Benzene Myelogenous Leukemia - Benzene In the News

Workers at Risk For Exposure to Benzene:

Painters •
Chemical workers •
Gasoline distribution workers •
Refinery workers •
Shoe/leather workers •
Rubber workers •
Pesticides manufacturing workers •
Printers •
Paper and pulp manufacturing workers •
Adhesive production workers •
Newspaper press workers •

Reducing Benzene Risk In the Workplace:

Immediately change out of work clothing that may have been contaminated by benzene.

Work clothing exposed to benzene should be cleaned only by those informed of the risks and hazards of benzene. Workers should not take the contaminated clothing home to expose family members.

Employers should have eye wash fountains provided in case of emergencies.

Immediate skin contact should be washed or showered in order to remove the human carcinogen. The employer should provide emergency shower facilities.

All workers with possible benzene exposure should immediately wash the areas that may have been exposed.

Any food or drink ingestion, as well as smoking, should be completely avoided in areas benzene is handled, processed, or stored. The dangerous chemical can be swallowed so hands should be thoroughly washed prior to eating, drinking, smoking, or using the bathroom.

Benzene News

March 1, 2002
In Providence, Rhode Island, a family was forced to move out of their home after the Pascoag water contamination resulted in high levels of benzene in their home. The residents of Pascoag had contaminated tap water and were unable to use it for four months due to the gasoline additive MTBE.

December 19, 2001
Cars pose high risk for benzene exposure
A study found that new cars contain vinyl and plastic materials that emit gases containing carcinogenic chemical benzene. This exposure to benzene is characterized by that "new car smell". Commuters driving in polluted cities may think that using the air conditioning instead of opening the windows to pollution is posing as a better health measure. In fact, "it's about two to ten times more polluted inside a vehicle on a congested freeway or a major street," according to Mel Zeldin of the Air Quality Management District. Carcinogenic chemicals, including benzene, can become trapped inside your car from the exhaust of the vehicle in front of you. The 1996 estimates from the EPA by the North Carolina Public Interest Research Group showed that 63 counties exceeded the level for benzene in vehicle exhaust.

December 14, 2001
$11.2 million waste case settlement for benzene infested New York waters
One of the largest hazardous waste case settlements was negotiated in December 2001, because Exxon Mobil Corporation was illegally polluting New York waters with benzene. The settlement amount is inclusive of $8.2 million in civil penalties and $3 million for buying and restoring land in New York City. The suit was first filed in 1996 by the government against Mobil Oil Corp. for mismanaging benzene-contaminated waste at its petroleum products storage and distribution terminal. The human carcinogen, benzene, was a regulated hazardous waste as of 1990. The settlement had Exxon admit liability for discharging hazardous waste between the years 1991-1993 into two large artificial ponds without a permit and legally required environmental protection. EPA officials found through testing

January 13, 2001
After the September 11th attacks, the outpour of selfless acts was tremendous. Firefighters raced to save victims at the disaster site, but recently medical experts believe years from now they have a risk of developing cancer. There was 1.2 million tons of debris that was at Ground Zero containing dangerous chemicals including benzene. The chemical is a carcinogen that has been found to cause leukemia.

April 2000
Benzene found in cigarettes responsible for acute myeloid leukemia deaths
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill studies assessed the proportion of all types of leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia that is attributable to benzene in cigarette smoke. The researchers calculated that benzene is responsible for 8-48% of all smoking-induced leukemia deaths, as well as 12-58% of all smoking induced acute myelogenous leukemia. Other studies have concluded that benzene is most strongly associated with acute myelogenous leukemia. Benzene exposure affects industrial workers 10-100 times greater than smokers. OSHA and the EPA have set workplace benzene standards but the number of at risk benzene workers continues to remain high.

April 20, 1999
A database of information is now available online allowing people to find out what hazardous pollutants exist in their area. The Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental advocacy group, has compiled the database. Information includes 188 air toxics listed under the Clean Air Act tat includes industrial chemicals, solvents, metals, pesticides, and combustion by products. Benzene is listed as one of six of the unhealthiest air pollutants from mainly gasoline emissions.

Fall 1994
In 1994, the Houston Chronicle printed an article reporting on the near death of a contract electrician and instrumentation specialist, Mark Niemann, of acute myelogenous leukemia. The very rare form of cancer was the result of a prolonged exposure to benzene at the Houston-area refineries and chemical plants he was employed at. Niemann recalled being drenched in quench oil at a chemical plant he was employed at without protective clothing. It was not until later that he found out quench oil contains benzene. Niemann would return home where his wife would handle and wash his oil soaked clothing.

Other encounters Niemann had with benzene was at a concrete pool where hydrocarbons are skimmed from wastewater and the company did not require a respirator. Respirators and gloves were also withheld in various different positions. At other plants Niemann encountered gasoline, containing benzene, with open streams. The plant officials would inform the employees that if a chemical got on them they had to take a shower. The plant would spray them with various things and the employees never gave it a second thought according to Niemann.

Niemann thinks that contract workers "doesn't have a chance" when becoming informed about chemical hazards in the workplace. When Niemann found out he had acute myelogenous leukemia his platelet count dropped from an already decreased 52,000 to an almost fatal 11,000 and his weight fell from 140 to 111. Although his acute myelogenous leukemia is in remission, experts say it takes five years to prove an individual is over it. The acute myelogenous leukemia left Niemann with a substantially altered decreased mental and physical state.
-Houston Chronicle, Fall 1994