Even Tiny Amounts of Benzene Damage Body
(Washington, Reuters Health, 12/2/04)

Qing Lan of the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues in both the US and China, compared the blood test results of 250 Chinese shoe workers who had been exposed to benzene with 140 workers who had no workplace exposure to this chemical. The investigators found that those exposed, even to levels below the US occupational standard of one part per million, were more likely to have defects in their blood and bone marrow cells. The scientists concluded that, even at levels formerly thought safe, benzene may damage the immune system, including stem cells, which can lead to serious medical conditions, such as cancer and leukemia. Unfortunately benzene is difficult to avoid, since it is a component of vehicle emissions and cigarette smoke.