506 Oil, Illness, and Human Rights
Oil Causes Serious Health Problems
As with other toxic chemicals, health problems from oil may be difficult to
prove because they take a long time to affect people. But most people who live
and work near oil drilling sites and refineries are familiar with the pollution
of air and water from oil. Drilling for oil, refining it, and burning oil as fuel
all lead to many serious health problems, such as the ones listed below and
those discussed in more detail on the pages that follow:
• blurred vision and other eye
problems
• headaches, hallucinations,
euphoria (sudden feelings of
happiness), tiredness, slurred
speech, brain damage, coma
• convulsions and unusual deaths
• nose sores and nose bleeds
• ear infections
• asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and
other respiratory diseases
• lung and throat infections and
cancers
• increased risk of TB (tuberculosis)
• heart attacks
• digestive problems, including
vomiting, ulcers, and stomach
cancer
• damage to liver, kidneys, and bone
marrow
• menstrual problems, miscarriages,
stillbirths, and birth defects
• skin rashes, fungus, and cancers
In some places, people sniff petrol (gasoline) fumes for drug-like effects.
This is very dangerous. For some people, breathing in gasoline deeply,
even once, can cause sudden death.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012