Benzene Frequently Asked Questions

What is benzene?

Historically, what has been known about the harmful health effects of benzene?

What happens to benzene when it enters the environment?

How might I be exposed to benzene?

How long does it take for benzene to affect an exposed person?

Is there a medical test to show whether I've been exposed to benzene?

How can benzene affect my health?

Can benzene cause cancer?

Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health?

What should I do if I think I've been exposed to benzene?

Can I file a benzene-related lawsuit?

When should I contact a lawyer about an benzene-related lawsuit?

Can I file a lawsuit if a family member has died from an benzene-related disease?

Where can I get more information about benzene-related disease and benzene lawsuits?

REFERENCES

What is benzene?
Benzene is a colorless liquid with a sweet odor. It evaporates into the air very quickly and dissolves slightly in water. It is highly flammable and is formed from both natural processes and human activities. Benzene is widely used in the United States; it ranks in the top 20 chemicals for production volume. Some industries use benzene to make other chemicals which are used to make plastics, resins, nylon and synthetic fibers. Benzene is also used to make some types of rubbers, lubricants, dyes, detergents, drugs, and pesticides. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke.

Historically, what has been known about the harmful health effects of benzene?
The production of fatal aplastic anemia in workers exposed to benzene was originally recognized in the nineteenth century. Reports of benzene's carcinogenicity have been accumulating since the 1920's. Benzene has been widely accepted as a leukemogen since the 1940's, based largely on case reports associating pancytopenia with subsequent development of leukemia, as well as biological plausibility. In 1948, the American Petroleum Institute published a toxicological review on benzene, wherein the API advised that there was reasonably well documented instances of the development of leukemia as a result of chronic benzene exposure. The API also recognized that the occurrence of delayed toxic effects, years after the initial exposure, appears likely, and concluded that inasmuch as the body develops no tolerance to benzene, and as there is a wide variation in individual susceptibility, it is generally considered that the only absolute safe concentration for benzene is zero. By the 1960's, many widely disseminated scientific publications, including standard American medical journals and textbooks, were reporting the carcinogenic danger of benzene exposure as established through hundreds of individual cases. The literature also indicated that this danger existed even at relatively low concentrations of benzene vapor. Epidemiologic confirmation of benzene's ability to cause leukemia came in the late 1970's.

What happens to benzene when it enters the environment?

• Industrial processes are the main source of benzene in the environment.
• Benzene can pass into the air from water and soil.
• It reacts with other chemicals in the air and breaks down within a few days.
• Benzene in the air can attach to rain or snow and be carried back down to the ground.
• It breaks down more slowly in water and soil, and can pass through the soil into underground water.
• Benzene does not build up in plants or animals.

How might I be exposed to benzene?
The three main types of exposure to benzene are environmental, consumer product, and occupational. Exposure can occur from inhaling the benzene or through dermal absorption (getting benzene on your skin).

Without question, the greatest possibility for high-level exposures is in the workplace. However, most people are exposed to benzene in tobacco smoke and automobile exhaust. Benzene has been found in at least 337 of the 1177 hazardous waste sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). Other environmental sources of benzene include gasoline (filling) stations, vehicle exhaust fumes, tobacco smoke, underground storage tanks that leak, wastewater from industries that use benzene, chemical spills, groundwater next to landfills containing benzene, and possibly some food products that contain benzene naturally.

In addition, certain industries may release benzene into the surrounding air. These include ethylbenzene and styrene-production facilities, petroleum refineries, chemical manufacturing plants, and recovery plants for coke oven by-products. People living near such industries may be exposed to benzene in the surrounding air.

Consumer products containing benzene include glues, adhesives, household cleaning products, paint strippers, solvents, some art supplies, tobacco smoke, and gasoline.

Occupational exposure to benzene can occur in the rubber industry, oil refineries, chemical plants, and the shoe manufacturing industry, as well as in gasoline storage, shipment, and retail stations.

How long does it take for benzene to affect an exposed person?
Benzene-related leukemias have been reported in the literature to have developed in as short nine (9) months to as long as twenty-five (25) years after initial exposure. The average latency period for leukemia is between nine (9) years and eleven (11) years after initial exposure. Benzene-related lymphoma and multiple myeloma usually require more time to develop than benzene-related leukemias.

