Benzene Myelogenous Leukemia -Benzene Exposure

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 Reports

Benzene is most known for its ability to cause chronic forms of poisoning and injury, especially on the hematopoietic system. Prior to this knowledge, the use of benzene, particularly as a solvent, led to the high exposure of benzene to the workers. The exposure to benzene was regularly at levels around 500 ppm, with some cases exceeding 1,000 ppm. Currently, the workplace benzene exposure limits for NIOSH for airborne exposure limit is 0.1 ppm averaged over a 10-hour work shift and 1 ppm not to be exceeded during any 15-minute work period.

Review articles as early as 1926 mentioned reports of fatal cases of benzene poisoning. In 1909, there were three girls in Maryland that had been exposed to benzene for a period of 4-5 months and died within 1 month. The girls' exposure to benzene came from vapors of a commercial grade of benzene that was used as a rubber solvent in sealing tin cans.

In 1920, chronic benzene poisoning was reported in two men who had been spreading balloon fabric with rubber. The reports were made in England by Legge, which provided the firs measurements of benzene levels in workroom atmospheres for workers exposed on a chronic basis determined by a chemist. Legge concluded that though the range of benzene exposure levels were measured to range from 210-800 ppm, the fact that the spreading room contained such poor ventilation could have made the concentration as high as 16,800 ppm.

Cases of chronic benzene poisoning continued to increase in number due to the use of benzene beginning to be used in a wide array of industries. These reports of benzene poisoning also began to appear in more literature and investigations resulted due to the serious and deadly effects benzene poisoning was having on those exposed. As more and more people learned of the dangers of exposure to benzene, eventually it began to become replaced with other solvents.