Adverse Health Effects of Benzene Exposure Among Children Following a Flaring Incident at the British Petroleum Refinery in Texas City

Health Risk Assessment in Children Occupationally and Para-Occupationally Exposed to Benzene Using a Reverse-Translation PBPK Model

Benzene is a known human carcinogen and one of the ten chemicals of major public health concern identified by the World Health Organization. Our objective was to evaluate benzene's carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks (current and projected) in highly exposed children in Yucatan, Mexico. Benzene exposure was estimated through a reverse-translation, four-compartment, physiologically based pharmacokinetic model (PBPK) based on previously performed urine trans, trans-muconic acid (benzene metabolite) determinations. Using a risk assessment methodology, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of benzene were estimated for 6-12-year-old children from a family of shoemakers. The children's hazard quotients for decreased lymphocyte count were 27 and 53 for 4 and 8 h/day exposure, respectively, and 37 for the projected 8 h/day exposure in adults. The risks of developing leukemia were 2-6 cases in 1000 children exposed 4 h/day; 4-10 cases in 1000 children exposed 8 h/day, and 2-9 cases in 1000 adults with an 8 h/day lifetime exposure. Children in Yucatan working in shoe-manufacturing workshops, or living next to them, are exposed to benzene concentrations above the reference concentration and have unacceptably high risks of presenting with non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic hematologic symptoms, now and in the future. Interventions to prevent further exposure and mitigate health risks are necessary.

Effects of Benzene: Hematological and Hypersensitivity Manifestations in Resident Living in Oil Refinery Areas

Literature is teeming with publications on industrial pollution. Over the decades, the main industrial pollutants and their effects on human health have been widely framed. Among the various compounds involved, benzene plays a leading role in the onset of specific diseases. Two systems are mainly affected by the adverse health effects of benzene exposure, both acute and chronic: the respiratory and hematopoietic systems. The most suitable population targets for a proper damage assessment on these systems are oil refinery workers and residents near refining plants. Our work fits into this area of interest with the aim of reviewing the most relevant cases published in the literature related to the impairment of the aforementioned systems following benzene exposure. We perform an initial debate between the two clinical branches that see a high epidemiological expression in this slice of the population examined: residents near petroleum refinery areas worldwide. In addition, the discussion expands on highlighting the main immunological implications of benzene exposure, finding a common pathophysiological denominator in inflammation, oxidative stress, and DNA damage, thus helping to set the basis for an increasingly detailed characterization aimed at identifying common molecular patterns between the two clinical fields discussed.

Evaluating Phenotypic and Transcriptomic Responses Induced by Low-Level VOCs in Zebrafish: Benzene as an Example

Urban environments are plagued by complex mixtures of anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as mixtures of benzene, toluene, ethylene, and xylene (BTEX). Sources of BTEX that drive human exposure include vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, off-gassing of building material, as well as oil spillage and leakage. Among the BTEX mixture, benzene is the most volatile compound and has been linked to numerous adverse health outcomes. However, few studies have focused on the effects of low-level benzene on exposure during early development, which is a susceptible window when hematological, immune, metabolic, and detoxification systems are immature. In this study, we used zebrafish to conduct a VOC exposure model and evaluated phenotypic and transcriptomic responses following 0.1 and 1 ppm benzene exposure during the first five days of embryogenesis (n = 740 per treatment). The benzene body burden was 2 mg/kg in 1 ppm-exposed larval zebrafish pools and under the detection limit in 0.1 ppm-exposed fish. No observable phenotypic changes were found in both larvae except for significant skeletal deformities in 0.1 ppm-exposed fish (p = 0.01) compared with unexposed fish. Based on transcriptomic responses, 1 ppm benzene dysregulated genes that were implicated with the development of hematological system, and the regulation of oxidative stress response, fatty acid metabolism, immune system, and inflammatory response, including apob, nfkbiaa, serpinf1, foxa1, cyp2k6, and cyp2n13 from the cytochrome P450 gene family. Key genes including pik3c2b, pltp, and chia.2 were differentially expressed in both 1 and 0.1 ppm exposures. However, fewer transcriptomic changes were induced by 0.1 ppm compared with 1 ppm. Future studies are needed to determine if these transcriptomic responses during embryogenesis have long-term consequences at levels equal to or lower than 1 ppm.

Exposure to outdoor air pollution at different periods and the risk of leukemia: a meta-analysis

The causes of leukemia remain largely unknown; our aims were to examine the association between the exposure to outdoor air pollution and leukemia risk and to explore the effect of this exposure during different periods of pregnancy and early life. We searched for all case-control and cohort studies published before February 20, 2021, which measured the risk of leukemia in relation to exposure to the air pollutants: particulate matter, benzene, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and nitrogen oxides (NO_x). We then carried out a meta-analysis and calculated the summary relative risks (RRs) of leukemia by using a random-effects model. The potential dose-response relationship was further explored. The results showed that the highest exposure to benzene (RR: 1.20, 95%CI: 1.06-1.35) and NO₂ (RR: 1.04, 95%CI; 1.02-1.08) were positively correlated with leukemia risk when compared to the lowest exposure categories for each air pollutant. During pregnancy, exposure to benzene in the third trimester, as well as exposure to NO₂ in the second trimester and entire pregnancy, could also increase the risk of leukemia. In the dose-response analysis, benzene exposure and NO₂ exposure were linearly associated with the risk of leukemia. Other air pollutants did not have a statistical correlation with leukemia risk. There was a certain degree of publication bias in studies on benzene. Overall, our results support a link between outdoor air pollution and leukemia risk, particularly due to benzene and NO₂. Prospero Registration Number: PROSPERO CRD42020207025.

