Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health
ISSN: 1933-8244 (Print) 2154-4700 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vaeh20
Subjective Health Complaints Among Workers in the Aftermath of an Oil Tank Explosion Gro Tjalvin, Bjørg Eli Hollund, Stein Håkon Låstad Lygre, Bente Elisabeth Moen & Magne Bråtveit To cite this article: Gro Tjalvin, Bjørg Eli Hollund, Stein Håkon Låstad Lygre, Bente Elisabeth Moen & Magne Bråtveit (2015) Subjective Health Complaints Among Workers in the Aftermath of an Oil Tank Explosion, Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, 70:6, 332-340, DOI: 10.1080/19338244.2014.918929 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19338244.2014.918929
Accepted author version posted online: 19 Aug 2014.
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Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vaeh20 Download by: [Imperial College London Library]
Date: 07 November 2015, At: 23:09
Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health (2015) 70, 332–340 C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Copyright ISSN: 1933-8244 print / 2154-4700 online DOI: 10.1080/19338244.2014.918929
Subjective Health Complaints Among Workers in the Aftermath of an Oil Tank Explosion ˚ ˚ GRO TJALVIN1,2, BJØRG ELI HOLLUND2, STEIN HAKON LASTAD LYGRE2, BENTE ELISABETH MOEN3, 1 ˚ and MAGNE BRATVEIT 1
Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway 3 Centre for International Health, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Downloaded by [Imperial College London Library] at 23:09 07 November 2015
2
Received 10 October 2013, Accepted 24 April 2014
The aim of the study was to assess whether exposed workers had more subjective health complaints than controls 1 1/2 years after a chemical explosion involving a mixture of hydrocarbons and sulfurous compounds. A cross-sectional survey based on the Subjective Health Complaints Inventory (SHC) was conducted among 147 exposed workers and 137 controls. A significantly higher total SCH score (linear regression, p = .01) was found for the exposed workers compared with controls when adjusting for gender, age, smoking habits, and educational level. The exposed workers reported significantly more headache, hot flashes, sleep problems, tiredness, dizziness, and sadness/depression. The cause of these complaints is unknown, but health personnel should be aware that health complaints might be related to polluting episodes even when exposure levels are below occupational guideline levels. Keywords: air pollution, environmental cleanup, environmental pollution, explosion, health status indicator, health survey, hydrocarbons, occupational accident, odor
On 24 May 2007, a tank containing coker gasoline and sulfurous waste products from the refining process of crude oil caught fire and exploded in Sløv˚ag, an industrial harbor area in western Norway. The explosion ignited 2 other tanks close by, and a mixture of hydrocarbons, different sulfurous compounds, and combustion products were released into the atmosphere in the surrounding area. Despite the explosive nature of the fire and the fact that large pieces of metal were hurled through the air, there were no fatalities. Professional fire fighters extinguished the fire during the afternoon and the cleanup work started the following day. Employees from the different companies in the industrial harbor area along with hired employees from specialized external companies participated in the cleanup operation. Fire water and sludge were removed from the area during the cleanup. The cleanup work was done partly manually and partly by mobile vacuum suction units. Due to the sulfurous contents of the tanks, the explosion resulted in an intense and very unpleasant smell in the industrial area and in the surroundings.1,2 Mercaptans at Address correspondence to Gro Tjalvin, MD, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, PO Box 7804, N-5018 Bergen, Norway. E-mail: [email protected] Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/vaeh.
