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Prolonged Respiratory Symptoms in Clean-up Workers of the Prestige Oil Spill

¹ Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Municipal Institute of Medical Research, Barcelona, Spain; ² Environmental Epidemiology Division, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands; ³ Department of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Juan Canalejo, A Coruña, Spain; ⁴ Department of Respiratory Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology Unit, University Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; ⁵ Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Madrid, Spain; ⁶ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hospital Clínic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; ⁷ Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiologica y Salud Publica, Madrid, Spain; ⁸ Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain; and ⁹ Department of Cellular Biology and Medical Genetics, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to F. Pozo-Rodríguez, M.D., Department of Respiratory Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology Unit, University Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain. E-mail: fpozo{at}h12o.es

Rationale: The wreckage of the oil tanker Prestige in November 2002 produced heavy contamination off the coast of Galicia, Spain.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in local fishermen more than 1 year after having participated in clean-up work.

Methods: Questionnaires including qualitative and quantitative information about clean-up activities and respiratory symptoms were distributed among associates of 38 fishermen's cooperatives. Both postal and telephone follow-up was performed. The association between participation in clean-up work and respiratory symptoms was evaluated using multiple logistic regression analyses, adjusted for sex, age, and smoking status.

Measurements and Main Results: Between January 2004 and February 2005, data were obtained from 6,780 fishermen (response rate, 76%). Sixty-three percent had participated in clean-up operations. Lower respiratory tract symptoms (LRTS) were more prevalent in clean-up workers: odds ratio (OR), 1.73; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.54–1.94. This association was consistent for men and women, for different fishermen's cooperatives, and for different types of respiratory symptoms, and remained after excluding those who reported anxiety or believed that the oil spill had affected their health (OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.37–1.80). The risk of LRTS increased with the number of exposed days, exposed hours per day, and number of activities (linear trend, P < 0.0001). The excess risk of LRTS decreased when more time had elapsed since last exposure: OR, 2.33, 1.69, and 1.24 for less than 14 months, 14–20 months, and more than 20 months, respectively.

Conclusions: Participation in clean-up work of oil spills may result in prolonged respiratory symptoms that last 1 to 2 years after exposure.

Key Words: oil spill • Prestige • disaster • respiratory • epidemiology

AT A GLANCE COMMENTARY Scientific Knowledge on the Subject Short-term respiratory effects in clean-up workers of oil spills have been reported, but possible longer-term effects have not been studied. What This Study Adds to the Field We found increased prevalence rates of respiratory symptoms in fishermen 1 to 2 years after having participated in clean-up activities of the Prestige oil spill. This is suggestive of a persistent respiratory effect.

 

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