Benzene and Leukemia Lawyer & Attorney : Burke & Eisner Law Firm : Benzene Exposure, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma

From Paul the Pirate.  Want to see what the life of a Merchant Marine is like.  Go read here how he and a shipmate had to go into a fuel storage tank that was registering traces of benzene.

Stuff:

I did my first tank dive of this trip on my way here over the weekend- my watch partner Orlando and I climbed down into the #6 starboard cargo tank, one of the smaller of our 14 cargo tanks... there was a trace of Benzene (a wicked carcinogen- it's possible to die of leukemia within a few days of a massive exposure) in the tank, so we were decked out in respirators... the concentration of benzene was under 1ppm, which is actually low enough that I could hang out in the tank for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week no problem (This is called Time-Weighted Exposure), but why take chances? Anyhow, Orlando and I had to vacuum up a little standing water- we prepped that tank to take on Jet fuel- essentially, the tank was pressure washed at 150PSI by our automatic system, and then we sucked the water out. Orlando and I did an inspection looking for dust and water- we found about a quart of water (amazing, really, when you look at the tank. You could fit an apartment house in it) in the sump well, and took care of that, then hot-footed it out. The chief mate gave us the rest of the day off. I think he felt bad about the benzene- normally, we don't deal with the stuff, but we carried gasoline in that tank the trip before. Even with forced-air ventilation and a wash, there was a trace.

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If in fact OSHA did give notice of surprise inspections then they are a joke.  This letter from the opinion page of the Houston Chronicle.

Regarding Monday's Page One article "OSHA UNCOVERS SLEW OF REFINERY VIOLATIONS / Inspectors find 146 at 17 sites in what is only the start of a nationwide study": My mother died of cancer two years ago, and while she was in a hospice, her nurse and I visited. She told me she had worked at chemical plants in the Houston area for 17 years before she quit. She said she became a nurse as payback for what she knew was happening in the plants. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, she said, would give a two-week notice to plants before "surprise" inspections, and workers would scramble to clean up and set things right for clean reports. On foggy and rainy nights, she was instructed by supervisors to "release" into the air, as the fog or heavy rain would hide the act.

That OSHA "uncovers slew" of violations at refiner-ies, to me, is a joke. Fines for violations are cheaper to pay than to fix the problems! How can we uncover what heretofore we didn't wish to find?

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How would you like to participate in this study?

Researchers monitored 10 male volunteers who spent an hour in a room filled either with clean air or exhaust from a diesel engine. The exhaust-filled room was set to mimic the highest level that people might encounter in the environment or at work, for example on a busy road or in a garage.

Volunteers were connected to an electroencephalograph (EEG) to monitor the brain's electrical signals during exposure and for the hour afterwards.

Within 30 minutes, the participants in the exhaust room showed signs of stress on the EEG, indicating a change in the way the brain processes information.

I'll pass thanks.  It is common sense that these types of fumes are not good for you.  Your own body tells you that when you breath them.

Source:  Diesel Fumes and Benzene

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From the Times Herald.  News of  Benzene Leak. The result is a "shelter in place" order.  How would you like to get that phone call?  Please stay in your house, there is a lot of benzene in the air, but we can't tell you how much.  I guess Imperial Oil is not sharing exactly how much benzene was released with the public.

Imperial Oil keeps working after leak

Imperial Oil crews started transferring the contents of a damaged storage tank to another tank Saturday to stop any chance of more emissions after a benzene leak Friday that put residents of southeastern Sarnia under a shelter-in-place order. Company officials said as the work to transfer the benzene progresses, they will continue to apply firefighting foam, which reduces the chance of the benzene evaporating, according to a company statement. Once the transfer is complete, they will begin to assess damage and start repairs. The crews are operating under a Chemical Valley Emergency Coordinating Organization code 8, which notifies authorities of a potential problem in Chemical Valley. Imperial Oil is monitoring air-quality levels inside and outside the chemical plant and the results are being shared with the Ministry of Environment and with Sarnia officials. Public inquiries concerning the incident should be directed to (519) 339-5666.

