Effects of Fog Oil Smoke on Immune Responses in the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In response to questions about the effects of military use of fog oil (FO) obscurant smoke, the sensitivity of cell-mediated constituents of the immune system to FO smoke was tested using an avianpox challenge in red-winged blackbirds. Although immunosuppression has been observed in seabirds that have ingested petrochemicals, the immune response in blackbirds exposed to airborne FO was not compromised. The incidence and severity of disease was somewhat less and recovery more advanced in the FO-exposed blackbirds than in controls. Circulating antibody titers to sheep red blood cells were measured in house sparrows by hemagglutination titration. No differences in total, 2-mercaptoethanol-sensitive, or 2-mercaptoethanol-resistant antibody titers were observed, suggesting that humoral immunity is also unaffected by high field-typical FO exposure. Total and differential white blood cell counts were not depressed and spleen mass and structure were not affected in any of the birds exposed to the airborne FO, further indicating that the smoke did not compromise the nonspecific immune function of the birds. No FO-induced mortality, organ pathology, or end point metabolites were observed in either passerine species. These data indicate that the use of FO at normal field concentrations is unlikely to result in decreased immunological fitness of exposed birds. DISCLAIMER:The contents of this report are not to be used for advertising, publication, or promotional purposes. Citation of trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use of such commercial products. All product names and trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners. The findings of this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized documents.

Profiles for High-Priority Species. Focus of the Army Threatened and Endangered Species Research Program

“…Most normal Army (or other service) field training does not appear to have significant adverse effects on the birds. Recent studies by ERDC-CERL appear to show that weapons firing, field maneuvers, and use of fog-oil obscurant smoke have no appreciable effect on the RCW (Driver et al 2003(Driver et al , 2004(Driver et al , 2005.…”

Ecological Risk Assessment of the Effects of Military Fog Oil Obscurant Smoke on the Red-cockaded Woodpecker

“…In lab mammals, oil aerosols are known to have only moderate and largely reversible respiratory effects, such as the development of oil-filled macrophages (Shoshkes et al 1950). Similarly, no data on the effects and impacts of inhaled fog oil aerosols are available for any avian species prior to the recent Army-sponsored research (Driver et al 2002a(Driver et al , 2002b(Driver et al , 2004.…”

“…Although the whitish-colored clouds emitted from the generators have the appearance of and are commonly called "smoke," they are more accurately defined as "fog," as they are composed of small liquid droplets not unlike water droplets in commonly recognized atmospheric fog. The chemical composition of fog oil smoke is similar but not necessarily identical to that of fog oil (Driver et al 1993(Driver et al , 2002a(Driver et al , 2002b(Driver et al , 2004. While fog oil and its derivatives as used in military training appear to pose only a minimal risk of negative health effects in humans, their impacts and effects on wildlife were largely unidentified (Driver et al 1993, National Research Council [NRC] 1997), prior to a recent series of Army-sponsored studies (Driver et al 2002a(Driver et al , 2002b(Driver et al , 2004.…”

“…The chemical composition of fog oil smoke is similar but not necessarily identical to that of fog oil (Driver et al 1993(Driver et al , 2002a(Driver et al , 2002b(Driver et al , 2004. While fog oil and its derivatives as used in military training appear to pose only a minimal risk of negative health effects in humans, their impacts and effects on wildlife were largely unidentified (Driver et al 1993, National Research Council [NRC] 1997), prior to a recent series of Army-sponsored studies (Driver et al 2002a(Driver et al , 2002b(Driver et al , 2004. Consequently, it is appropriate that the ecological risks associated with the use of fog oil smoke obscurant in Army training be evaluated, specifically as they relate to threatened and endangered species.…”

Modeling Fog Oil Obscurant Smoke Penetration Into Simulated Tortoise Barrows and Bat Colony Trees

“…This resulted in a series of studies that were a part of the Army TES research program (Getz et al 1996). This research resulted in a series of technical reports examining the effects of fog oil smoke on various avian species that served as surrogates for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) (Driver et al, 2002a(Driver et al, , 2002b(Driver et al, , 2004(Driver et al, , 2005. Overall, the conclusion of this series of studies was that fog oil vapors posed little direct hazard to altricial avian species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker and other birds in the same general size class (ca 50 g body mass).…”