1.1 What are fuel oils? |
1.2 What happens to fuel oils when they
enter the environment? |
1.3 How might I be exposed to fuel oils? |
1.4 How can fuel oils enter and leave
my body? |
1.5 How can fuel oils affect my health? |
1.6 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to fuel oils? |
1.7 What recommendations has the federal
government made to protect human health? |
1.8 Where can I get more information? |
References |
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June 1995 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
Fuel Oils |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for fuel oils. It is one in a series of Public
Health Statements about hazardous substances and their health
effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQs™,
is also available. This information is important because this
substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous
substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed,
personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are
present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information
Center at 1-888-422-8737.
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This Statement was prepared to give you
information about fuel oils and to emphasize the human health
effects that may result from exposure to them. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 1,397 sites on its
National Priorities List (NPL). Fuel oils have been
found in 2% (26 out of the 1,397) of the NPL sites.
However, we do not know how many of the 1,397 NPL sites have
been evaluated for fuel oils. As EPA evaluates more
sites, the number of sites at which fuel oils are found may
change. This information is important for you to know
because fuel oils may cause harmful health effects and because
these sites are potential or actual sources of human exposure
to fuel oils.
When a chemical is released from a large
area, such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such
as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment as a chemical
emission. This emission, which is also called a release,
does not always lead to exposure. You can be exposed
to a chemical only when you come into contact with the chemical.
You may be exposed to it in the environment by breathing,
eating, or drinking substances containing the chemical or
from skin contact with it.
If you are exposed to hazardous chemicals
such as fuel oils, several factors will determine whether
harmful health effects will occur and what the type and severity
of those health effects will be. These factors include
the dose (how much), the duration (how long), the route or
pathway by which you are exposed (breathing, eating, drinking,
or skin contact), the other chemicals to which you are exposed,
and your individual characteristics such as age, sex, nutritional
status, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health.
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1.1
What are fuel oils? |
Fuel oils are petroleum products that
are used in many types of engines, lamps, heaters, furnaces,
stoves, and as solvents. Fuel oils come from crude petroleum
and are refined to meet specifications for each use.
Fuel oils are mixtures of aliphatic (open chain and cyclic
compounds that are similar to open chain compounds) and aromatic
(benzene and compounds similar to benzene) petroleum hydrocarbons.
In addition, they may contain small amounts of nitrogen, sulfur,
and other elements as additives. The exact chemical
composition (i.e., precise percentage of each constituent)
of each of the fuel oils discussed in this profile may vary
somewhat, depending on the source and other factors.
Fuel oils are distinguished from each other primarily by their
boiling point ranges, chemical additives, and uses.
In this profile, six fuel oils are discussed. The fuel
oils of interest and common synonyms follow:
fuel oil no. 1 (the most widely used
fuel oil)
- kerosene
- straight-run kerosene
- kerosine
- range oil
- Deobase (the trade name of a clear, white, deodorized
kerosene)
- coal oil
- JP-5 (jet fuel)
fuel oil no. 1-D
- diesel fuel
- diesel fuel oil no. 1
fuel oil no. 2
- home heating oil
- gas oil
- no. 2 burner oil
fuel oil no. 2-D
- diesel fuel oil no. 2
- diesel fuel no. 2
- diesel oil no. 2
- no. 2 diesel
fuel oil no. 4
- diesel fuel oil no. 4
- heavy residual fuel oil
- marine diesel fuel
- residual fuel oil no. 4
fuel oil UNSP (which is not referred
to by any synonyms)
In the toxicological profile, a fuel
oil is referred to by the name used in the cited study.
That is, if one study identifies a fuel oil as fuel oil no.
1, and another study identifies the same fuel oil as kerosene,
the names "fuel oil no. 1" and "kerosene" will be used,
respectively. All fuel oils are liquids at room temperature,
although they can evaporate. The rates at which the
various fuel oils will evaporate is dependent on the temperature
and the composition of the individual fuel oil. Most
fuel oils are yellowish to light brown in color. They
generally have a kerosene-like odor, are flammable, and burn
at temperatures between 177°C and 329°C.
In the profile, fuel oils are discussed
together because of the similarities in their chemical and
physical properties.
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1.2
What happens to fuel oils when they enter the environment? |
Fuel oils are composed of a large number
of different chemicals, and each fuel oil is a slightly different
mixture of these chemicals. Some of these chemicals
evaporate into the air when fuel oils are spilled onto soils
or surface waters (e.g., streams, rivers, lakes, or oceans)
or are stored in open containers. Other chemicals in
the fuel oils dissolve in water following spills to surface
waters or leaks from underground storage tanks. Some
of the chemical constituents of fuel oils may slowly move
down through the soil to the groundwater. Another group
of chemicals in fuel oils can attach to particles in the soil
or water and, in water, may sink down into the sediment.
The chemicals that evaporate may break down in air by reacting
with sunlight, e.g., photooxidation, or other chemicals in
the air. The chemicals that dissolve in water may also
be broken down by organisms (primarily bacteria and fungi)
in the soil or water. However, this may take up to a
year to occur, if ever, depending on the environmental conditions.
Chemicals that attach to soil or other matter (e.g., marsh
sediment) may remain in the environment for more than a decade.
Benzene, toluene, and fuel oilsylenes (single-ring aromatic
compounds), as well as polycyclic aromatic compounds, are
the fuel oil components about which we have the greatest amount
of information. You can find this information in the
ATSDR toxicological profiles for these specific chemicals.