low levels (methyl mercaptan: 0.006 ppm, ethyl mercaptan: 0.022–0.056 ppm, and propyl mercaptan: 0.008 ppm) were measured in air samples (n = 8) from the immediate vicinity of the explosion site 2–3 weeks after the disaster.2 At the same time, low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected at the explosion site, but neither VOCs nor mercaptans were found in samples (n = 2) taken 2.8 km away.2 One and a half years after the incident, new samples (n = 12) were taken at the top of 2 tanks containing sludge and wash water from tank cleaning or sludge mixed with fire water from the fire extinction after the explosion. In air immediately above these tanks, both hydrogen sulfide (0.03 to >2.7 ppm) and different mercaptans (methyl mercaptan:
ISSN: 1933-8244 (Print) 2154-4700 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vaeh20
Subjective Health Complaints Among Workers in the Aftermath of an Oil Tank Explosion Gro Tjalvin, Bjørg Eli Hollund, Stein Håkon Låstad Lygre, Bente Elisabeth Moen & Magne Bråtveit To cite this article: Gro Tjalvin, Bjørg Eli Hollund, Stein Håkon Låstad Lygre, Bente Elisabeth Moen & Magne Bråtveit (2015) Subjective Health Complaints Among Workers in the Aftermath of an Oil Tank Explosion, Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, 70:6, 332-340, DOI: 10.1080/19338244.2014.918929 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19338244.2014.918929
Accepted author version posted online: 19 Aug 2014.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 135
View related articles
View Crossmark data
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vaeh20 Download by: [Imperial College London Library]
Date: 07 November 2015, At: 23:09
Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health (2015) 70, 332–340 C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Copyright ISSN: 1933-8244 print / 2154-4700 online DOI: 10.1080/19338244.2014.918929
Subjective Health Complaints Among Workers in the Aftermath of an Oil Tank Explosion ˚ ˚ GRO TJALVIN1,2, BJØRG ELI HOLLUND2, STEIN HAKON LASTAD LYGRE2, BENTE ELISABETH MOEN3, 1 ˚ and MAGNE BRATVEIT 1
Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway 3 Centre for International Health, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Downloaded by [Imperial College London Library] at 23:09 07 November 2015
2
Received 10 October 2013, Accepted 24 April 2014
The aim of the study was to assess whether exposed workers had more subjective health complaints than controls 1 1/2 years after a chemical explosion involving a mixture of hydrocarbons and sulfurous compounds. A cross-sectional survey based on the Subjective Health Complaints Inventory (SHC) was conducted among 147 exposed workers and 137 controls. A significantly higher total SCH score (linear regression, p = .01) was found for the exposed workers compared with controls when adjusting for gender, age, smoking habits, and educational level. The exposed workers reported significantly more headache, hot flashes, sleep problems, tiredness, dizziness, and sadness/depression. The cause of these complaints is unknown, but health personnel should be aware that health complaints might be related to polluting episodes even when exposure levels are below occupational guideline levels. Keywords: air pollution, environmental cleanup, environmental pollution, explosion, health status indicator, health survey, hydrocarbons, occupational accident, odor
On 24 May 2007, a tank containing coker gasoline and sulfurous waste products from the refining process of crude oil caught fire and exploded in Sløv˚ag, an industrial harbor area in western Norway. The explosion ignited 2 other tanks close by, and a mixture of hydrocarbons, different sulfurous compounds, and combustion products were released into the atmosphere in the surrounding area. Despite the explosive nature of the fire and the fact that large pieces of metal were hurled through the air, there were no fatalities. Professional fire fighters extinguished the fire during the afternoon and the cleanup work started the following day. Employees from the different companies in the industrial harbor area along with hired employees from specialized external companies participated in the cleanup operation. Fire water and sludge were removed from the area during the cleanup. The cleanup work was done partly manually and partly by mobile vacuum suction units. Due to the sulfurous contents of the tanks, the explosion resulted in an intense and very unpleasant smell in the industrial area and in the surroundings.1,2 Mercaptans at Address correspondence to Gro Tjalvin, MD, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, PO Box 7804, N-5018 Bergen, Norway. E-mail: [email protected] Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/vaeh.
low levels (methyl mercaptan: 0.006 ppm, ethyl mercaptan: 0.022–0.056 ppm, and propyl mercaptan: 0.008 ppm) were measured in air samples (n = 8) from the immediate vicinity of the explosion site 2–3 weeks after the disaster.2 At the same time, low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected at the explosion site, but neither VOCs nor mercaptans were found in samples (n = 2) taken 2.8 km away.2 One and a half years after the incident, new samples (n = 12) were taken at the top of 2 tanks containing sludge and wash water from tank cleaning or sludge mixed with fire water from the fire extinction after the explosion. In air immediately above these tanks, both hydrogen sulfide (0.03 to >2.7 ppm) and different mercaptans (methyl mercaptan:
