Oxidative stress biomarkers in long-term participants in clean-up work after the Hebei Spirit oil spill.
BACKGROUND
The oil tanker Hebei Spirit spilled 12,547kL of oil near the western coastline of Korea on December 7, 2007. We aimed to investigate the relationship between oil spill exposure and oxidative stress in residents living near the affected area.


METHODS
Study subjects were 671 residents who participated in a health examination between February and September 2009. As surrogates for oil spill exposure, we used the total duration of clean-up work and levels of urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and 2-naphthol (2-NAPH). Oxidative stress was measured using urinary levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), indicators of lipid peroxidation and oxidative DNA damage, respectively.


RESULTS
Levels of oxidative stress biomarkers were significantly increased with longer involvement in clean-up work over one year after the Hebei Spirit oil spill (MDA, p-trend<0.0001; 8-OHdG, p-trend<0.0001). As more time elapsed since the last involvement in clean-up, the total duration of clean-up work participation and levels of PAH metabolites (1-OHP and 2-NAPH), as well as levels of the oxidative stress biomarkers (MDA and 8-OHdG) decreased further. The level of 1-OHP had a significant positive correlation with the total duration of clean-up work involvement, with a higher level found in those who participated in clean-up for >100 days. Increasing levels of 1-OHP were significantly associated with increased MDA and 8-OHdG after adjusting for covariates, while the strength of association weakened as time passed since the last participation in clean-up work. The significance of the association was maintained for up to 12 months after the last clean-up work.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggested that oil exposure from prolonged clean-up activity likely induced oxidative stress in clean-up participants up to at least one year after the last exposure.
Taean Environmental Health Center, Taean, Republic of Korea; Department of Environmental Health, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Su Ryeon
SR
Noh
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
Hae-Kwan
HK
Cheong
Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: minaha00@gmail.com.
Mina
M
Ha
Department of Preventive Medicine, Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea.
Sang-Yong
SY
Eom
Department of Preventive Medicine, Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea.
Heon
H
Kim
Taean Environmental Health Center, Taean, Republic of Korea.
Young-Hyun
YH
Choi
Department of Environmental Health, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Domyung
D
Paek
D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D003849:Deoxyguanosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000652:urine; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000652:urine; D056910:Republic of Korea
D015415:Biomarkers; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D003849:Deoxyguanosine
Clean-up; Environmental disaster; Long-term health effect; Oil spill; Oxidative stress