The Carcinogenic Effects of Benzene

Benzene is one of the top 20 chemicals used in the United States. Although its main use is as a solvent, it is also used as a base for other chemicals. It is used in making detergents, pesticides, dyes and drugs. It occurs naturally in gasoline, crude oil and the smoke from cigarettes. Volcanoes and forest fire also produce benzene. The primary method of exposure is inhalation. Breathing in exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke is a prime example of contact with benzene.

Second-Hand Smoke

• Cigarette smoke is a leading source of benzene exposure.

  Benzene levels are low in air, even though it is produced by exhaust fumes, industrial emissions and industrial waste. A major source of benzene inhalation is from using gasoline, solvents, paint and glue in unventilated spaces. Cigarette smoke is responsible for about half of the exposure to benzene in the United States.

Studies on Benzene as a Carcinogen

• Automobile exhaust produces benzene.

  The International Agency for Research on Cancer (a section of the World Health Organization) found evidence that benzene is carcinogenic. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists confirmed that benzene is a human carcinogen. Also, the National Toxicology Program, an amalgam of U.S. government agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, classifies benzene as a human carcinogen. So does the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Benzene and Types of Cancer

• Studies on live subjects, as well as in the laboratory, show a link between benzene and cancer. Specifically, there is evidence that benzene affects the blood cells and causes cancer of the blood cells such as leukemia. There is also evidence of a link between benzene and multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as lung, lymph and bladder cancer.

How Benzene Gets into Your System

• Benzene is in the air, and you take it into your body through your lungs, your gastrointestinal tract and your skin. The higher the benzene level in the air, the more harmful it is. When you breathe in benzene, half of it goes into your lungs and then is passed into your bloodstream. If you eat or drink something with benzene in it, it passes into your gastrointestinal tract and then passes through the tract's lining and into your bloodstream. Sometimes benzene can enter your body through your skin and from there into your bloodstream. From the bloodstream benzene can be converted into metabolites, which can become lodged in your liver and bone marrow.