What can you do? Do you have a class action benzene leukemia lawsuit?

Almost 300,000 people per year are exposed to benzene in the workplace. Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon that is produced by the burning of natural products. It is a component of products derived from coal and petroleum and found in gasoline and other fuels.

Research has shown benzene to be cancer-causing or carcinogenic. With exposures from less than five years to more than 30 years, people have developed and died from leukemia. Long-term benzene exposure may affect bone marrow and blood production. Benzene causes harmful effects on the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells leading to anemia. It can also cause excessive bleeding and can affect the immune system, increasing the chance for infection.

Breathing very high levels of benzene can result in death, while high levels can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, headaches, tremors, confusion, and unconsciousness. Eating or drinking foods containing high levels of benzene can cause vomiting, irritation of the stomach, dizziness, sleepiness, convulsions, rapid heart rate, and death.

Benzene is used in the manufacture of plastics, detergents, pesticides, and other chemicals.

Benzene ranks 6th* on the 2005 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Priority List of Hazardous Substances.

Benzene is considered a human carcinogen. Steps have been taken to limit exposures to benzene both occupationally and environmentally. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates limits concentrations of benzene in drinking water to 5 ppb (parts per billion) with an ultimate goal of 0 ppb. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have limited occupational exposures to benzene to 1 ppm (part per million) during an average workday and also recommend personal protective equipment such as respirators.

*The CERCLA list includes arsenic, lead, mercury, vinyl chloride, polychlorinated biphenyls, and benzene plus 14 more hazardous substances. The list may not contain the most dangerous or volatile chemicals, but those that are in the greatest quantity at the National Priorities List sites, or those that can cause the greatest harm to human health because they are in a greater frequency at a particular site. This list gets revised and amended at least every two years when the National Priorities List is reviewed.

Do you or a loved one suffer from leukemia caused by occupational or environmental benzene exposure? Has a loved one died from leukemia from exposure to benzene? Do you qualify for an individual or class action benzene exposure lawsuit?