What is benzene poisoning?

Benzene poisoning occurs when someone swallows, breathes in, or touches benzene. It is a member of a class of compounds known as hydrocarbons. Human exposure to hydrocarbons is a common problem. This article is for information only. DO NOT use it to treat or manage an actual poison exposure.

How do you test for benzene poisoning?

There is a test for measuring benzene in the breath; this test must be done shortly after exposure. Benzene can also be measured in the blood; however, because benzene disappears rapidly from the blood, measurements are accurate only for extremely recent exposures. Benzene exposure should always be minimized.

What anemia is associated with benzene toxicity?

Benzene in the workplace has been associated with aplastic anemia and leukemia. The state of knowledge regarding the treatment of patients potentially exposed to hazardous substances in the environment is constantly evolving and is often uncertain.

How Does benzene cause AML?

AML-related chromosomal changes are also produced by benzene metabolites in human cell cultures, including cultures of CD34+ progenitor cells (101,102). Together, these data provide strong evidence for the induction of AML by benzene through previously proposed genetic pathways (52).

What are four known health effects of benzene exposure?

Acute (short-term) inhalation exposure of humans to benzene may cause drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, as well as eye, skin, and respiratory tract irritation, and, at high levels, unconsciousness.

How much benzene is toxic?

Brief exposure (5–10 minutes) to very high levels of benzene in air (10,000–20,000 ppm) can result in death. Lower levels (700–3,000 ppm) can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, headaches, tremors, confusion, and unconsciousness.

How is benzene detected?

The most common detector currently used with a GC is a mass selective detector (mass spectrometer MS) which provides a positive identification of benzene based on its chemical structure, though flame ionization and photoionization can be used for quantification.

How is benzene poisoning treated?

Benzene poisoning is treated with supportive medical care in a hospital setting. No specific antidote exists for benzene poisoning. The most important thing is for victims to seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

Why Does benzene cause anemia?

Benzene works by causing cells not to work correctly. For example, it can cause bone marrow not to produce enough red blood cells, which can lead to anemia. Also, it can damage the immune system by changing blood levels of antibodies and causing the loss of white blood cells.

Why Does benzene cause aplastic anemia?

The mechanism of benzene-induced aplastic anaemia remains unclear, but is likely to involve: (a) metabolism of benzene in the liver; (b) transport of metabolites to the marrow and their secondary activation to toxic quinones and free radicals by peroxidase enzymes; (c) induction of apoptosis, DNA damage and altered …

Why Does benzene cause leukemia?

Benzene has been shown to cause chromosome changes in bone marrow cells in the lab. (The bone marrow is where new blood cells are made.) Such changes are commonly found in human leukemia cells.

How does benzene affect the bone marrow?

Excessive exposure to benzene has been known for more than a century to damage the bone marrow resulting in decreases in the numbers of circulating blood cells, and ultimately, aplastic anemia.

What does benzene do to the human body?

Benzene poisoning can be lethal because it causes the cells in the body to work incorrectly. Benzene exposure can cause bone marrow cells to not produce red blood cells or it can can cause the white blood cells of your immune system to fail.

What is the OSHA PEL for benzene?

OSHA. Abstract: Amendment of existing standard for Occupational Exposure to Benzene. The revised standard reduces the permissible exposure limit (PEL) from 10 parts benzene per million parts of air (10 ppm) to an eight (8)-hour time-weighted average (TWA) of 1 ppm and a short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 5 ppm.

Is EWG a benzene?

Benzene is a electron withdrawing by inductive effect and electron donating by resonance (depends on the substituents attached to the benzene ring).

Why is benzene carcinogenic?

Why benzene causes aplastic anemia?

How does benzene affect the blood?

Long-term exposure of over a year or more to benzene is not safe. These effects can be devastating to the body and cause significant harm to an individual’s blood. It can cause excessive bleeding, a significantly reduced and ineffective immune system and anemia.

Why is benzene carcinogen?

How does benzene affect DNA?

These results suggest that these benzene metabolites cause DNA damage through H2O2 generation in cells, preceding internucleosomal DNA fragmentation leading to apoptosis. The fates of the cells to apoptosis or mutation might be dependent on the intensity of DNA damage and the ability to repair DNA.