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

Stumbled upon this fact sheet at the EPA.  While this fact sheet deals with Benzene in drinking water, it has a great summary that is relevant to individual benzene exposure and lawsuits.

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.

Source:  EPA.gov

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Hairdressers, farmers, petroleum workers, truck drivers all appear to have a high risk of developing cancer than their office worker counterparts.

Interesting Article coming out of New Zealand:

Blue collar workers such as cleaners, truck drivers, fruit and vegetable growers and meat processors are at higher risk of developing cancer than their office-based counterparts, a new study warns.

 

Hairdressers and sewing machinists were also found to be far more susceptible to bladder cancer than other workers.

Scientists believe exposure to potentially toxic chemicals, dyes, pesticides and viruses are causing spikes in job-related diseases.

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This entire story amazes me.  What the heck is Benzene doing in drinks?  I'm practically speechless over it.

Nearly one out of ten of 200 beverage samples analyzed in a recent study by the EPA and FDA still had benzene levels above the U.S. EPA drinking water limit of 5 parts per billion (ppb).

Many manufacturers have reformulated their products to minimize or eliminate benzene. In these reformulated products, benzene levels were 1.1 ppb or less. About 71 percent of beverage samples contained less than 1 ppb.

...

Benzene is not something you want to be consuming as it has been linked to leukemia and other problems. It is usually found in pollutants such as car exhaust fumes. Ironically, the main reason it’s in soft drinks these days is because some manufacturers have added vitamin C to their beverages in an effort to make them seem more healthy.

Source: http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20080129092441196

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Benzene is used in the manufacturing of other chemicals, including:

• nylon
• polystyrene
• pesticides
• gasoline

From About.com

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An appeal was recently filed in a case where a lower court ruled that the time limit on a person's benzene claim began running when the person was first exposed to benzene.  Wow.  Well this is one big problem with exposure lawsuits.  The question I have is how can person bring a lawsuit for an injury they don't know they have yet. One idea (which is not new) is to allow the time period to start running when the person first learned that the benzene exposure was linked to their aplastic anemia, MDS (Myleodysplastic Syndrome) or AML.

See this link for more on the story of this person who is appealing to the US Supreme Court over this lower court decision.

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1175937607192090.xml&coll=3

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Despite an initial backlash against what they perceived to be an overstep of mayoral authority, Baytown officials and state lawmakers seem to be falling in step, at least in principle, with Houston Mayor Bill White's efforts to curtail benzene emissions from east Harris County refineries.

The ball is now rolling on a regional task force overseen by the Greater Houston Partnership and composed of scientists, environmental advocates, industry representatives and appointees by several local mayors, including Baytown mayor Stephen DonCarlos. The task force, the actual members of which are still being decided, should begin sitting down to discuss strategies within the next few months.

At the heart of the task force's mandate, at least from White's perspective, will be the voluntary reductions on benzene emissions that first sparked the outcry from officials and led to the meeting of local mayors out of which the task force eventually sprouted. Benzene, a common gasoline component and byproduct known to cause cancer over long periods of exposure in a small percentage of humans, has been red-flagged by scientists as being the toxic chemical most likely to affect people in the greater Houston-Galveston area.

For the Rest of the story please see the Baytown Sun

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This is why Statutes of Limitation are SO important.  This guy filed a claim within 1 year of when he discovered that benzene caused his cancer, BUT it apparently was not filed within a year from when he was diagnosed (although the story is not clear on that).  In this case, he got caught in a state law trap.  The court told him that state law required that the claim be filed earlier.

Source:  www.kake.com

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Gerald Michaud of Wichita, Kansas was a malpractice lawyer who took on some ground breaking cases.  He died at his home at age 76 of congestive heart failure.  One case that he had was a benzene case where he proved that it caused his client's cancer.  He got a verdict for that client.  Amount:  $34 million.

Source:  RedNova.com

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What does a railroad or shipyard have to do with Benzene? Other than the fact that benzene is found in many products there, the answer is FELA.  FELA is the Federal Labor and Employment Act.  This act basically is the workers compensation law that governs these workers.  FELA gives many workers the right to pursue a workers comp claim by using a lawsuit instead of the usual administrative state workers comp system.

If you are a shipyard or railroad worker this law basically gives you another option.  And using FELA is often to your advantage.

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Knowing whether the filter you use is still good has always been difficult.  You estimate how long you have used it and then compare that to federal standards.  Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a system that uses small sensors in the filters to tell you when the filters are no longer any good.

The sensors are able to react to different chemicals such as benzene and measure whether the filter is still good.

It's an interesting article.  Read it here... PittsburghLive.com

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In India, benzene has caused aplastic anemia and pancytopenia in several diamond workers.

Source:  Times of India

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We occasionally get contacted by people who have been exposed directly to pesticides.  Their question...did that exposure cause their blood disease (aplastic anemia, NHL, AML, etc.)?  Usually we cannot connect the pesticide to the blood disease.  BUT  If they were exposed to the process of making the pesticide, then they might have a case.

The reason is that benzene in some form is used in making pesticides.

See this article in the Billings Gazette talking about a few people who are suing over just that.