Blood BTEXS and heavy metal levels are associated with liver injury and systemic inflammation in Gulf states residents

INTRODUCTION

Exposures to volatile organic compounds and metals have previously been associated with liver diseases including steatohepatitis, although more data are needed. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, styrene (BTEXS) and metals were measured in blood samples collected between May 2012-July 2013 from volunteers participating in home visits for the Gulf Long-term Follow-up (GuLF) Study. This cross-sectional analysis evaluates associations of exposure biomarkers with serum liver injury and adipocytokine biomarkers in a sample of 214 men.

METHODS

Adult nonsmoking men without a history of liver disease or heavy alcohol consumption were included. The serologic disease biomarkers evaluated were the hepatocellular injury biomarker, cytokeratin 18 [whole (CK18 M65) and caspase-cleaved fragment (CK18 M30)]; and adipocytokines. Confounder-adjusted beta coefficients were determined using linear regression models for the overall sample (primary endpoints) and for obesity-classified sub-groups (secondary endpoints). A product interaction term between the exposure of interest and a dichotomized indicator of obesity was included to determine the disease modifying effects of obesity on the biomarker associations.

RESULTS

The study sample was 57% white and 51% obese. In the overall sample, lead was positively associated with CK18 M30 (β = 21.7 ± 6.0 (SE), p = 0.0004); IL-1β (β = 32.8 ± 5.2, p < 0.0001); IL-6 (β = 72.8 ± 18.3, p = 0.0001); and IL-8 (β = 140.8 ± 42.2, p = 0.001). Cadmium exposures were associated with increased IL-1β (β = 77.8 ± 26.3, p = 0.003) and IL-8 (β = 419.5 ± 201.2, p = 0.04). There were multiple significant interactions between obesity and exposure to lead, cadmium, benzene and toluene in relation to outcome biomarkers. Among obese participants (n = 108), benzene, lead, and cadmium were each positively associated with CK18 M30, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8. In obese subjects, lead was also inversely associated with leptin, and toluene was positively associated with IL-1β.

CONCLUSION

For the overall sample, heavy metal exposures were associated with liver injury (lead only) and/or systemic inflammation (lead and cadmium). Obesity modified the associations between BTEXS and heavy metal exposures on several of the outcome variables. In the obesity subgroup, liver injury was positively associated with lead, cadmium and benzene exposures; systemic inflammation was increased with lead, cadmium, benzene, and toluene exposures; and leptin was inversely associated with lead exposures. The cross-sectional design of this study makes it difficult to determine causality, and all results should be interpreted cautiously. Nonetheless, the potential impact of exposures to lead, cadmium, benzene and toluene in steatohepatitis, an obesity-associated inflammatory liver disease, warrants further investigation.

Falta de efetivos e insegurança em refinarias de petróleo

Resumo Introdução: refinarias de petróleo são indústrias perigosas. Uma das causas importantes de acidentes constantemente apontada pelos trabalhadores é a falta de pessoal. No entanto, em geral as investigações se limitam às suas causas imediatas e, muitas vezes, atribuem culpa aos operadores, mesmo quando decorrentes de processos operacionais inseguros e da organização inadequada do trabalho. Objetivo: levantar questões sobre as relações entre falta de pessoal e segurança em refinarias. Métodos: as reflexões e questionamentos levantados se baseiam em relatórios oficiais sobre o acidente da refinaria de petróleo BP Texas City, ocorrido nos Estados Unidos em 2005, e em documentos de organizações sindicais, da mídia investigativa e da literatura científica. Discussão: a análise dos documentos mostrou de forma categórica que a falta de operadores contribui para acidentes e que seus efeitos debilitam a segurança, podendo se manifestar até muito tempo após a redução de pessoal. Embora essa situação seja continua e objetivamente denunciada pelos operadores e suas representações, raramente seus argumentos são considerados com a mesma seriedade com que se analisam as causas diretas e materiais de acidentes. Pelo alto grau de consciência sobre os riscos a que estão expostos e a responsabilidade de enfrentá-los, os trabalhadores devem ser ouvidos.

