What is Benzene?
Benzene is an aromatic, colorless liquid that evaporates quickly. Most of the benzene produced in the U.S. is by the petroleum and petrochemical industries, with the rest produced by the steel industry as a byproduct of coking operations. Previously used as a solvent itself, benzene is today commonly found in solvents, de-greasers and mineral spirits. It is also in products used to clean and de-grease tools and machine parts and de-rust metal parts. Benzene is also used in the manufacture of plastics, rubber, resins, nylon, glues, dyes, paints, detergents and pesticides. It naturally occurs in crude oil and is a component of such petroleum products as gasoline and jet fuel.
Benzene is a toxic chemical. The Environmental Protection Agency lists benzene as a known human carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) have also classified benzene as a human carcinogen. Job-related exposure to benzene has been associated with the development of blood cancers and disorders. Examples of blood diseases linked to occupational benzene exposure include acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (which can progress into acute myelogenous leukemia over time), aplastic anemia, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
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