Urinary oxidative stress biomarkers among local residents measured 6years after the Hebei Spirit oil spill.

In December 2007, the Hebei Spirit oil spill occurred on the west coast of South Korea. Association between crude oil exposure and the levels of urinary oxidative stress biomarkers was reported among the local residents, 1.5years after the accident. The aim of this study was to follow-up possible longer-term effects of the oil spill among the residents near the oil spill. Six years after the accident, urinary oxidative stress biomarkers of the residents were associated with surrogates of oil exposure. The target subjects were divided into two groups based on the distance of their residence to the spill site, i.e., those near the spill site ('Near' group, n=476), and those far from the spill ('Far' group, n=152). A questionnaire was administered by trained interviewers or self-reporting, and demographic information and other parameters of the participants, such as socioeconomic status, smoking and drinking behaviors, disease history, and duration of clean-up activities after the spill, were collected. The participants' levels of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in 12 h urine samples were measured as indicators of oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation, respectively. A general linear model was used for statistical analysis. Urinary MDA and 8-OHdG levels measured from 'Near' group, i.e., geometric mean of 2.19μmol/g creatinine, and 5.41μg/g creatinine, respectively, were higher than those of 'Far' group. Especially, urinary 8-OHdG levels in the 'Near' group were significantly higher than those of 'Far' after adjusting relevant covariates. In addition, the duration of clean-up activities showed a significant association with both urinary 8-OHdG and MDA levels. Even 6years after the oil spill, positive associations between oxidative stress biomarkers and surrogates of oil exposure were evident. While the present study design lacks biomarkers of exposure, the results of this study suggest that the consequences of oil pollution may last for years.