You step onto the drilling platform at dawn, ready for another shift in the Eagle Ford Shale. The familiar scent of crude oil and diesel fumes fills the air, but today there's something different. You notice a sharp, acrid smell that makes your eyes water and throat burn. By lunch break, your headache is pounding, and you're struggling to catch your breath.
Chemical exposure in Texas oilfields poses serious health risks that can develop over years or strike suddenly during industrial accidents. Our Houston oilfield injury lawyer knows how dangerous chemicals in the oil industry can devastate workers' health and livelihoods. Whether you work in the Permian Basin or Eagle Ford Shale, you deserve protection from hazardous substances and fair compensation when exposure causes illness.
Chemical Threats Texas Oilfield Workers Face
Texas oilfield operations expose workers to toxic chemicals that can cause immediate harm or devastating long-term health problems.
Hydrogen Sulfide Gas
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) ranks among the deadliest gases in Texas oilfield operations. This colorless gas occurs naturally in crude oil and natural gas formations throughout the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. At concentrations above 100 parts per million, H2S causes eye irritation, respiratory problems, and brain damage.
High-level chemical exposure to hydrogen sulfide can cause immediate unconsciousness and death. Survivors may suffer permanent neurological damage, vision problems, and chronic respiratory conditions that persist long after initial exposure.
Imagine that H2S gas escaped from a wellbore during a routine pipe connection. Despite seeking medical attention for immediate breathing problems, a roughneck developed chronic respiratory issues that ended his oilfield career. His employer had failed to provide adequate gas monitoring equipment.
Benzene and Cancer-Causing Chemicals
Benzene, a known carcinogen present in crude oil and produced water, poses serious long-term health risks. Oilfield workers face exposure through skin contact and inhalation during drilling operations, flowback activities, and tank cleaning. Even brief contact can result in absorption through the skin.
A tank cleaner in the Permian Basin might regularly enter storage tanks with inadequate respiratory protection. After three years, they may develop acute myeloid leukemia linked to benzene exposure. In this hypothetical case, their employer may have cut corners on ventilation systems to save money.
Long-term benzene exposure damages bone marrow, leading to decreased white blood cell counts, anemia, and immune system problems. Some studies link benzene exposure to reproductive problems, heightened cancer risk, and birth defects.
Crystalline Silica from Fracking Operations
Hydraulic fracturing operations use massive amounts of silica sand that become airborne. Workers loading sand and maintaining equipment face exposure to respirable crystalline silica particles that cause severe lung disease, including silicosis.
Repeated occupational exposure to silica over many years of employment may not result in obvious symptoms. However, chest X-rays can reveal serious lung damage, explaining shortness of breath during exercise. Severe cases may lead to progressive massive fibrosis (PMF), characterized by extreme scarring and stiffening of the lungs.
Immediate and Long-Term Health Consequences
Chemical exposure causes health problems ranging from immediate respiratory distress to cancer that appears decades later. Many toxic chemicals in the oil industry attack the respiratory system, causing breathing problems that can become life-threatening within hours.
Direct contact with crude oil, drilling fluids, and industrial solvents can cause severe chemical burns requiring skin grafts. Workers may also experience neurological symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, and loss of consciousness, from exposure to toxic chemicals.
Long-term consequences prove even more devastating. Years of chemical exposure in oilfield operations can cause cancer, chronic respiratory diseases like COPD, and organ damage affecting the liver, kidneys, and nervous system. These conditions often don't appear until years or decades after exposure, making them harder to detect and treat.
Your Legal Rights When Chemical Exposure Causes Illness
Texas oilfield workers who develop health problems from chemical exposure have several legal options for seeking compensation and holding negligent employers accountable.
Workers' Compensation Claims
Most Texas employers must carry workers' compensation insurance that provides medical benefits and wage replacement for work-related injuries. Chemical exposure injuries are generally covered, even if symptoms don't appear until years later. Benefits include medical treatment, temporary income replacement, and permanent impairment benefits.
Third-Party Liability Claims
Workers may have claims against companies other than their direct employer when chemical exposure causes injury. Equipment manufacturers, chemical suppliers, and site owners may be liable if their negligence contributed to harmful exposures. Third-party claims can provide full compensation beyond workers' compensation limitations.
Product Liability Claims
Companies that manufacture or supply chemicals used in oilfield operations must warn users about health risks and provide safe products. When they fail to meet these obligations, injured workers may have product liability claims for damages caused by exposure to dangerous chemicals.
Building a Strong Chemical Exposure Case
Successfully proving a chemical exposure claim requires extensive documentation connecting workplace exposure to health problems. Medical records, expert testimony, and workplace exposure evidence form the foundation of strong cases against corporate defendants.
Occupational medicine physicians and toxicologists can review exposure histories to provide opinions about causation. Air monitoring data, safety records, and witness testimony help establish exposure levels and safety violations that led to worker injuries.
At Terry & Thweatt, our Houston toxic exposure lawyer has extensive experience representing oilfield workers who have suffered chemical-related injuries. We understand the unique challenges these cases present and have the resources to take on powerful corporations.