| If you have been exposed to benzene while at work and are now suffering serious health conditions such as ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA, please Contact a Benzene Lawyer.
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| Benzene Related Illnesses • Blood disorders Benzene Exposure Can Cause |
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Benzene Risk It may take up to twenty years to develop symptoms of benzene health conditions. Although using benzene in the U.S. as a solvent has been banned for many years now, workers using solvents continue to be exposed to benzene because it is still present in some degree in most petroleum solvents. |
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Benzene Associated to Many Health Effects |
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Workplace Benzene Exposure Limits NIOSH - The recommended airborne exposure limit is 0.1 ppm averaged over a 10-hour workshift and 1 ppm not to be exceeded during any 15-minute work period. ACGIH - The recommended airborne exposure limit is 0.5 ppm averaged over an 8-hour workshift and 2.5 ppm as a short-term exposure limit. |
Benzene Side Effects
» Acute Myelogenous Leukemia» Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
» Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
» Aplastic Anemia
» Myelodysplastic Syndrome
» Hairy Cell Leukemia
» Hodgkin's Disease
» Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Benzene has been classified as a human carcinogen linking the chemical to rare cases of leukemia and cancer to those exposed to it. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood-forming organs that originates in the bone marrow and results in uncontrolled growth of marrow cells. Two major classifications of leukemia exist, myelogenous or lymphocytic that can be either acute or chronic depending on their onset.
Benzene Exposure has been linked to leukemia as early as the 1920s in a published study. Later, in the 1940s, the American Petroleum Institute noted Benzene Exposure resulting in leukemia. Workers exposed to benzene at risk for developing leukemia was later published in an extensive epidemiologic study in 1977.
Currently, OSHA standards have set a permissible exposure limit of 1ppm in the workplace during an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek. Despite these standards, it has been shown that Benzene Exposure at even this level can result in serious health conditions. The NIH has found that there are more than 80,000 leukemia or lymphoma deaths in the U.S. every year.
If you have been exposed to benzene while at work and are now suffering serious health conditions, please contact us to learn more about your legal rights.
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia
Acute myelogenous leukemia is one of the most common types of leukemia in adults, affecting more than 10,000 adults that are diagnosed every year in the U.S. This type of leukemia is a blood cancer that develops in specific types of white blood cells that are used by the body to fight off infection. The white blood cells affected are called granulocytes and monocytes that are created from stem cells that have the ability to develop into different kinds of blood cells.
Acute myelogenous leukemia develops and white blood cells are not able to grow properly. The cells are not able to grow beyond a certain point early in development and cannot differentiate into functional types of white cells because of this. Why this occurs is not understood. Many acute myelogenous leukemia patients end up becoming anemic because the leukemia cells keep the production of healthy cells due to the lack of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Infections are more likely with acute myelogenous leukemia because there is not enough disease fighting white blood cells.
Acute myelogenous leukemia is often difficult to diagnose. Symptoms of the disease are very similar to flu or other common diseases, like fever, weakness, tiredness, or aches in bones or joints. Recovering from acute myelogenous leukemia depends on many different factors. Since there is no staging for acute myelogenous leukemia choosing the type of treatment can vary from chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bone marrow transplant, and biological therapy.
If you have been exposed to benzene while at work and are now suffering serious health conditions, please contact us to learn more about your legal rights.
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
Acute lymphocytic leukemia is a malignant form of cancer that develops in the white blood cells, or lymphocytes. Acute lymphocyctic leukemia is rare but has been the result of exposure to solvents containing benzene. The lymphocytes that are created from special stem cells can grow into different types of blood cells to perform specialized immune system functions, but when acute lymphocytic leukemia is present white blood cells do not grow properly.
Although some experts question the relationship of benzene to acute lymphocyctic leukemia, there is a decent amount of information showing that benzene can in fact result in acute lymphocytic leukemia. It has been shown that this type of leukemia accounts for about 10% of all benzene induced leukemia. Without treatment acute lymphocytic leukemia quickly progresses to a life-threatening condition.
If you have been exposed to benzene while at work and are now suffering serious health conditions, please contact us to learn more about your legal rights.
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
Chronic myelogenous leukemia affects the myeloid cells in the blood. Most patients with this form of leukemia can be effectively treated with drugs, but a cure is not considered possible with just drug treatment. Almost all of the patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia have abnormal chromosomes in most or al of the leukemia cells that are distinctive.
