Chemical exposure from the Hebei spirit oil spill accident and its long-term effects on mental health

Lita Kim; Da-An Huh; Min-Sung Kang; Kangyeon Park; Jiyoun Lee; Se Hyun Hwang; Hyeon Jeong Choi; Woohyun Lim; Kyong Whan Moon; Yong-Jin Lee

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116938

Chemical exposure from the Hebei spirit oil spill accident and its long-term effects on mental health

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2024 Aug 28:284:116938. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116938. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Lita Kim¹, Da-An Huh², Min-Sung Kang³, Kangyeon Park¹, Jiyoun Lee¹, Se Hyun Hwang⁴, Hyeon Jeong Choi⁵, Woohyun Lim⁵, Kyong Whan Moon⁶, Yong-Jin Lee⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health and Safety Convergence Science, Graduate School, Korea University, South Korea; L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, South Korea.
² Institute of Health Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: black1388@korea.ac.kr.
³ Institute of Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan, South Korea. Electronic address: kms83korea03@hanmail.net.
⁴ Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA.
⁵ School of Health and Environmental Science, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁶ L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, South Korea; School of Health and Environmental Science, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁷ Regional Environmental Health Center, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan, South Korea; Department of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan, South Korea.

PMID: 39208578
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116938

Abstract

While evidence indicates that exposure to oil spill incidents can affect mental health, it is unclear whether the mental health effects result from the incident itself or from exposure to associated chemicals. Oil contains chemicals that can impact mental health and these chemicals may have long-term effects due to their persistence in the environment. To address the gap in current knowledge, we conducted cross-sectional and prospective analyses of data from adults who participated in the Health Effects of the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill study. To assess chemical exposure from oil spills, we used indirect exposure indicators such as distance from the contaminated oil band to residences and duration of clean-up work, along with direct exposure indicators such as urine metabolite concentrations of volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Mental health assessments covered posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety. In the cross-sectional analyses, all four mental health issues were found to be associated with proximity to the oil band (p-value<0.05) and showed a positive association with clean-up work duration (p-value<0.05). Cox regression analysis revealed that higher urinary t, t-muconic acid levels were associated with an increased risk of depression (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 1.55, 95 % Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.05-2.28), and elevated 1-hydroxypyrene levels increased the risk of PTSD (HR = 1.60, 95 % CI = 1.03-2.48). Additionally, higher urinary 2-naphthol levels were associated with increased state anxiety (HR = 1.39, 95 % CI = 1.00-1.93) and trait anxiety (HR = 1.64, 95 % CI = 1.15-2.32). These associations persisted even after controlling for distance and duration variables related to psychosocial exposure. Our findings suggest that environmental disaster response plans should prioritize minimizing chemical exposure while also considering the duration and nature of the mental health impacts.

Keywords: Hebei Spirit; Long-term effect; Mental health; Oil spill; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Volatile organic compounds.