Benzene Dangers in the Workplace Stats & Facts

BENZENE EXPOSURE

1. Workers who are exposed to benzene at a concentration at or above 0.5 ppm over the course of eight-hour workdays or at or above 10 pm in the past, have rights to information from their employer as well as a medical evaluation.
2. Workers who are accidentally exposed to benzene on the job, either by ingestion, inhalation, or skin/eye contact, have a right to view employer documents, such as special laboratory tests concerning benzene.
3. OSHA also guarantees workers several other rights when it comes to benzene exposure, including the right by you or your designated representative to observe benzene monitoring procedures and to record the results.

STATS

• More than five million U.S. workers continue to be exposed to benzene levels that could be slowly destroying their health.
• Over 6 million pounds of benzene are released into the U.S. environment annually from point sources.
• The total U.S. production of benzene is approximately 15.8 billion pounds per year, which ranks in the top 20 highest volume chemicals produced in the United States.
• Approximately 3 million workers in the United States and 1.4 million workers in the European Union, and unaccounted-for others in many industrializing economies, are exposed to benzene in industries such as adhesives, auto repair, chemical, gas station, paint, petroleum, rubber, shoe/leather, and shipping.
• Over half of exposed workers may be women in industries such as shoe manufacturing and in countries with poor occupational health standards.