United States Environmental Protection Agency Off ice of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Publication 9230.0-05FSd September 1992 Superfund Fact Sheet: Benzene Office of Emergency and Remedial Response Hazardous Site Control Division (5203G) Quick Reference Fact Sheet What Is benzene? Many chemicals are found at Superfund hazardous waste sites. The Superfund Program's mission includes identifying the chemicals, evaluating their potential health effects on the people who live, work, or play nearby, keeping the public informed, and supervising the cleanup of the site. This fact sheet is one in a series produced by the Superfund Program. It is intended for readers with no formal scientific training. It is based on an EPA Drinking Water Health Advisory and a Toxicological Profile prepared in 1989 by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (U.S. Public Health Service). Benzene is a major industrial chemical made from coal and oil. As a pure chemical, benzene is a clear liquid. In industry, benzene is used to make other chemicals, as well as some types of plastics, detergents, and pesticides and is a component of gasoline. Benzene is also a naturally-occurring substance pro- duced by volcanoes, forest fires, and animals. How are people exposed to benzene? Most high-level exposures occur in the workplace, although almost everyone is exposed to measurable background levels of benzene in gasoline vapors and automobile exhausts. A typical concentration in urban air is estimated to be about 1 to 4 parts per billion (ppb). Higher levels are expected to occur near gas stations. During the fall and winter, the average daily exposure to benzene is higher from indoor air than outdoor air. When houses are closed tightly and small emissions of benzene from various consumer products are contained, ben- zene concentrations can increase, especially in a smoker's household. Higher levels of exposure are generally associated with the following circumstances: • Occupational settings, such as rubber or chemical manufacturing, oil refin- ing, or gasoline storage, shipment, and sales, and industrial areas where benzene may be released into the surrounding air. • Use of consumer products containing benzene: glues, adhesives, particle board, household cleaning products, paint strippers, and some art supplies. • Use of ground water contaminated with benzene from leaking underground storage tanks, by wastewater from industries that use benzene, or by leach- ing from landfills containing benzene. Benzene has been found in at least 29 percent of the hazardous waste sites on Superfund's National Priorities List. Benzene evaporates very quickly, so most benzene intake comes from breathing air containing it. Benzene can make its way into groundwater (and potentially into drinking water) from leaks in underground storage tanks or from landfills containing buried benzene. ------- Benzene can enter the body through the skin, but direct contact with liquid benzene is rare, except for benzene-containing products such as gasoline. In conducting site investigations, EPA may determine that although benzene is found at a site, there is little chance that people will come into contact with it. If there is no probability of exposure to the benzene, and there is no reason to believe that there will be in the future, then the benzene at the site poses no risk. The type of health problems an individual might experience depends on the chemical, how much of the chemical a person is exposed to and how long the exposure lasts. Some chemicals are harmful in small amounts and other chemi- cals are not harmful even in very large amounts. IS there a medical test If you have any reason to believe you have been exposed to harmful levels of to determine exposure benzene, you should contact your physician. He or she can best determine what to benzene? type Of examination is appropriate. You and your physician may want to obtain a copy of the lexicological Profile on benzene described at the end of this document. Although EPA does not generally conduct tests, benzene can be measured in the blood and the breath. The body converts benzene to phenol, which can be measured in the urine. Levels of benzene (in blood) and phenol (in urine) cannot be used as yet to predict what harmful health effects may occur. Benzene and phenol measurements in blood and urine should be evaluated with care for several reasons: 1) phenol may occur in urine from the metabolism of other chemicals (some chemicals in mouth wash, for example); 2) average levels of benzene found in the body have not been determined for the general population; 3) smoking raises the background level of benzene in the blood, so smoking habits must be considered to evaluate benzene intake; 4) benzene disappears rapidly from the blood and measurements may be accurate only for recent exposures. How can benzene affect people's health? Medical experience and animal studies indicate that benzene is harmful to the immune system and the tissues that form blood cells, increasing the chance for infections and perhaps lowering the body's defense against tumors. Studies indicate that human