38 
Gràbsch - Health effects of mineral oil and dispersants 
Interestingly, the attention towards human health effects after oil spills has increased over 
the last ten years, more precisely after the Prestige oil spill in 2002. In comparison to the 
multitude of information about environmental consequences after oil spills, the impact of oil 
spills on human health is a relative new topic. The majority of investigations are cross- 
sectional epidemiological studies that analyze acute physical effects or psychological conse 
quences in the affected people (Aguilera et al. 2010). Here, an overview over two spills with 
relatively good coverage of health effects are presented, the Hebei Spirit and the Prestige oil 
spills. 
For the investigation of oil-mediated health effects, the Prestige oil spill serves as an exam 
ple, because there is a good data basis and dispersants were not used during the clean-up 
activities. Furthermore, the Hebei Spirit was also considered as a case study as the use of 
dispersants was very limited. 
Within the first days after an oil spill, inhalation exposure is expected to be high as volatile 
compounds evaporate into the atmosphere. During both spills, the Prestige as well as the 
Hebei Spirit, acute symptoms were monitored very promptly and documented within two 
weeks after the spill (see Figure 7.1, initial phase data: yellow bars adopted from Spanish 
Department of Health (Plan Sanitario Combinado del Servicio Galego de Saude, cited from 
Rodriguez-Trigo et al., 2007, dark blue bars adopted from Na et a. 2012)). 
& f 
Effects and Symptoms 
■ Prestige - initially 
■ Hebei Spirit - initially 
■ Hebei Spirit - after 12 
months 
Figure 7.1: Monitoring of acute health symptoms of oil spill clean-up workers during the Prestige and 
Hebei Spirit oil spills 
Three dominant symptoms were reported. Irritation to eyes, respiratory tract irritation and 
headache are prevalent in both spills, but more frequently during the Hebei Spirit clean-up. In 
general, dermal irritation had a lower prevalence in both cases. Back pain complaints and 
impact on consciousness were more frequent in oil clean-up workers at the Hebei spirit 
clean-up. 
The question arises: Why do these differences exist? The different frequencies of irritation to 
eyes, respiratory tract and headache could be explained by the different types of mineral oil 
but also by the limited use of dispersants use during Hebei Spirit clean-up. Indeed, no de 
tailed data exist regarding the time point, the quantity and formulas of dispersants. Further 
more, huge differences in the clean-up population exist: During Hebei Spirit, the majority of 
the clean-up workers was female and over 60 years old (Na et al. 2012). During the Prestige,