Benzene is not used in medicine during manufacture but the medicines can contain benzene from contamination of other inactive ingredients such as thickening agents, isobutane or other drug components that are made from hydrocarbons.
The common name of benzene is benzene but it's also called Benzol (historic/German) Phenane Phenylene hydride Cyclohexa-1,3,5-triene; 1,3,5-Cyclohexatriene (theoretical resonance isomers) [6]Annulene (not recommended) Phene (historic).
The industry that uses the most benzene are industries that produce plastic, resins, rubber lubricants, synthetic fibers, pesticides, drugs, detergents and dyes.
Benzene is found naturally in forest fires and volcanoes and can also be found in adhesives, glues, paint strippers, cleaning products, tobacco smoke and gasoline.
Most of the benzene that is in the environment is from the use of petroleum.
Common products that have benzene include drugs, pesticides, detergents, dyes, rubber lubricants, synthetic fibers, resins and plastics.
Food products that contain benzene include.
Human milk.
Pickled olives.
Roasted peanuts.
Fruits, cheese, eggs.
Organ meats.
Fruit based products, chicken, fish, peanuts, potatoes and vegetable oils.
Many soft drinks can contain small amounts of benzene but the manufactures do not put benzene in the soft drinks.
The cause of benzene in soft drinks is the decarboxylation of benzoic acid in the presence of ascorbic acid (vitamin C, E300) or erythorbic acid.
The main soft drinks and drinks that have been found to contain benzene include Safeway Select Diet Orange, Crush Pineapple, AquaCal Strawberry Flavored Water Beverage.
Benzene when it contacts your skin causes irritation of the skin and degreases your skin because benzene is a lipid solvent.
Benzene can also produce erythema, a burning sensation and in severe cases benzene can cause blistering and edema.
Benzene is harmful to humans and can cause cancer in humans including leukemia and cancer of the blood forming organs.
Benzene is considered a poison and in some cases it can cause death in severe cases if swallowed, inhaled or touched.
Products that contain benzene are skin care products, sunscreen, detergents, furniture wax, paints and glues.
What benzene does to the body is the benzene causes your cells to not work correctly which can cause bone marrow to not produce enough red blood cells which can then lead to anemia and also damage the immune system by changing your blood levels of antibodies and cause the loss of white blood cells.
Benzene is a carcinogenic as the IARC classifies benzene as being carcinogenic to humans based on sufficient evidence that it causes acute myeloid Leukemia.
Also benzene exposure has been linked with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Benzene works by causing cells not to work correctly.
For example, it can cause bone marrow not to produce enough red blood cells, which can lead to anemia.
Also, it can damage the immune system by changing blood levels of antibodies and causing the loss of white blood cells.
The skin products that have benzene in them are hand sanitizers, Athlete Foot Spray, Jock Itch Spray, sun and skincare lotions and spray sunblock.
Some brands that contain and use benzene are.
Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection Sensitive Skin Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50.
Babyganics Kid's Sunscreen Continuous Spray, SPF 50.
Banana Boat Kids' Max Protect & Play Sunscreen, SPF 100.
Banana Boat Kids' Sport Sunscreen Lotion Spray, SPF 50.
Benzene is also found in most hand sanitizers, sunscreens, deodorant, dry shampoos, conditioners, antiperspirants, deodorants, body sprays and anti-fungal treatments.
Some laundry detergents do contain benzene.
And the most commonly used benzene-based surfactants in laundry detergents are alkylbenzene sulphonates (ABS) and linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS).
To know if a product has benzene in it you can look on the label and see if it lists benzene as the ingredient as some products will state they contain benzene while some may not.
Another way is to smell the product and sometimes you can smell the benzene in the product.
It can be hard to tell if some products have benzene.
The benzene in indoor air comes from products that contain benzene such as glues, paints, furniture wax, and detergents.
The air around hazardous waste sites or gas stations can contain higher levels of benzene than in other areas.
Benzene has a gasoline like smell that is also both aromatic and sweet smelling.
Acute (short-term) inhalation exposure of humans to benzene may cause drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, as well as eye, skin, and respiratory tract irritation, and, at high levels, unconsciousness.
Benzene is not the same as oxybenzone.
Oxybenzone is actually a completely separate, incredibly common active ingredient found in chemical sunscreens, which are different, from zinc or titanium-based mineral sunscreens.
Oxybenzone is also currently under evaluation by the FDA for its safety.
Benzene prior to the 1920s was originally used for an industrial solvent, especially for degreasing metal.
As its toxicity became obvious, benzene was supplanted by other solvents, especially toluene (methylbenzene), which has similar physical properties but is not as carcinogenic.
Benzene is a colorless or light-yellow liquid chemical at room temperature.
It is used primarily as a solvent in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as a starting material and an intermediate in the synthesis of numerous chemicals, and in gasoline.
Benzene is produced by both natural and man-made processes.
Historically, benzene has been used as a component of inks in the printing industry, as a solvent for organic materials, as starting material and intermediate in the chemical and drug industries (e.g. to manufacture rubbers, lubricants, dyes, detergents, pesticides), and as an additive to unleaded gasoline.
BENZENE is a special six carbon ring compound with three alternating double bonds.
This structure imparts unique properties to benzene which are different from other ring compounds.
Because many fragrant oils contain a benzene ring, these compounds became known as AROMATIC.
Benzene poisoning can be lethal because it causes the cells in the body to work incorrectly.
Benzene exposure can cause bone marrow cells to not produce red blood cells or it can can cause the white blood cells of your immune system to fail.
Benzene has a sweet, aromatic, gasoline-like odor.
Most individuals can begin to smell benzene in air at 1.5 to 4.7 ppm.
The odor threshold generally provides adequate warning for acutely hazardous exposure concentrations but is inadequate for more chronic exposures.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that benzene causes cancer in humans.
Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene in the air can cause leukemia, cancer of the blood-forming organs.
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.
Since it is a lipid solvent, benzene degreases the skin, especially after long-term or frequent contact with the liquid.
It can also cause erythema, a burning sensation, and in more serious cases, edema and even blistering.