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Crude Oil
en español
Crude oil is an oily liquid found in underground reservoirs that is extracted and used to make fuel and other petroleum products.
What is crude oil?

Crude oil is a dark yellow-to-black oily liquid that is usually found in natural underground reservoirs. It was formed when the remains of animals and plants from millions of years ago were covered by layers of sand. Heat and pressure from these layers turned the remains into crude oil. This process is why crude oil is called a fossil fuel. Crude oil is extracted and used to make fuel and other petroleum products.
Crude oil is a mixture of a wide variety of constituents. It consists primarily of hydrocarbons, which are chemicals composed of hydrogen and carbon. Crude oil also contains hundreds of substances that include benzene, chromium, iron, mercury, nickel, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, toluene, and xylene. Total petroleum hydrocarbons is a term used to describe the several hundred chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil.
There are four types of crude oil:

Class A: Light, Volatile Oils: These oils are highly fluid and highly toxic to humans, and include jet fuel and gasoline.

Class B: Non-Sticky Oils: These oils are waxy and less toxic to humans, and include diesel fuel and light crude oil.

Class C: Heavy, Sticky Oils: These oils are brown or black and sticky or tarry, and include most crude oils. Their toxicity is low, but if spilled, their impacts on waterfowl and wildlife can be severe.

Class D: Non-Fluid Oils: These oils are non-toxic and include heavy crude oils. They are difficult to clean up, and if spilled, their impacts on waterfowl and wildlife can be severe.
Crude oil is refined to produce gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, residential fuel oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gases such as propane and other sources of energy to produce heat or electric power. It is also used to make lubricants, waxes, ink, crayons, eyeglasses, tires, CDs and DVDs, ammonia, dishwashing liquid, and some health and personal care products. The United States is the third top crude oil-producing country, after Russia and Saudi Arabia.
How might I be exposed to crude oil?
You can be exposed to crude oil if you live near an oil refinery or if there is an oil spill or leak nearby. You can be exposed if you eat contaminated seafood. Most exposure to crude oil is through total petroleum hydrocarbons and crude oil byproducts such as gasoline, oil products, heating sources, or consumer products. Everyone is exposed to total petroleum hydrocarbons from many sources.
You may be exposed to crude oil from an oil spill through tarballs at a beach or shoreline. Winds and waves can tear patches of spilled oil into smaller pieces called tarballs. Tarballs are small pieces of oil that are remnants of oil spills and can stick to rocks, sand, or marine animals. Oil contaminants may stick to the fur of pets, who can transfer the contamination to people.
You can be exposed to crude oil if you work in an oil refinery, on an oil drilling rig, or on an offshore oil facility. Exposure at work can occur through contact with the skin, ingestion, or breathing crude oil liquid, drops, or fumes.
How can crude oil affect my health?
Exposure to crude oil may irritate the eyes, skin, and respiratory system. It may cause dizziness, rapid heart rate, headaches, confusion, and anemia. Prolonged skin contact with crude oil may cause skin reddening, edema, and burning of the skin.
When crude oil is burned, either accidentally or as a spill control measure, it emits chemicals that affect human health. These chemicals include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide , and volatile organic compounds.
If you are exposed to burning crude oil, you may be exposed to high levels of particulate matter and may experience the health effects of particulate matter. Exposure to burning crude oil may harm the passages of the nose, airways, and lungs. It may cause shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, coughing, itching, red or watery eyes, and black mucous.
Handling tarballs may cause an allergic skin reaction or skin rashes.
If you think your health has been affected by exposure to crude oil, contact your health care professional.
For poisoning emergencies or questions about possible poisons, contact your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.

Web Links from MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine)
Hazardous Waste

More Links
Crude Oil Spills and Health (National Library of Medicine)
Oil (Petroleum) Basics (Dept. of Energy)
Oil: Crude and Petroleum Products Explained (Dept. of Energy)
Tarballs (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) PDF Icon
Training Marine Oil Spill Response Workers Under OSHA's Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
Locations where Crude Oil may be found
City
City
Farm
Farm
Town
Town
U.S.-Mexico Border
U.S.-Mexico Border
Port
Port
BrownfieldChemical Storage TankIllegal Dumps and Tire PilesBeach
Chemical Storage Tank
Coastal Brownfield
Fuel Pipelines
Marina and Boats
Shellfishing
Shipping
Shipyard




Natural Gas
en español
Safe use of natural gas for cooking and heating is not harmful.
What is natural gas?

