[BTEX exposure and its health effects in pregnant women following the Hebei Spirit oil spill].
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the health effects of exposure to BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, m,p-Xylene, o-Xylene) in the Taean area after the Hebei Spirit oil spill.


METHODS
We used a questionnaire survey to look for health effects among 80 pregnant women 2 to 3 months following the Hebei Spirit oil spill. Their BTEX exposures were estimated using the CALPUFF method. We then used a multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate the effects of BTEX exposure on the women's health effets.


RESULTS
Pregnant women who lived near the accident site reported more symptoms of eye irritation and headache than those who lived farther from the site. There was a trend of decreasing symptoms with an increase in distance from the spill site. Pregnant women exposed to higher ambient cumulative levels of Xylene were significantly more likely to report symptoms of the skin (OR 8.01 95% CI=1.74-36.76) in the first day after the accident and significantly more likely to report abdominal pain (OR 3.86 95% CI=1.02-14.59 for Ethylbenzene, OR 6.70 95% CI=1.82-24.62 for Xylene) during the 1st through 4th days following the accident.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that exposure to BTEX from an oil spill is correlated with an increased risk of health effects among pregnant women. This implies the need to take proper measures, including the development of a national policy for environmental health emergencies and a plan for studying the short- and long-term chronic health effects associated with such spills.
Department of Preventive Medicine, BK21 Research Division for Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Korea.
Byung-Mi
BM
Kim
Eun kyo
Ek
Park
So-Young
SY
LeeAn
Mina
M
Ha
Eun-Jung
EJ
Kim
Hojang
H
Kwon
Yun-Chul
YC
Hong
Woo-Chul
WC
Jeong
Jongil
J
Hur
Hae-Kwan
HK
Cheong
Jongheop
J
Yi
Jong Ho
JH
Kim
Bo-Eun
BE
Lee
Ju-Hee
JH
Seo
Moon-Hee
MH
Chang
Eun-Hee
EH
Ha
D000328:Adult; D001554:Benzene / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D004190:Disasters; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D010578:Petroleum; D011247:Pregnancy; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014050:Toluene / Q000032:analysis; D016387:Women's Health; D014992:Xylenes / Q000032:analysis
D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010578:Petroleum; D014992:Xylenes; D014050:Toluene; D001554:Benzene; C004912:ethylbenzene