Oil Spill's Harm to Pregnant Women Unknown

By Diane Loupe

WeNews correspondent

Friday, July 23, 2010

Pregnant women along the Gulf Coast say they're staying out of the water. The CDC says some toxins associated with BP's multi-million-gallon oil leak may be harmful to pregnant women under some conditions.

Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon, April 21, 2010. (WOMENSENEWS)--Ashley Hoffman is pregnant, lives in Alabama and loves visiting the beach.

But this summer the hundreds of millions of gallons of crude oil that have spewed into the Gulf of Mexico from the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20 are keeping her and other pregnant women out of the ocean.

"If the beach looks clean, smells clean, I might walk on it," said Hoffman, who is 24-weeks pregnant. Women's eNews found Hoffman and other pregnant women through Gulf Coast La Leche League chapters. "But other than that we'll be sticking to the pool."

The same goes for her 21-month-old daughter. "If she walks on the beach, she will have shoes on or be held by an adult," said Hoffman, who lives in Atmore, a town in southern Alabama.

For Jessica Tuggle of Tuscaloosa, Ala., who is in her first trimester, the big issue is the chemical dispersants being used by BP workers to break up leaking oil. More than 1.8 million gallons of dispersants have been used on the Gulf surface and underwater, according to federal officials monitoring the spill.

"The dispersants make me nervous," said Tuggle. "I've heard some people have had allergic reactions." She won't let her toddler go into the water.

Use of chemical dispersants, which break up surface oil and send oil droplets into the water column, remains controversial. While the dispersants keep surface oil out of marshes, the oil remains in the environment and can affect humans and marine animals. The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, known as the CDC, says it's "unlikely visitors and people living in coastal areas will come in contact with dispersants."

Dispersants Impact Health

However, those handling dispersants could experience dry skin, respiratory or eye irritation or chemical pneumonitis if aspirated into the lungs. Excessive and repeated exposure to one chemical--2-butoxyethanol--has even worse side effects, according to the CDC.

"I wouldn't even eat Gulf shrimp right now, which is really sad, because I really like shrimp," said Tuggle. "I'll go to the beach, but I won't get in the water."

She hasn't discussed the situation with her doctor; she's relying "on my own instincts."

On July 19, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, reported low levels of "odor-causing pollutants associated with oil" on the Gulf shore.

Some people with sensitive noses "may be able to smell several of these chemicals at levels well below those that would cause short-term health problems," the EPA said.

The CDC noted on its Web site that pregnant women may be affected by the strong smell and advised them to "stay indoors, set your air conditioner to reuse indoor air and avoid physical activities that put extra demand on your lungs and heart."

A special respirator, N95 with an odor control feature, may help relieve nausea, although it is not needed for safety, the CDC says.

The agency also says the oil may contain chemicals that could cause harm to a fetus under some conditions.

Upon reviewing sampling data from the EPA, the CDC says it found levels of dangerous chemicals well below what could generally cause harm to pregnant women or their fetuses.

The CDC says the effects of petroleum hydrocarbons, which oil contains, on pregnant women depend on an array of factors, such as how the mother came into contact with the oil, how long she was in contact with it, how often she came into contact with it and the overall health of the mother and the fetus.