Health Risks Associated With Benzene Exposure in Children: A Systematic Review

Currently, there is a paucity of studies evaluating the adverse health effects of benzene exposure in children or clinical findings of those children who have been exposed. However, emerging studies show that benzene exposure can cause deleterious health effects in children. The objective of this study was to evaluate and summarize published studies on the adverse health effects of benzene exposure in children. More than 77 articles were examined and only the articles that dealt with adverse health effects on pediatric populations were included in the study. The evaluation of those studies provided current understanding of the health effects of benzene exposure in children. Findings from the currently available studies reveal that benzene exposure is associated with abnormalities in hematologic, hepatic, respiratory, and pulmonary functions in children. Published studies clearly support the need for further assessment of the potential adverse effects of benzene exposure in children, and clinical and laboratory findings of these children.

Ambient Nonmethane Hydrocarbon Levels Along Colorado's Northern Front Range: Acute and Chronic Health Risks

Oil and gas (O&G) facilities emit air pollutants that are potentially a major health risk for nearby populations. We characterized prenatal through adult health risks for acute (1 h) and chronic (30 year) residential inhalation exposure scenarios to nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) for these populations. We used ambient air sample results to estimate and compare risks for four residential scenarios. We found that air pollutant concentrations increased with proximity to an O&G facility, as did health risks. Acute hazard indices for neurological (18), hematological (15), and developmental (15) health effects indicate that populations living within 152 m of an O&G facility could experience these health effects from inhalation exposures to benzene and alkanes. Lifetime excess cancer risks exceeded 1 in a million for all scenarios. The cancer risk estimate of 8.3 per 10 000 for populations living within 152 m of an O&G facility exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency's 1 in 10 000 upper threshold. These findings indicate that state and federal regulatory policies may not be protective of health for populations residing near O&G facilities. Health risk assessment results can be used for informing policies and studies aimed at reducing and understanding health effects associated with air pollutants emitted from O&G facilities.

Children and youth's biopsychosocial wellbeing in the context of energy resource activities

BACKGROUND

Children and youth emerge as key populations that are impacted by energy resource activities, in part because of their developmental vulnerabilities, as well as the compounding effects of energy systems on their families, communities, and physical environments. While there is a larger literature focused on fossil fuel emissions and children, the impacts of many aspects of energy systems on children and youth remain under examined and scattered throughout the health, social science, and environmental science literatures.

OBJECTIVES

This systematic interdisciplinary review examines the biological, psychosocial, and economic impacts of energy systems identified through social science research - specifically focused on household and industrial extraction and emissions - on children and youth functioning.

METHODS

A critical interpretive search of interdisciplinary and international social sciences literature was conducted using an adaptive protocol focusing on the biopsychosocial and economic impacts of energy systems on children and youth. The initial results were complemented with a purposeful search to extend the breadth and depth of the final collection of articles.

DISCUSSION

Although relatively few studies have specifically focused on children and youth in this context, the majority of this research uncovers a range of negative health impacts that are directly and indirectly related to the development and ongoing operations of natural resource production, particularly oil and gas, coal, and nuclear energy. Psychosocial and cultural effects, however, remain largely unexamined and provide a rich avenue for further research.

CONCLUSIONS

This synthesis identifies an array of adverse biopsychosocial health outcomes on children and youth of energy resource extraction and emissions, and identifies gaps that will drive future research in this area.

Toxicant-associated steatohepatitis: à propos a case of benzene exposure

An attempted interpretation of recurrent episodes of hepatitis in a girl at ages 6 and 13 years, which were followed by an interval of 35 years of apparent good health, is reported. A subsequent transient incidence of a halothane hypersensitivity reaction at age 48 years led to the disclosure of negative hepatitis A, B and C antigenicity. A tentative diagnosis may be reached if we accept, at its face value, the statement that a toy that the child played with before each hepatitis episode carried a very high benzene content. The toy was a “pate-à-ballon” or “magic balloon,” and it can carry a benzene content that is seven to nine times higher than the traditionally authorized concentration.

Illness Symptoms Experienced by Children Exposed to Benzene After a Flaring Incident at the BP Refinery Facility in Texas City

Objective To evaluate the illness symptoms experienced by children who were exposed to benzene following a flaring incident at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas. Methods A total of 641 children, aged <17 years, exposed to benzene were included. Using medical charts, data on the children's illness symptoms as well as the serum levels of β-2-microglobulin and the amount of urinary excretion of phenol were reviewed and analyzed. Results A total of 1790 illness symptoms were reported in 641 children exposed to benzene. Upper respiratory symptoms were the most (67%) frequently reported, followed by neurological symptoms (57%), diarrhea (25%), and cough (24%). Logistic regression analysis indicated that neurological symptoms (R(2) = 0.75), chest pain (R(2) = 0.64), joint pain (R(2) = 0.57), and vision difficulty (R(2) = 0.54) were positively associated with increasing age. β-2-Microglobulin levels were significantly higher in children <5 years compared with those >5 year (P = .04). Conversely, urinary phenol levels were significantly lower in children <5 years compared with those >5 years (P = .00). Conclusion Together, these findings reveal that children exposed to benzene experience a range of illness symptoms and an altered profile of urinary phenol indicating their vulnerability to potentially increased health complications.