potential for exposure to refinery processes and exposure to two components of petroleum (light aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy oils). Statistically significant elevations were found in various exposure groups for skin cancers, digestive system cancers, and benign neoplasms. Of these, skin cancer mortality appeared to increase with increasing exposure.