While benzene as a solvent has been banned for more than two decades, it is
still used to make other chemicals and exposure to the toxic substance is still
rampant. It is used to make the chemicals used in the production of nylons,
plastics, lubricants, dyes, resins, synthetic fibers, detergents, drugs,
pesticides, and rubber. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil and
cigarette smoke.
The average person is exposed to possible benzene poisoning both inside and
outside the home. Inside hazards include glues, paints, detergents, and
furniture wax. Outside hazards include the air around automobile service
stations, industrial emissions, and motor vehicle exhaust. Of course, many
people are exposed to cigarette smoke both inside, outside, or both.
Effects of benzene poisoning by breathing it in include drowsiness,
dizziness, unconsciousness, accelerated heart rate, headaches, and tremors.
Some women who breathed high levels of benzene for many months had irregular
menstrual periods and a decrease in the size of their ovaries. And while it is
not known whether benzene exposure affects the developing fetus in pregnant
women, animal studies have shown low birth weights, delayed bone formation, and
bone marrow damage when pregnant animals breathed benzene. The effects on the
fertility of men are still unknown.
Benzene in the air can attach to rain or snow and be carried back down to
the ground. It breaks down slowly in water and soil, and can pass through the
soil into underground water. Leakage from hazardous waste sites and faulty
pipes can also result in contaminated drinking water. Benzene ingested orally
causes vomiting, stomach irritation, dizziness, sleepiness, convulsions,
accelerated heart rate, and death.
Deaths caused by benzene have been attributed to asphyxiation, respiratory
arrest, and CNS (central nervous system) depression. Autopsies have also shown
lung hemorrhages, cerebral edema, and congestion.
Cancer cases have been associated with people exposed to benzene for less
than five years to more than thirty years. Benzene has been linked to multiple
leukemia cases, usually acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), but also chronic
myelogenous leukemia (CML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic
lymphohcytic leukemia (CLL), and Hairy-Cell Leukemia (HCL). It has also been
associated with multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, myelodyplastic syndrome,
myelodysplasia, and secondary aplastic anemia. These diseases are a result of
the chronic damage done to the body’s bone marrow.
More than 300,000 people per year are exposed to the chemical through their
workplace, and over 10,000 deaths per year are attributed to benzene exposure
in the United States
alone. People working with petroleum products are exposed to significant
amounts of benzene.
The following jobs fall under the high risk category.