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We focus on blood cancers caused by benzene.  These cases are primarily related to industrial exposure.  That is, our clients usually work directly with the benzene or other organic solvents or petroleum.

There is a another type of benzene case and that relates to drinking water.  Around the country there are cases where homeowners and water districts have sued various companies because those companies have contaminated the drinking water.  These class actions ask for:

• the cost of repairing those water systems, or
• for damages because the benzene caused a blood disease such as MDS or Aplastic Anemia

  One thing that makes these cases hard is proving the level of exposure to benzene.

I started thinking about this today, because I ran across this article.  Glenwood Springs Post Independent

Oh... what is one of the worst sources of contamination that I have heard of...leaking underground fuel tanks.

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This is a list of some of the jobs our clients did and the types of products they were exposed to.  Many of these products were the ones with Benzene in them.

Airplane refueler                   Aviation fuel
Computer Maintenance          Ink solvents
Painter                                 Paints and Paint thinners
Refinery Worker                   Welding Solvents
Auto Mechanic                      Brake and parts cleaners
Tire maker                           Rubber solvents
                                           (often the take the bead
                                            off a bad tire)
Paving                                  Asphalt
Printer                                 Ink and ink solvents
Oil Refinery Worker              Solvents, oil, petroleum products
Gas tank inspection              Petroleum residue and solvents
Oil Refinery Maintenance      petroleum residue and solvents

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The Petroleum industry has apparently decided that they do not like the results of the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Health studies that found that benzene is related to cancer.  So what do you do??

Go make your own study so you can stand up in court and try to say with a straight face that you don't think benzene is related to leukemias and blood cancers.

Here's why they did it...

The $27 million study undertaken by the American Petroleum Institute aims to give the industry leverage against any consequences of a study by the National Cancer Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, that suggests occupational exposure to benzene is more dangerous than previously believed.

If you doubt that they are doing this study to protect against lawsuits... then read this.

The industry fears the possibility of tighter regulations or lawsuits from cancer patients, according to documents found in boxes of evidence in an unrelated lawsuit.

Source:  Yahoo News

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The NIH has a .pdf file that you can access that reviews Benzene and its link to leukemia, particularly Benzene's link to AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia or Acute Myeloid or Myelocytic Leukemia)

• The letter reviews that Benzene is "known to cause cancer"
• That occupational exposure to benzene increases your risk of mortality
• What Benzene is in (gasoline, crude oil, etc.)
• Where it is produced (from coal and petroleum)
• current exposure standards (PEL Permissible exposure limit (1ppm))

Access the information sheet here at the National Institute for Health

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Just a quick link to a story about the very high rate of work related diseases in China.  The focus is on respiratory illnesses but compounds such as benzene and the related leukemias surely have a higher rate as well.

Source:  Yahoo News

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Can you represent someone from Canada?  I have had that question before.  The quick answer is yes.

Where you live NOW is not the only thing that matters when you are filing a claim.  It is where you worked and what companies are involved in your benzene case that have a large effect on where the case is filed.

For example, we have a case where the person lives in New Hampshire, but the claim is filed in New Jersey because that is where the defendant legally lives. The same holds true for Canadian clients. We see the same thing across the board in all kinds of product liability cases, such as Vioxx and asbestos.  So if you live in Canada and have been exposed to petroleum products or other solvents that contain benzene, then you MIGHT have a claim that can be brought in the United States.

You need to focus on exactly what you were exposed to.  This is one of the most important parts of any benzene exposure case, because you have to be able to accurately and legitimately identify which product you worked with that has the benzene in it that caused your disease, whether it is Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, AML or Aplastic Anemia.

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The New York Times has a story about the EPA updating standards for exposure to certain chemicals.  In that list of chemicals is benzene.

In the article they note that while some chemicals pose more risk to animals than to humans they also go on to say:

Newer studies also show that some substances may be more harmful to humans than once thought. Dr. Farland cited research that now suggests that benzene, a chemical used in the manufacture of a variety of products, is a potential threat to humans at lower levels than previous studies showed.

Source:  NYTimes You have to register to read their articles but the registration is free.

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This is from our other website, but it is related to where can we find benzene these days.

Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon that is produced by the burning of natural products. It is a component of products derived from coal and petroleum and is found in gasoline and other fuels. Benzene is used in the manufacture of plastics, detergents, pesticides, and other chemicals. Research has shown benzene to be a carcinogen (cancer causing). With exposures from less than 5 years to more than 30 years, individuals have developed, and died from, leukemia. Long-term exposure may affect bone marrow and blood production. Short-term exposure to high levels of benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, unconsciousness, and death. The current permissible exposure level is 1 part per million (ppm) in air for an 8 hour average with a short-term exposure limit of 5 ppm. Benzene can also be absorbed through the skin.

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What is this blog about??  We are (and have been) handling cases where someone has contracted a disease such as:

• Aplastic Anemia
• Myelodysplastic Syndromes
• Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
• Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
• Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL)
• Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)

Now, not all cases are created equal.  Some of these diseases are easier to connect to Benzene than others.  I will address that in upcoming entries.

For more information on this try our other website.  www.benzene-leukemia-lawfirm.com

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