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This is a copy of the Consumer Fact Sheet on Benzene from the EPA.  Thought I'd pass this along to you.

What is Benzene and how is it used?

Benzene is a clear, colorless aromatic liquid. It is highly flammable. The greatest use of benzene is as a building block for making plastics, rubber, resins and synthetic fabrics like nylon and polyester. Other uses include: as a solvent in printing, paints, dry cleaning, etc.

The list of trade names given below may help you find out whether you are using this chemical at home or work.

Trade Names and Synonyms:

Benzol 90
Pyrobenzol
Polystream
Coal naphtha
Phene

Why is Benzene being Regulated?

In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act. This law requires EPA to determine safe levels of chemicals in drinking water which do or may cause health problems. These non-enforceable levels, based solely on possible health risks and exposure, are called Maximum Contaminant Level Goals.

The MCLG for benzene has been set at zero because EPA believes this level of protection would not cause any of the health effects described below.

Based on this MCLG, EPA has set an enforceable standard called a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as possible, considering the ability of public water systems to detect and remove contaminants using suitable treatment technologies.

The MCL has been set at 5 parts per billion (ppb) because EPA believes, given present technology and resources, this is the lowest level to which water systems can reasonably be required to remove this contaminant should it occur in drinking water.

These drinking water standards and the regulations for ensuring these standards are met, are called National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. All community water supplies must abide by these regulations.

What are the Health Effects?

Short-term: EPA has found benzene to potentially cause the following health effects when people are exposed to it at levels above the MCL for relatively short periods of time: temporary nervous system disorders, immune system depression, anemia.

Long-term: Benzene has the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure at levels above the MCL: chromosome aberrations, cancer.

How much Benzene is produced and released to the environment?

Production of benzene has increased: from about 9.9 billion lbs. in 1984 to over 12 billion lbs. in 1993.

Benzene is released to air primarily from fumes and exhaust connected with its use in gasoline. Other sources are fumes from its production and use in manufacturing other chemicals. In addition, there are discharges into water from industrial effluents and losses during spills.

From 1987 to 1992, according to the Toxics Release Inventory, releases of benzene to water and land totalled over 2 million lbs. These releases were primarily from petroleum refining industries, with the greatest releases occurring in Texas.

What happens to Benzene when it is released to the environment?

If benzene is released to soil, it will either evaporate very quickly or leach to groundwater. It can be broken down by some soil microbes. It may also be degraded in some ground waters. If benzene is released to surface water, most of it should evaporate within a few hours. Though it does not degrade by reacting with water, it may be degraded by microbes. It is not likely to accumulate in aquatic organisms.

How will Benzene be Detected in and Removed from My Drinking Water?

The regulation for benzene became effective in 1989. Between 1993 and 1995, EPA required your water supplier to collect water samples every 3 months for one year and analyze them to find out if benzene is present above 0.5 ppb. If it is present above this level, the system must continue to monitor the benzene levels.

If contaminant levels are found to be consistently above the MCL, your water supplier must take steps to reduce the amount of benzene so that it is consistently below that level. The following treatment methods have been approved by EPA for removing benzene: Granular activated charcoal in combination with Packed Tower Aeration.

How will I know if Benzene is in my drinking water?

If the levels of benzene exceed the MCL, 5 ppb, the system must notify the public via newspapers, radio, TV and other means. Additional actions, such as providing alternative drinking water supplies, may be required to prevent serious risks to public health.

Drinking Water Standards:

Mclg: zero

Mcl: 5 ppb

Source:  EPA.gov

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Eliminate Pollutants...Sounds like a good goal to me.  It will be more interesting to me if it is a viable option in reducing the massive toxic exposure we all have in our lives.

A research team of the University of Granada has managed to produce the most useful material to date to eliminate pollutants such as benzene, toluene and xylene, organic solvents widely used in the hydrocarbon industry and generated by road traffic in cities. The world-wide problem of the exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons has mainly focused its attention on benzene, which is considered to be harmful to health, even in low concentrations.

