The Biggest Source of Benzene Exposure is Tobacco Smoke
Benzene is a chemical that causes cancer and other serious health problems for those who inhale or swallow it. It comes from many artificial and natural sources, but the most common one is tobacco smoke. You may put this toxic substance in your body because you smoke or you’re exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke.
Satterley & Kelley, PLLC lawyers in Louisville represent Kentucky residents and people around the nation with cancer and other diseases caused by asbestos and chemical exposure. If you’re diagnosed with a benzene-related condition, it’s time to start discussing your potential legal claims to compensation for your medical costs, pain, suffering, and other damages.
What is Benzene?
It’s a sweet-smelling, colorless liquid that evaporates very quickly and dissolves
poorly in water. Benzene is highly flammable and widely used in motor fuels and as a solvent. It’s part of many manufacturing processes, including for pesticides, drugs, detergents, plastics, and dyes. Gasoline and tobacco smoke contain benzene. It also occurs naturally as part of smoke from forest fires and volcanic emissions.
How Am I Exposed to Benzene?
It usually occurs through inhalation and ingestion, with inhalation being the more common method. Sources of benzene in the air include tobacco smoke, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline fumes, and industrial emissions.
Smoking tobacco causes about half of all benzene exposure in the US. A typical smoker inhales about ten times more benzene daily than a non-smoker, according to the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.
About 20% of the country’s total benzene exposure is caused by burning gasoline and industrial pollution. People living in cities or near industrial areas face greater exposure than those in more rural areas.
Benzene is Just One of Many Cancer-Causing Chemicals in Tobacco Smoke
Tobacco smoke has thousands of chemicals. At least 70 of them, including benzene, are known to cause cancer, reports the American Cancer Society. Some of them include the following:
- Acetaldehyde
- Arsenic
- Benzene
- Cadmium
- Formaldehyde
- Hydrazine
- Lead
- Nickel
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
- Radioactive elements, such as uranium-235, polonium-210 (see below)
- Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs)
- Vinyl chloride
In addition to causing cancer, some of these substances can also cause lung and heart diseases, and harm a developing fetus in a pregnant woman. Most of these chemicals come from the smoke created by burning tobacco leaves.
How Might Benzene Impact My Health?
Inhalation of benzene in the short term may cause dizziness, headaches, confusion, drowsiness, and unconsciousness, reports the Virginia Department of Health. Ingesting large amounts of benzene may cause vomiting, stomach irritation, convulsions, sleepiness, rapid heart rate, and death.
Chronic benzene inhalation may damage your bone marrow and result in blood disorders, including leukemia. Benzene causes excessive bleeding, anemia, and damage to the immune system. Women inhaling benzene at high levels may have irregular menstrual periods, and their ovaries may shrink.
How Can I Protect Myself from Benzene?
Reduce your exposure to benzene by not smoking tobacco and staying away from second-hand smoke. You should also limit your contact with gasoline fumes, burning wood, industrial emissions, and vehicle exhaust.
What Should I Do If I’m Diagnosed with a Benzene-Related Health Condition?
You may be entitled to compensation for what you’ve suffered due to your condition. This includes lost wages, medical bills, pain, suffering, emotional and psychological effects, and the impact on your relationships with others.
If you’re interested in learning more about possible compensation, contact a law firm experienced in representing victims of companies injuring others with the toxic substances they sell. Satterley & Kelley, PLLC lawyers have helped injury victims for more than 25 years.
We have relationships with the best experts to help us prove that benzene caused your condition and the emotional, psychological, medical, and financial harm you suffered.
Call Us Today for a Free Initial Consultation
If you or a loved one is diagnosed with leukemia or another severe illness caused by benzene exposure, you may receive financial compensation for your hardship. Call us at 855-385-9532, locally 502-589-5600, or contact us online to arrange a free initial consultation with a Satterley & Kelley PLLC lawyer.