Natural gas is a fossil fuel, as are coal and oil. Fossil fuels formed when layers of buried plants and animals were exposed to heat and pressure over thousands of years. The original energy of the plants and animals is stored as carbon in natural gas. 



Natural gas from the United States is primarily composed of methane, which is a highly flammable chemical compound. Natural gas is colorless and odorless in its pure form, but gas companies add a warning smell to it that can be easily detected if it is leaking.



Natural gas can be burned to produce electricity from power plants, and has residential, industrial, and commercial uses.



At home, natural gas is used in heating furnaces, water heaters, space heaters, pool and jacuzzi heaters, fireplaces, outdoor lights, clothes dryers, air conditioners, and stoves.



Industrial uses of natural gas are primarily in a few industries, including pulp and paper, metals, chemicals, petroleum refining, stone, clay, glass, plastic, and food processing. Natural gas is also used for waste treatment and incineration, industrial lighting, heating, cooling, dehumidification, glass melting, water heating, and combined heat and power systems. It is a component of methanol, which in turn is used to produce formaldehyde and MTBE, a gasoline additive.



Natural gas is used commercially in places such as hotels, office buildings, restaurants, and government buildings for space heating, water heating, cooling, cooking, and powering generators.



Natural gas is used for fuel in vehicles, including airport shuttles, school buses, taxies, and transit buses.
How might I be exposed to natural gas?
You can be exposed to natural gas at home if you use natural gas in your heating furnace, stove, water heater, or clothes dryer. You can be exposed if you use appliances or lighting that runs on natural gas.



You can be exposed to natural gas at work if you work in a natural gas-fired electric power plant, a waste treatment or incineration plant, a restaurant with natural gas stoves, a glass melting facility, or combined heat and power plant. You can be exposed if you work in industries that involve pulp and paper, metals, chemicals, petroleum refining, stone, clay, glass, plastic, and food processing.



You can be exposed if you work in a restaurant, building, or facility that uses natural gas for space heating, water heating, cooling, cooking, and powering generators. You may also be exposed if you work at a gas station or vehicle service station, or if you drive or service a vehicle that is fueled by natural gas.
How can natural gas affect my health?
Exposure to extremely high levels of natural gas can cause loss of consciousness or even death.



If a natural gas leak has occurred and is severe, oxygen can be reduced, causing dizziness, fatigue, nausea, headache, and irregular breathing.



Exposure to low levels of natural gas is not harmful to your health.



When natural gas is burned to produce electricity, it produces nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and methane, which can affect your health.



If you think your health has been affected by exposure to natural gas, contact your health care professional.



For poisoning emergencies or questions about possible poisons please contact your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.







Chemicalsen español
Tox Town provides information in non-technical language on many well-known chemicals found in everyday locations. Chemical information is provided from the TOXNET and MedlinePlus resources of the National Library of Medicine, as well as other authoritative sources.

There are two versions of each neighborhood. Click on one of the neighborhoods pictured on the right -> to go to the graphic version of each neighborhood. Or click on the neighborhood name in the list on the left <- for a text version. The graphic version includes sounds, animation, and other special features. The content is identical for both versions. For chemical information, click on one of the neighborhoods pictured on the right -> to go to the graphic version of each neighborhood. Then click on the 'All Chemicals' button for a list of over 30 chemicals. Or click on the left <- for a text version list. Click on a chemical, like Arsenic or Carbon Monoxide, to see where it might be found in a neighborhood. There is a description for each chemical and links to basic information about how a chemical might affect one's health. For more on Tox Town chemicals:
Last updated: February 25, 2009


Last Updated: May 17, 2010
ABOVE INFORMATION FROM US NIH. GO DIRECTLY TO NIH PAGE

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Benzene (C6H6) is the first member of a series of aromatic hydrocarbons recovered from refinery streams during catalytic reformation and other petroleum processes. It is a clear, colorless, highly flammable liquid at room temperature. Its vapor is heavier than air and can travel to a source of ignition and flash back. It has a pleasant, aromatic odor detectable at concentrations of 1.5 to 4.7 parts per million (ppm). (The workplace permissible exposure level [PEL] is 1 ppm