This material is a monolithic carbon aerogel with the advantage of not only being able to retain these pollutants: it can also be easily regenerated and can therefore be used in several cycles. This research has been carried out by David Fairén Jiménez, from the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Granada, and directed by lecturers Carlos Moreno Castilla and Francisco Carrasco Marín. The aim of this study was to prepare and describe a series of new materials - monolithic carbon aerogels - as adsorbers of benzene, tolene and xylene (BTX).

Source:  Medical News Today

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From the Daily Breeze.com a story of benzene contamination in a residential neighborhood.

Soil contaminated with toxic substances covers a 16-acre swath centered in the 2100 block of Del Amo Boulevard, with the highest concentrations found in a 4.5-acre tract, authorities said.

That smaller area is where an investigation has detected levels of carcinogenic benzene vapors at levels of up to 20,000 parts per billion, say officials from the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery.

The state mandates remedial action - in this case testing and monitoring - when benzene levels in residential areas exceed 10 parts per billion.

Source:  DailyBreeze.com

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OK we all may have heard that there are toxins in our house and our environment.  Formaldehyde, TCE and Benzene, but did you know that plants can clear the air.  This article talks about the  growing belief that plants in your home can help you have cleaner air.

Benzene This is found in tobacco smoke, inks, oils, plastics and paints, as well as detergents and dyes. In addition to eye and skin irritation, benzene causes dizziness and nausea when inhaled.

What happens to these toxins? A study conducted by Montreal-based Clean Production Action indicates that they end up in household dust. The study examined dust balls in vacuum-cleaner bags and found 35 toxic chemicals, all of which can cause respiratory and other health problems. That suggests that vacuuming serves mainly to transfer toxins from one part of the house to another. Moreoever, the contaminants will continue exuding their harmful molecules indefinitely.

So what's a homeowner to do? Turn to houseplants.

Most of us can remember a biology teacher drilling into us the fact that, through photosynthesis, green plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen and water vapours. It now appears that plants, unlike humans, can thrive on a diet of toxins‚ benzene, formaldehyde, TSE and similar chemicals. The plants take in the toxins through the leaves, clean out the harmful contents and spill out healthy fresh air. That office rubber plant is working every night to clean the air.

Source:  National Post

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This is an amazing story.  I didn't know until reading this that there was a huge oil spill in Brooklyn. 17 Million Gallons...

When Laura Hofmann steps out her front door and takes a deep breath, she’s sometimes overwhelmed by petroleum vapors. Hofmann, a lifelong resident of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, doesn’t live next door to a gas station; she lives beside the nation’s largest oil spill.

An estimated 17 million gallons of oil (at least one-and-a-half times the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound in 1989) from spills at ExxonMobil’s Greenpoint refineries and storage facilities soaked into the ground over the last century, creating a 55-acre plume of oil floating on top of groundwater 30-40 feet underground. Residents of this working-class neighborhood have been living with the spill for more than 50 years, enduring vapors seeping into some basements and wafting through the streets from nearby Newtown Creek, which the petroleum trickles into. A cleanup has been going on for three decades, but only about half of the oil has been removed. Only recently has the government sought to force accelerated remediation.

             ...

Though the EPA’s sampling of 52 homes above the plume last year found no indoor vapor exposure, tests performed by Riverkeeper revealed that the spill has released toxic vapors like benzene into Greenpoint. According to the CDC, long-term exposure to benzene can cause leukemia, and the immediate effects of inhaling benzene and other components found in petroleum, such as toluene and xylene, include drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, nausea, and irritation to the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract.

Read the Full Article Here:   Plenty Magazine

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I read this over at Mother Earth News in their Bits and Pieces Section:

BENZENE ALERT: Benzene (a hydrocarbon that may contribute to the development of leukemia) is contained in such consumer products as stove and lantern fuels, brush cleaners, and rubber cement, and is also used as an octane booster in lead-free gasoline. The Carcinogen Information Program (Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 6057, St. Louis, Missouri 63139) has published a special bulletin, entitled Benzene and Cancer , which is available free upon request (please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope).

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