Before reading the list below, see how many effects of oil on animals you can think of! These are the things to be watching for when performing a physical examination at intake, and while providing care for oiled sea otters.
Skin/ fur:
- Inability to thermoregulate (animal easily gets too cold or too hot)
- Matted coat and chemically- and physically-impaired hair quality
- Compromised buoyancy (especially important for sea otter pups)
- Skin burns, ulcers, necrosis (tissue death)
- Skin rash/ sensitization
- Secondary bacterial or fungal infections
General/ animal physiology and metabolism:
- Markedly elevated metabolic rate/ nutritional requirments
- Systemic toxicity of ingested oil
- Dehydration
- Severe nutritional stress and rapid weight loss
- Severe social stress and abrupt territorial shifts/ Fight-associated trauma
- Decreased availability of non-contaminated prey/ Forced, rapid prey shifts
- Adapting to new and unfamiliar food items while hospitalized
- Disrupted feeding patterns and diurnal cycles
- Rapid mobilization of persistent organic pollutant burdens in adipose stores
- Reactions to medications administered during care
- Physiological stress of adaptation to freshwater pool system for immediate post-wash recovery
Eyes:
- Corneal burns, ulcers or scratches/Corneal perforation or rupture/ Blindness/ Secondary infections
Respiratory system:
- Obstruction of the nose or airways by petroleum compounds (asphyxiation)
- Tissue burns/ chemical damage, leading to chemical pneumonia
- Collapse of lung tissue (atelectasis)/ Impaired breathing
- Air trapping in lung tissue (emphysema), formation of large air pockets in the lung (bullae)
- Rupture of lung air pockets into the chest cavity (pneumothorax), leading to problems with breathing (dyspnea)
- Reduced gas exchange with increased blood CO2 (hypercapnea) and decreased O2 (hypoxia)
- Secondary bacterial, fungal or viral infections
Cardiovascular system:
- Direct toxicity of absorbed compounds to cardiac muscle and blood vessel lining cells
- Acute decompensation of pre-existing cardiac disease (cardiomyopathy)
Gastrointestinal/ hepatic:
- Acute, severe anorexia
- Oral, esophageal, gastric or intestinal ulcers (primary or due to stress/ infection)
- Gastroenteritis and diarrhea/ Intestinal malabsorbtion
- Death of cells lining the GI tract (mucosal necrosis)
- Loss of appetite (anorexia)/ Gastrointestinal bleeding (primary or due to stress)
- Secondary bacterial, fungal or viral infections
Liver/ Pancreas:
- Hepatotoxicity/ hepatic necrosis
- Decreased production of critical liver proteins (albumen, clotting factors, etc.)
- Abnormal bleeding or clotting
- Pancreatitis/ pancreatic necrosis
Kidney:
- Nephrotoxicity/ Renal tubular necrosis/ Renal failure due to dehydration and muscle damage
- Possible kidney cancer (In humans following sustained gasoline exposure)
Reproductive system:
- Decreased sperm counts / Decreased fertility
- Early embryonic death/ Fetal malformation/ Abortion
- Decreased ability to provide adequate maternal care
Nervous system:
- Neurotoxicity (especially the more volatile fractions: Benzene, toluene, xylene)
- n-hexane exposure in humans: Numbness of feet and legs or paralysis (peripheral neuropathy)
- Brain tumors (Humans with sustained petroleum exposure)
Endocrine system:
- Adrenal gland: Cortical hypertrophy or necrosis/ Adrenal insufficiency
- Thyroid gland: Linked with thyroid cancer (human petroleum workers)
Blood and bone marrow:
- Anemia (Aplastic anemia in humans following sustained benzene exposure)
- Bone marrow cancer (In humans, especially following sustained benzene exposure)
Immune system:
- Immune cell lysis (lymph nodes, thymus, spleen, GALT): Sustained stress and toxic petroleum compounds
- Gastrointestinal tract colonization by opportunistic / antibiotic-resistant bacteria (especially if on antibiotics)
- Enhanced disease susceptibility/ Worsening of pre-existing disease
- Enhanced severity of infection by opportunistic pathogens (eg bacteria, parasites and viruses)
- Reactivation/ recrudescence of chronic pathogens (eg herpesviruses and Toxoplasma)
- Opportunistic infection of petroleum-induced lesions/ Increased fecal shedding of opportunistic bacteria
- Enhanced potential for pathogen transfer between animals, and between animals and humans
Musculoskeletal system:
- Struggling/ muscle damage (exertional myopathy)
- Trauma/ decreased ability to avoid hazards
- Significant risk of opportunistic bacterial infection (eg Strep phocae) if breaks in the skin
Chronic/ postexposure effects:
- Damage to DNA or mitochondria
- Many petroleum compounds act as tumor promoters (In humans: leukemia, thyroid, pancreas, bone and connective tissue tumors)
- Chronic damage to the eyes, skin, cardiac or respiratory reproductive, immune and endocrine systems