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1.3
How might I be exposed to fuel oils? |
The most likely way for you to be exposed
to fuel oils in the home is if you use a kerosene heater.
If you handle fuel oils or use a fuel oil to clean equipment
at your job, or if fuel oils are stored at your workplace,
you may also be exposed to them through contact with the skin
or in the air. Some workers may be exposed to fuel oils
through their skin if they come into contact with them without
adequate protection, such as gloves, boots, coveralls, or
other protective clothing. There are no data on background
levels of fuel oils that may be found in the environment or
workplace.
You may also be exposed to fuel oils
if you swim in waters where fuel oils have been spilled.
If fuel oils have leaked from underground storage tanks and
entered underground water, you may drink contaminated water
from a well containing fuel oils. The vapor (the gas
phase) of fuel oils can also move through the soil and enter
basements of homes or buildings near areas where leaks have
occurred. Children may also be exposed by playing in
soil contaminated with fuel oils. A major pathway of
exposure is washing one's hands with fuel oils to remove paint,
grease, etc.
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1.4
How can fuel oils enter and leave my body? |
Fuel oils can enter and leave your body
when you breathe them in the air, when you drink water or
eat food containing them, and when your skin comes into contact
with them. This can occur in the workplace or if you
live near an area where fuel oils have been dumped or spilled.
We do not know how much of a fuel oil might be taken up by
your body if you inhale fuel oil vapor, drink contaminated
water, or come in contact with fuel oils. We have no
information on what happens to fuel oils once they enter your
body. Kerosene has been found in small amounts in the
brain, lung, liver, spleen, and kidney of exposed animals.
We do not know if fuel oils are broken down and leave the
body in the urine or the feces.
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1.5
How can fuel oils affect my health? |
We know very little of the human health
effects caused by fuel oils. Daily use of a kerosene
stove for cooking should not cause any breathing problems
for most people. People who use kerosene stoves to cook
do not have more colds than people who have other types of
stoves. Breathing moderate amounts of deodorized kerosene
(fuel oil no. 1) has been shown to slightly affect the ability
to smell and to cause a taste sensation. Numerous case-studies
have reported accidental poisoning in children as the result
of drinking kerosene. These accidents are probably much
more frequent in areas where kerosene is commonly used for
cooking and heating. Drinking kerosene may cause vomiting,
diarrhea, swelling of the stomach, stomach cramps, coughing,
drowsiness, restlessness, irritability, and unconsciousness;
also, it may be difficult to breathe, and breathing may be
painful. Coughing, pneumonia, and difficult or painful
breathing after drinking kerosene suggest that kerosene has
entered the lungs. In addition, drinking large amounts
of kerosene can put you into a coma, cause convulsions, and
may even cause death. When kerosene gets on your skin
for short periods, it can make your skin itchy, red, and sore;
sometimes blisters may occur and your skin may peel.
Breathing fuel oil no. 1 vapor for periods
as short as 1 hour may make you feel nauseous, increase your
blood pressure, be irritating to your eyes, or make your eyes
bloodshot. Breathing kerosene or JP-5 vapors can also
affect your nervous system. Some of the effects that
have been noted in case studies include headache, light-headedness,
anorexia (loss of appetite), poor coordination, and difficulty
concentrating. Breathing diesel fuel vapors for a long
time may damage your kidneys, increase your blood pressure,
or lower your blood's ability to clot. Constant skin
contact (for example, washing) with diesel fuel may also damage
your kidneys.
It appears that repeated contact with
fuel oils can cause skin cancer in mice and may cause liver
cancer in mice. However, there is some conflicting information.
Further, the fuel oils were tested only on mice. We
do not know if fuel oils can cause cancer in humans.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has
determined that residual (heavy) fuel oils and marine diesel
fuel are possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B classification).
In addition, IARC considers that there is not enough information
(Group 3 classification) available to determine if distillate
(light) fuel oils or distillate (light) diesel fuels cause
cancer. They have also determined that occupational
exposures to fuel oils during petroleum refining are probably
carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A classification). We
do not know if fuel oils can cause birth defects or if they
affect reproduction.
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1.6
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to fuel oils? |
There is no medical test that shows if
you have been exposed to fuel oils. There are methods
to determine if your blood contains some fuel oil components
such as benzene, toluene, and fuel oilsylenes; however, the
concentrations of these compounds in distilled fuels are so
low that if they were detected in your blood, it might not
indicate specific or exclusive exposure to fuel oils.
For information on tests for measuring exposure to some individual
components of fuel oils, see the ATSDR toxicological profiles
on benzene, toluene, total fuel oilsylenes, and polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The government has developed regulations
and guidelines for fuel oils and some of the chemicals in
them. These are designed to protect the public from
the possible harmful health effects of these chemicals.
The Department of Transportation also regulates the transportation
of fuel oils, because they are classified as hazardous materials
that are considered to pose a risk to health, safety, or property
when transported.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) and the Air Force Office of Safety and Health (AFOSH)
regulate levels of petroleum products in the private sector
and Air Force workplaces, respectively. The maximum
allowable amount of petroleum products in the workroom air
during an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek, is 400 parts of
petroleum distillates (naphtha) per million parts of air,
or more simply stated, 400 ppm.
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1.8 Where can I get more information? |
If you have any more questions or concerns, please contact
your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Information line and technical assistance:
Phone: 888-422-8737
FAX: (770)-488-4178
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health
clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses
resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.
To order toxicological profiles, contact:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Phone: 800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000
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References |
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). 1995. Toxicological
profile for fuel oils. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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