In Toxicity of Crude Oil and It’s Vapors environmental toxicology expert witness Dr. Richard Parent writes:
Some of the immediate symptoms resulting from exposure to crude oil would include difficulty breathing, nausea, headaches, dizziness in relatively healthy people, but those with conditions such as COPD, allergies, and asthma would be affected even more and their health problems significantly exacerbated. Effects presenting at a later time could result in long-term effects on the respiratory, immune, nervous, and reproductive systems and may even result in birth defects and cancers. Endocrine disruption, DNA damage, damage to the developing fetus, blood disorders, and mutations have all been shown to result from exposure to the components of crude oil.
In conclusion, crude oil is a highly toxic mixture of carcinogens, neurotoxins, respiratory irritants, hepatotoxins, nephrotoxins, and mutagens. Its toxic effects can be both acute and chronic resulting in a number of immediate symptoms and significant long-term effects including reproductive problems and cancer. Exposure to crude can be through the air as a result of volatilization of some of its components, through direct contact by dermal penetration, and orally through the ingestion of contaminated food.
Read more: consultox.com.