Benzene and Cancer Risk
What is benzene?
Benzene is a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet odor. It evaporates quickly when exposed to air. Benzene is formed from natural processes, such as volcanoes and forest fires, but most people are exposed to benzene through human activities.
Benzene is one of the 20 most widely used chemicals in the United States. It is used mainly to make other chemicals, including plastics, resins, lubricants, rubbers, dyes, detergents, drugs, and pesticides. In the past it was also commonly used as an industrial solvent (a substance that can dissolve or extract other substances) and as a gasoline additive, but these uses have been greatly reduced in recent decades.
Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil and gasoline (and therefore motor vehicle exhaust), as well as cigarette smoke.
How are people exposed to benzene?
People are exposed mainly by breathing in air containing benzene. Benzene can also be absorbed through the skin during contact with a source such as gasoline, but because liquid benzene evaporates quickly, this is less common.
People can be exposed to benzene:
- At work
- In the environment
- When using some consumer products
The highest levels of exposure typically have been in the workplace, although high-level exposures have decreased greatly over the last several decades due to federal and state regulations.
Workplace exposures
Workers in industries that make or use benzene can be exposed to this chemical. These include the rubber industry, oil refineries, chemical plants, shoe manufacturers, and gasoline-related industries. Other people who may be exposed to benzene at work include steel workers, printers, lab technicians, gas station employees, and firefighters.
Federal regulations limit exposure to benzene in the workplace (see below).
Community exposures
People can be exposed to benzene from gasol