A generic term coined in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 that encompasses symptoms of crude oil overexposure—nausea, vomiting, headaches, or cold or flu-like symptoms, CNS complaints (headaches, nausea, dizziness, brain damage), kidney and liver disease, and possibly genetic damage
Almost from the start, however, workers employed by Exxon contractors complained of respiratory problems and flu-like symptoms, which became known as the "Valdez Crud." "Everybody was coming down with something," says Potter.