Its vapor is heavier than air and may sink into low-lying areas. Benzene dissolves only slightly in water and will float on top of water. Where benzene is found and how it is used Benzene is formed from both natural processes and human activities. Natural sources of benzene include volcanoes and forest fires. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke. 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 that are used to make plastics, resins, and nylon and synthetic fibers.
Benzene is also used to make some types of lubricants, rubbers, dyes, detergents, drugs, and pesticides. How you could be exposed to benzene Outdoor air contains low levels of benzene from tobacco smoke, gas stations, motor vehicle exhaust, and industrial emissions.
Indoor air generally contains levels of benzene higher than those in outdoor air. The benzene in indoor air comes from products that contain benzene such as glues, paints, furniture wax, and detergents. The air around hazardous waste sites or gas stations can contain higher levels of benzene than in other areas.
Benzene leaks from underground storage tanks or from hazardous waste sites containing benzene can contaminate well water. People working in industries that make or use benzene may be exposed to the highest levels of it.
A major source of benzene exposure is tobacco smoke. How benzene works Benzene works by causing cells not to work correctly. For example, it can cause bone marrow not to produce enough red blood cells, which can lead to anemia.
Also, it can damage the immune system by changing blood levels of antibodies and causing the loss of white blood cells. Posted on July 15, - Awareness and Information , Benzene. As the American population becomes more educated and seeks answers to difficult questions concerning diseases in their families and their children, more Americans are concerned about the pollutants in our ambient air. In contrast, this article attempts to help understand what certain pollutants are and how to prevent or minimize exposure to them.
Affected disorders include those ranging from allergies and multiple chemical sensitivity to lymphomas and leukemias in adults or even congenital heart defects CHD and neural tube defects NTD such as spina bifida or anencephaly.
What pollutants specifically? Let us focus on volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Xylene is a byproduct of petroleum and coal tar. Beyond its use in markers, it's used as an industrial solvent. It's also found in gasoline, rust preventatives, and some paints and varnishes. It's rapidly absorbed by the lungs and enters the blood system almost immediately after exposure.
Long term effects from low-concentrations xylene exposure aren't as clear, but it's recommended that pregnant women should avoid exposure to markers or other products that emit xylene fumes. As much as you may love that "new carpet smell" when it's first installed, that famous scent is actually the carpet off-gassing hazardous volatile organic compounds including toluene, bromine, benzene, formaldehyde, ethyl benzene, styrene, and acetone. Routine exposure to these chemicals are known to cause headaches, throat and eye irritation, allergies, confusion, and drowsiness.
Synthetic carpets that contain nylon and olefin fibers are typically the worst offenders. Regular exposure to significant levels of these toxins can pose long-term problems, including learning and memory impairment, birth defects, decreased fertility, and diseases of the liver, thyroid, ovaries, kidneys, and blood. Benzene is a well-known human carcinogen and formaldehyde is probable human carcinogen. Some new carpets also contain the moth-proofing chemical naphthalene, which is known to produce toxic reactions, especially in newborns.
Also, found in some carpets is p-Dichlorobenzene, a carcinogen also known to produce fetal abnormalities when tested on animals. But it's not just new carpets that cause a problem. While older carpets no longer off-gas these chemicals, over time dust mites and their droppings begin to permeate the nap. The droppings cause severe allergic reactions in many people, and researchers are just beginning to correlate dust mite exposure to asthma. Household dust can also have high levels of lead, as the heavy metal still permeates our soil from the days of leaded paint and gasoline.
We also add toxins into our carpets when we walk on them with our shoes, tracking in contaminated dirt and pesticides from the outdoors. Also, almost any toxic substance we use at home, from paints, to bug sprays, to candle or fireplace soot, can settle into carpet fibers and stay trapped there for years. If you're not yet inspired to get rid of your carpeting, investing in a quality HEPA vacuum cleaner can help remove a lot of the toxins without throwing them back into the air.
You can also buy carpeting certified as "Green Label Plus" by the Carpet and Rug Institute, which evaluates them for low emissions of volatile organic compounds. However, those carpets tend to be on the expensive side. Benzene is also used in the production of asphalt that is used by roofing and paving companies. Benzene is used in manufacturing chemical and plastic products. Examples include resins, adhesives and synthetic products such as nylon, styrene and Styrofoam. Chemicals manufactured that use benzene include detergents, insecticides, herbicides, pesticides and dyes.
Auto repair facilities use solvents that contain benzene to clean parts such as hydraulic systems, fuel system components and brakes. These benzene- containing solvents dissolve the grease that builds up on these parts and does not harm the metal.
They also use lubricants that contain benzene. Exposure to benzene can cause serious problems by damaging your DNA.
High levels can result in benzene poisoning. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, confusion, drowsiness, tremors and unconsciousness. At extremely high levels it can result in death.
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