Benzene Caused Cancer Case 1980

This clip shows a worker with leukemia from benzene exposure on the job. It is from the 1980 film, OSHA. The entire film is available at on my channel. Benzene exposure has serious health effects. The short term breathing of high levels of benzene can result in death, while low levels can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, headaches, tremors, confusion, and unconsciousness. The major effects of benzene are chronic (long-term) exposure through the blood. Benzene damages the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anemia. Benzene causes leukemia and is associated with other blood cancers and pre-cancers of the blood. Benzene was first reported to induce cancer in humans in the 1920s. The chemical industry claims it wasn’t until 1979 that the cancer inducing properties were determined “conclusively“ in humans, despite many references to this fact in the medical literarure. Industry exploited this “discrepancy“ and tried to discredit animal studies which showed benzene caused cancer saying that they weren’t relevant to humans. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a permissible exposure limit of 0.5 part of benzene per million parts of air (.5 ppm) in the workplace during an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek. Workers in various industries that make or use benzene may be at risk for being exposed to high levels of this carcinogenic chemical. Industries that involve the use of benzene include the rubber industry, oil refineries, chemical plants, shoe manufacturers, and gasoline related industries.