exposure to extremely high concentrations of ben- zene for short periods of time can be fatal. Exposures to much lower benzene concentrations for about five hours can cause temporary drowsiness, dizziness, and headaches. Long term exposures to benzene may reduce the normal produc- tion of blood cells, which takes place in bone marrow, and can lead to severe anemia and cancer. Information regarding the adverse health effects of ingest- ing benzene comes mainly from animal studies, where long-term effects include blood abnormalities and cancer. Not enough information is available to estimate health effects from absorbing benzene through the skin. Exposure to benzene has been linked with genetic changes in people and ani- mals. Animal studies also indicate that benzene has harmful pre-natal effects at relatively low intakes: low birth weight, delayed bone formation, and bone mar- row damage. Evidence for human reproductive effects, such as spontaneous abortion or miscarriage, is too limited to prove a clear connection. ------- What recommendation* From overwhelming human evidence and supporting animal studies, benzene is has the federal known to be a carcinogen. Leukemia (cancer of the tissues that form the white government made to blood cells) and subsequent death from cancer have occurred in some workers protect human health? exposed to benzene for periods of less than 5 years as well as for longer periods. EPA has set a maximum permissible level for benzene in drinking water. If benzene has made its way into drinking water and exceeds allowable levels, temporary safety measures may have to be offered. Because benzene can cause leukemia, EPA has an ultimate goal of eliminating benzene in drinking water and in ambient water such as rivers and lakes. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) legally enforce- able limit for benzene in air (an average of 1000 parts per billion) is equivalent to an exposure of 32 milligrams in a workday shift. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recommended further reducing the occupational exposure limit in air. At specific Superfund sites, EPA makes every effort to monitor benzene levels and safeguard public health. EPA investigators determine if there are excessive levels of benzene, what risks it poses, and how the cleanup can bring benzene levels to approved limits. During the cleanup, temporary safety measures may need to be offered. For example, if benzene has made its way into drinking water, an alternate source may have to be supplied, or if benzene has entered the food chain, the consumption of affected fish, animals, or milk may have to be banned Where can I get more This fact sheet has been designed to provide general information on benzene. Information on this More information about benzene at a specific site is available from the Commu- Chemlcal? nity Relations Coordinator (CRC) for each EPA Region. Community Relations Offices are listed on the back of this fact sheet. For additional technical details, contact EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791, or see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Toricologicfll Profile for Benzene. Information on obtaining this profile is available by calling the Agency's Toxicology Information Service, at (404) 639-6000. The information service is accessible 24 hours per day by touchtone phone. ------- Regional Superfund Community Relations Offices Region 1 Superfund Community Relations Office of Public Affairs EPA Region 1 (RPA-74) #1 Congress Street Boston, MA 02203 (617) 565-3425 Region 2 Community Relations Branch External Programs Division EPA Region 2 (2-EPD) 26 Federal Plaza New York, NY 10278 (212) 264-7054 Region 3 Superfund Community Relations Office of External Affairs EPA Region 3 (3EA21) 841 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 597-9905 Region 4 Superfund Community Relations Waste Management Division EPA Region 4 345 Courtland Street, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30365 (404) 347-2643 Region 5 Superfund Community Relations Office of Public Affairs EPA Region 5 Metcalfe Federal Bldg. 77 West Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604 (312) 353-2073 Region 6 Superfund Community Relations Hazardous Waste Mgmt. Division EPA Region 6 (6H-SS) 1445 Ross Avenue 12th Floor, Suite 1200 Dallas, TX 75270 (214) 655-2240 Region 7 Community Relations Office of Public Affairs EPA Region 7 726 Minnesota Avenue Kansas City , KS 66101 (913) 551-7003 Region 8 Community Relations Branch Office of External Affairs EPA Region 8 (80EA) 1 Denver Place 999 18th Street, Suite 1300 Denver, CO 80202 (303)294-1144 Region 9 Superfund Community Relations Hazardous Waste Mgmt. Division EPA Region 9 (T-l-3) 75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 744-2178 Region 10 Community Relations Section Hazardous Waste Division EPA Region 10 (HW117) 1200 6th Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 (206) 553-6901 x>EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency (5203G) Washington, DC 20460 Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300 First-Class Mail Postage and Fees Paid EPA Permit No. G-35 ------- |