A fatal hydrocarbon

Benzene is a seemingly harmless compound that is widely used all over the world for the production of plastic, vulcanized rubber, pesticides, resins, synthetics, gasoline and a host of other useful products for the civilized world.

However this indispensable hydrocarbon has accelerated the forever turning wheel of modernization indisputably, with some very adverse affects on the other hand, which cannot be negated either. Too much Benzene exposure can lead to malignancy of blood cells, resulting in Leukemia or blood cancer.

Leukemia is a progressive disease which leads to anomalous development of Leukocytes or white blood cells in the human body. It results in accumulation of a large number of cells that disrupts the normal function of the red blood cells resulting in Anemia and subsequent plummeting of body’s natural immunity.

Exposure: a red alert

The people with a lot of Benzene exposure are more susceptible to this degenerative disease. Benzene exposure could be due to many reasons. Accidental release of Benzene could be one of them. Apart from it factory workers who use Benzene in plants are under a high risk. Natural disasters like forest fire or suddenly erupting volcanoes could do a lot of environmental damage by releasing Benzene.

Research reveals that Benzene exposure could lead to Leukemia and there is no steadfast rule to figure out the exact period of exposure which leads to this. It is disparate and someone may fall pray to the disease after five years of exposure, whereas in some it may be prevalent after thirty long years.

Phenomena of Central Nervous System depression could result from Benzene and, toxicity produced by the compound leads to various complications of all three types of blood cells in the body.

Safety comes first

According to American Petroleum Institute, acceptable and safe Benzene exposure is ideally 0 ppt (parts per million) and lethal disease like Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (aml) or Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (aml) can be perfect example of Benzene induced Leukemia due to uncontrolled exposure. Benzene Leukemia chiefly attacks rubber and sheet workers. Petroleum refinery workers are equally exposed to the latent seeds of Leukemia in Benzene.

Benzene and Leukemia thus almost goes hand in hand and therefore various research organizations are trying to figure out the exact affects on mortality rate.

This sweet smelling human carcinogen has started giving environmentalists sleepless nights and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (niosh) has restricted Benzene exposure to only 1 ppm during a workday.

Use of respirator is strongly recommended for safety and, awareness campaigns are oft repeated in workshops and factories as a measure against the prevailing threat associated with Benzene.