The GuLF STUDY: A Prospective Study of Persons Involved in the Oil Spill Response and Clean-Up.

Background: The 2010 disaster led to the largest ever marine oil spill. Individuals who worked on the spill were exposed to toxicants and stressors that could lead to adverse effects.

Objectives: The GuLF STUDY was designed to investigate relationships between oil spill exposures and multiple potential physical and mental health effects.

Methods: Participants were recruited by telephone from lists of individuals who worked on the oil spill response and clean-up or received safety training. Enrollment interviews between 2011 and 2013 collected information about spill-related activities, demographics, lifestyle, and health. Exposure measurements taken during the oil spill were used with questionnaire responses to characterize oil exposures of participants. Participants from Gulf states completed a home visit in which biological and environmental samples, anthropometric and clinical measurements, and additional health and lifestyle information were collected. Participants are being followed for changes in health status.

Results: Thirty-two thousand six hundred eight individuals enrolled in the cohort, and 11,193 completed a home visit. Most were young (56.2% ≤ 45 years of age), male (80.8%), lived in a Gulf state (82.3%), and worked at least 1 day on the oil spill (76.5%). Workers were involved in response (18.0%), support operations (17.5%), clean-up on water (17.4%) or land (14.6%), decontamination (14.3%), and administrative support (18.3%). Using an ordinal job exposure matrix, 45% had maximum daily total hydrocarbon exposure levels ≥ 1.0 ppm.

Conclusions: The GuLF STUDY provides a unique opportunity to study potential adverse health effects from the oil spill.