Is there a medical test to show whether I've been exposed to benzene?
Several tests can show if you have been exposed to benzene. There is a test for measuring benzene in the breath, but this test must be done shortly after exposure. Benzene can also be measured in the blood, however, since benzene disappears rapidly from the blood, measurements are accurate only for recent exposures.

In the body, benzene is converted into products called metabolites. Certain metabolites can be measured in the urine. However, this test must be done shortly after exposure and is not a reliable indicator of how much benzene you have been exposed to, since the metabolites may be present in urine from other sources.

How can benzene affect my health?
Breathing very high levels of benzene can result in death, while high levels can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, headaches, tremors, confusion, and unconsciousness.

Eating or drinking foods containing high levels of benzene can cause vomiting, irritation of the stomach, dizziness, sleepiness, convulsions, rapid heart rate, and death.

The major effect of benzene from low-level exposure is on the blood. Benzene causes harmful effects on the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells leading to anemia, aplastic anemia, myelofibrosis, and myelodysplastic syndrome. It can also cause excessive bleeding and can affect the immune system, increasing the chance for infection.

Some women who breathed high levels of benzene for many months had irregular menstrual periods and a decrease in the size of their ovaries. It is not known whether benzene exposure affects the developing fetus in pregnant women, or fertility in men. Animal studies have shown low birth weights, delayed bone formation, and bone marrow damage when pregnant animals breathed benzene.

Can benzene cause cancer?
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that benzene is a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent)

Some of the cancers associated with benzene include:

• Leukemia
• Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
• Multiple Myeloma

Benzene is both toxic and carcinogenic. In fact, it might be considered "the mother of all carcinogens," as a large number of carcinogens have structures that include benzene rings.

Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health?
The EPA has set the maximum permissible level of benzene in drinking water at 0.005 milligrams per liter (0.005 mg/L). The EPA requires that spills or accidental releases into the environment of 10 pounds or more of benzene be reported to the EPA.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a permissible exposure limit of 1 part of benzene per million parts of air (1 ppm) in the workplace during an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek.

Unfortunately, detection of benzene's odor threshold characteristics is above the OSHA exposure limit. If one is able to smell benzene the permissible exposure limit has been exceeded.

What should I do if I think I've been exposed to benzene?
The first thing to do if you suspect you've been exposed to benzene is to report the exposure to your employer. Hartley & O'Brien recommends that you consult your primary care physician for an immediate evaluation.

Can I file a benzene-related lawsuit?
According to West Virginia law, anyone can bring a benzene-related lawsuit within two years of discovering a benzene-related illness, regardless of the last time of exposure. This two-year period is called the Statute of Limitations. After two years from discovery of a benzene-related illness you cannot file a lawsuit. It's important to realize that the Statute of Limitations is in regards to when the disease was discovered, not the last time of exposure. Because a benzene-related illness often doesn't become apparent for many years, many lawsuits have been successfully filed years after the last benzene exposure.

Be aware that statutes of limitation vary in states other than West Virginia.

When should I contact a lawyer about an benzene-related lawsuit?
If you believe you've been harmed by exposure to benzene, you should contact a lawyer at once to learn of your rights to file a legal claim for damages. A lawyer will make sure you follow the necessary steps, from testing to making assurances that the Statute of Limitations does not expire.

Can I file a lawsuit if a family member has died from an benzene-related disease?
According to West Virginia law, the estate of a benzene-related disease victim can file a Wrongful Death lawsuit within two years of the victim's death. Other states may have a different statute of limitations period for wrongful death claims.

Where can I get more information about benzene-related disease and benzene lawsuits?
Hartley & O'Brien is one of the leading law firms in the country in the prosecution of benzene cases. Please call toll-free at 1-800-363-8591 with any further questions you may have.

REFERENCES:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. 1995. Toxicological profile for benzene (update). Atlanta, GA; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.

ATSDR Public Health Statement, Benzene May 1989

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