Cancer patterns in the oil shale area of the Estonian S.S.R.

Levels of benzo(a)pyrene in oil shale industry wastes, some bodies of water in the Estonian S.S.R. and in water organisms.

Data on the content of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) in oil shale industry wastewater, the effectiveness of various effluent treatment processes (evaporation, extraction with butyl acetate, trickling filters, aeration tanks) in reducing the level of BP in oil shale wastewater, the level of BP in various bodies of water of Estonia, and in fish and other water organisms are reviewed. The quantitative deter...

Morphological investigations of fibrogenic action of Estonian oil shale dust.

A review of morphological investigations carried out to clarify the pathogenicity of industrial dust produced in the mining and processing of Estonian oil shale is given. Histological examination of lungs of workers in the oil shale industry taken at necropsies showed that the inhalation of oil shale dust over a long period (more than 20 years) may cause the development of occupational pneumoco...

Carcinogenicity studies of Estonian oil shale soots.

Several series of chronic experiments in white mice and white rats were carried out in order to determine the carcinogenicity of Estonian oil shale soot as well as the soot from oil shale fuel oil. All the investigated samples of soot showed a relatively low (from 14 to 1200 ppm) benzo(a)pyrene content. The benzene extract of oil shale soot, painted on the skin of white mice, proved to be stron...

Environmental Hazard of the Waste Streams of Estonian Oil Shale Industry: an Ecotoxicological Review

In Estonia there is the largest industrially-used oil-shale basin in the world. This review addresses the environmental hazard of the waste streams of oilshale industry via solid wasteand water-path, mainly focusing on ecotoxicological risk due to open semicoke deposition inducing hazard to surrounding soils and groundwater. This is the first comprehensive ecotoxicological review of available d...

A study on the EU oil shale industry – viewed in the light of the Estonian experience