Heating Oil Exposure Effects, Exposure Limits, Health Hazards InspectAPedia® -
Hazard list for exposure to No. 2 home heating oil
Heating oil exposure limits for liquid or airborne contact
Oil tank smells & odors, sources of heating oil odors in or at buildings
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This document explains the common reasons for oil tank leaks in or from home heating oil storage tanks. Both underground tank leaks and above ground storage
tank leak causes are discussed. Oil tank leaks are caused by corrosion, mechanical damage, soil conditions, other factors which are explained here.
See OIL TANK LEAK ADVICE for our detailed advice on handling leaky oil tanks as well as links to oil tank leak regulations for U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Readers should also see BOILER NOISE SMOKE ODORS for a discussion of flue gas leaks, smells, and hazards from the combustion products of oil burning heating appliances.
OSHA's position and that of other expert sources such as the ATSDR is that modest typical residential exposure to heating oil fumes is a nuisance that may not pose a hazard to a healthy individual.
Our field investigation experience as well as a review heating oil MSDS [Material Data Safety Sheet] and oil spill guidelines from several sources provide anecdotal and other evidence that the elderly, infants, or people who are in fragile health, as well as people who suffer from multiple chemical sensitivity, allergies, asthma, and some other respiratory conditions may experience more serious symptoms including asthma attacks and other complaints.
How can exposure to fuel oils such as kerosene or home heating oil 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 addi
tion, 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."
MSDS [Material Safety Data Sheet] information for No. 2 Home Heating Oil
Here we summarize the basic information provided on MSDS sheets (material data safety sheets) for home heating oil. This information is a condensation of the full MSDS information on heating oil - readers should be sure to review the full home heating oil MSDS. A typical No. 2 home heating oil MSDS document includes the hazard identification information for home heating oil that we list below. The same document provides information about toxicity levels - the exposure necessary for serious medical effects to be at risk or to actually occur.
Eye contact with heating oil: Contact with eyes may cause mild irritation. Flush with clean water for at least 15 minutes.
Skin contact with heating oil: Practically non-toxic following a single acute exposure; may cause skin irritation with prolonged or repeated contact; liquid may be absorbed through the skin in toxic amounts if large areas of skin are repeatedly exposed. Remove contaminated clothing, wash with soap and water or waterless hand cleaner; seek medical attention of skin redness develops.
Inhalation of heating oil [presumably refers to liquid inhalation?]: excessive exposure may cause irritation of the nose, throat, lungs, and respiratory tract. Central nervous system (brain) effects may include headache, dizziness, loss of balance and coordination, unconsciousness, coma, respiratory failure, and death.
MOVE TO FRESH AIR - provide artificial respiration (CPR) if necessary - seek immediate medical help.
Ingestion of heating oil: major threat occurs from vomiting and breathing liquid drops into the lungs; aspiration [presumably of liquid heating oil drops] can lead to chemical pneumonia (fluid in the lungs), severe lung damage, respiratory failure, or death.
DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING - seek immediate medical help.
Ingestion of heating oil may also cause gastrointestinal disturbances, irritation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, central nervous system (brain) effects similar to alcohol intoxication, and in severe cases of heating oil ingestion, effects may lead to tremors, convulsions, loss of consciousness, coma, respiratory arrest, and death.
Flue gases produced by burning heating oil in an area without adequate ventilation [presumably also where a chimney is not venting properly] may result in hazardous levels of combustion products, including carbon monoxide, and inadequate oxygen levels that can cause unconsciousness, suffocation, and death.
Carcinogenicity of heating oil: [cancer risk from home heating oil exposure]: similar products have caused skin cancer and systemic toxicity in laboratory animals following repeated applications. The significance of these results to human exposure has not been determined.
Exposure Limits for No. 2 Home Heating Oil
Exposure Limits for Heating Oil - Petroleum Distillates in Air
As you may read at Regulations and Advisories Pertaining to Fuel Oil (ATSDR data), the permissible exposure limit (PEL) time weighted average exposure (TWA) for petroleum distillates (focused on naptha), range from a 1992 NIOSH guideline of 85 ppm (350 mg/M3) to IDLH's standard of 10,000 ppm. A typical PEL is 400 to 500 ppm.
The following workplace exposure limit for heating oil is quoted from ATSDR.
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.
An acute inhalation MRL [Minimum Risk Level] of 0.02 mg/M3 was derived for No. 2 heating oil (fuel oil), based on a LOAEL [Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level] value of 65 mg/m3 for neurobehavioral effects (mild transient ataxia and CNS [Central Nervous System] depression) in mice exposed to airborne concentrations of No. 2 fuel oil.
Exposure Limits for Heating Oil or other Petroleum Distillates in Water
US EPA specifies that the domestic water supply (for drinking or bathing) must be essentially free from oil and grease, particularly from the tastes and odors that emanate from petroleum products. The U.S. national clean water act designates oil and grease as conventional pollutants. U.S. state and some Canadian provincial regulations pertaining to heating oil can be found both in the table cited above and at this website in detail at OIL TANK REGULATIONS
Carcinogenicity of Heating Oil - Cancer Risk
The IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) has addressed the carcinogenic (cancer causing) classification of petroleum products for occupational exposures such as in petroleum refining and in handling of vehicle, marine and aviation fuels. (IARC 1989 Groups 2A - 2B, and 3). In the IARC/World Health Organization monograph "Occupational Exposures in Petroleum Refining", the researchers concluded that "Residual (heavy) fuel oils are possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). - and included these more detailed remarks:
There is inadequate evidence for the carcinogenicity in humans of fuel oils.
There is sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity in experimental animals of residual (heavy) fuel oils.
There is limited evidence for the carcinogenicity in experimental animals of fuel oil No. 2.
In formulating the overall evaluation, the Working Group also took note of the following supporting evidence
reported in the monograph on occupational exposures in petroleum refining. There is sufficient evidence for
the carcinogenicity in experimental animals of light and heavy catalytically cracked distillates, of light and
heavy vacuum distillates and of cracked residues derived from the refining of crude
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"Toxicological profile for fuel oils", U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Atlanta, GA 1995. - http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp75.html
Public Health Statement for Fuel Oils, ATSDR, (the full document original source can be found at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs75.html). An excerpt from this document is just below. ATSDR,
Division of Toxicology,
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32,
Atlanta, GA 30333 888-422-8737.
"Home Heating Oil Spills", Wisconsin Department of Health, at http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/eh/Air/fs/Oilspill.htm
Occupational Exposures in Petroleum Refining; Crude Oil and Major Petroleum Fuels, IARC - World Health Organization, 1/21/1998. This monograph is available at http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol45/volume45.pdf and it includes a chapter
FUEL OILS (HEATING OILS) Residual (heavy) fuel oils (Group 2B) and Distillate (light) fuel oils (Group 3) that describes heating oil exposure data, concluding "Residual (heavy) fuel oils are possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B)." To search the IARC monographs on various environmental concerns and carcinogens, use http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/PDFs/index.php
MRL - Minimum risk level: this is an estimate of the level of daily human exposure to a substance such that the exposure is probably not an appreciable risk for adverse effects (noncancer) over a specified exposure time period.
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