How long does benzene stay in your body?

How long does benzene stay in your body?

Some of the harmful effects of benzene exposure are caused by these metabolites. Most of the metabolites of benzene leave the body in the urine within 48 hours after exposure.

How does benzene get into the body?

Benzene can enter your body through your lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and across your skin. When you are exposed to high levels of benzene in air, about half of the benzene you breathe in passes through the lining of your lungs and enters your bloodstream.

Will benzene kill you?

Exposure for as few as five minutes to high levels of benzene — between 10,000 parts per million and 20,000 parts per million — can kill you.

How can you be exposed to benzene?

How are people exposed to benzene? People are exposed to benzene primarily by breathing air that contains the chemical. Workers in industries that produce or use benzene may be exposed to the highest levels of the chemical, although federal and state regulations have reduced these exposures in recent decades.

How is benzene removed from the body?

Instead, try to cut off the clothing and remove it from your body as quickly as possible. Wash yourself and your skin with warm soap and water. Flush out any benzene that might be in the mouth or eyes for at least fifteen minutes.

Where is benzene found in the home?

In homes, benzene may be found in glues, adhesives, cleaning products, paint strippers, tobacco smoke and gasoline. Most benzene in the environment comes from our use of petroleum products.

How do I rid my body of benzene?

What does benzene do to your brain?

Neurological effects have been commonly reported in humans following high-level exposure to benzene. Fatal inhalation exposure has been associated with vascular congestion in the brain. Chronic inhalation exposure has been associated with distal neuropathy, difficulty in sleeping, and memory loss.

How 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 is benzene harmful?

Benzene causes harmful effects on the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anemia. It can also cause excessive bleeding and can affect the immune system, increasing the chance for infection.

Does benzene exposure increase the risk of leukemia?

Rates of leukemia, particularly acute myeloid leukemia (AML), have been found to be higher in studies of workers exposed to high levels of benzene, such as those in the chemical, shoemaking, and oil refining industries.

What happens if you are exposed to benzene?

Long-term exposure of a year or more can cause blood disorders ranging from anemia to leukemia or other cancers. This is true even if the amount you are exposed to is minor. Health and pollution regulators around the world have determined that benzene is carcinogenic — it is known to cause cancer or helps cancer grow.

What is the most common source of benzene exposure?

Cigarette smoke accounts for about half of the exposure to benzene in the United States. Benzene levels in rooms containing tobacco smoke can be many times higher than normal. People can also be exposed to benzene in contaminated drinking water and some foods (although the levels are usually very low).

What is the short term exposure limit for benzene?

The short term exposure limit is 5 ppm for any 15-minute period. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets the maximum benzene level in drinking water at 5 ppm.