Benzene-Exposed Workers

Through the years, railroad workers have suffered benzene exposures via use of mineral spirits, solvents, degreasers and through diesel exposures. Firefighters suffer regular benzene exposures. Workers in numerous industries including chemical plants, oil refineries, steel plants, printing presses, fuel service stations, tanneries and tire plants are also regularly exposed.

Fuels, inks, glues, paints, solvents, detergents, degreasers, lubricants, pesticides, rubbers, coatings, polishes, thinners and waxes. Some well-known brands that contained benzene include Liquid Wrench, Safety-Kleen 105, Kutzit, Gumout, and CRC Brakleen.

No. Benzene has been used commercially since the 1800s, and even back then, doctors were able to note the detrimental effects that it had on workers. As with asbestos, big corporations continued to use benzene because, in their mind, the utility of its uses outweighed the risks to their employees.

Various blood and bone marrow disorders are associated with benzene exposures including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and aplastic anemia are linked as well. Benzene is classified as “carcinogenic to humans” by the World Health Organization.

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) all classify benzene as either “known to be a human carcinogen” or “known human carcinogen.”

Despite what the petrochemical conglomerates, steel mills, railroads and oil field bosses tell you, there is no safe level of benzene exposure.

The corporate defendants will hire experts to say your exposures were at “safe levels”, but there is no denying the genetic damage wreaked by long-term exposures to benzene. Plaintiffs with benzene “biomarkers” who are suffering from occupational diseases like acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome have very strong cases.

We consult with top medical and toxicological experts to prove your case. If you suspect that you have been exposed to benzene in your line of work and have developed a condition, please contact us today.