If you have been exposed to benzene while at work and are now suffering serious health conditions, please contact us to learn more about your legal rights.
Aplastic Anemia
Aplastic anemia is a disease of the bone marrow, the organ that produces the body's blood cells and has been associated to the Benzene Exposure. There are approximately 2,000 people in the U.S. diagnosed each year with aplastic anemia. Symptoms of aplastic anemia include, fatigue, bruising, infections, and weakness. The symptoms of aplastic anemia appear very similar to those associated to leukemia, but it is not a form of cancer. Aplastic anemia causes the bone marrow to stop producing, or produces too few red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Oxygen can no longer reach organs and tissues throughout the body, and a decrease in white blood cells cause an increased disability to fight off infection. Aplastic anemia affects between two to six people per million worldwide.
If you have been exposed to benzene while at work and are now suffering serious health conditions, please contact us to learn more about your legal rights.
Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Myelodysplastic syndrome refers to a group of disorders in which the bone marrow overproduces cells, but they do not mature normally. Most patients with MDS are anemic, and many have low platelet counts and low numbers of infection fighting white blood cells (neutrophils). While MDS is a chronic disease, it evolves over time to AML in many patients. The only curative therapy for MDS is allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. The standard treatment for MDS is supportive care: transfusions and antibiotics as needed. Statistics from 1999 estimated that there are 13,000 new cases of myelodysplastic syndrome every year.
Hairy Cell Leukemia
Hairy cell leukemia is a rare cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The cause of hairy cell leukemia is unknown, but it has been observed to occur more often in older men. Some investigators have suggested that benzene exposures and other solvents may be related to the development of hairy cell leukemia, but since it has never been confirmed it continues to be debated.
Most commonly, hairy cell leukemia patients will complain of weakness and fatigue because of anemia. In healthy bone marrow stem cells are produced that develop into mature blood cells, but in hairy cell leukemia patients, too many stem cells develop into a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, or leukemic cells. In more than 80 percent of hairy cell leukemia patients, splenomegaly is the most common physical finding.
Possible indicators that hairy cell leukemia is present will include tiredness, infections and pain below the ribs.Hodgkin's Disease
The American Cancer Society estimated that in 2004 about 7,880 new cases of Hodgkin's disease would be diagnosed in the United States. The group estimated 1,320 people would die in 2004 as a result of Hodgkin's disease. Hodgkin's disease starts in lymphatic tissue, which includes the lymph nodes and related organs part of the immune and blood forming systems.
Benzene exposure is linked to a higher incidence of leukemia. Over the years, an association between benzene exposure and Hodgkin's disease has been reported but continues to be debated. Though the exact cause of Hodgkin's disease is still unknown, experts have argued that a higher incidence of Hodgkin's has been observed in people that have been exposed to high levels of benzene. Since there is still an absence of information on the long-term effects of benzene exposure for real diseases, researchers are still trying to confirm and understand what effect exposure to different levels of benzene can have on the body.
Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a cancer that affects the lymphatic system—the blood filtering tissues that help the body fight disease and infection. While the cancer begins in the lymphatic tissue, which is found in the lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils, thymus gland, intestinal tract, and bone marrow, it can quickly spread and invade vital organs such as the brain, kidneys, and intestines. Currently, there are 10 different subtypes of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and more than 20 classifications, all of which vary with regard to aggressiveness and ability to be treated.
It is estimated that about 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma every year – 25,000 of which die from the disease. Numerous factors may contribute to the development of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, including congenital, acquired, or environmental factors. Viral and bacterial infections may also trigger the growth of cancerous cells in the lymphatic system. Non-Hodgkins lymphoma has even been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals such as benzene. Researchers continue to study the long-term effects of high and low levels of benzene exposure to understand the link.
Patients between 40 and 70 years of age are at the highest risk of developing Non-Hodgkins lymphoma as well as those who have faced frequent exposure to hazardous chemicals like benzene, lead, pesticides, and more. Symptoms of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma may include severe weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, night sweats, fatigue, and organ dysfunction.
If you have been exposed to benzene while at work and are now suffering serious health conditions such as such as acute myelogenous leukemia, please Contact a Benzene Lawyer.