Recent medical and scientific studies demonstrate that benzene exposure causes Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL). Our law firm has helped people across the United States recover monetary settlements and jury verdicts for their injuries. If you have been diagnosed with AML or NHL, it may be related to benzene exposure. Contact a benzene lawyer to learn more.
What is Benzene?
Benzene is a liquid used primarily as a solvent in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Benzene is naturally occurring and can also be man-made. It is a component of crude oil, which is the main source of benzene today.
Benzene occurs naturally in petroleum products, such as gasoline. Benzene can also be found in gas emissions from volcanoes and forest fires. Even everyday items like sunscreen can contain the harmful chemical. Other products containing benzene are tobacco smoke, motor vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, rubbers, dyes, detergents, solvents, degreasers, mineral spirits, plastics, resins, furniture wax, and pesticides.
How Can I Be Exposed?
People can be exposed to benzene by breathing its vapors, skin contact, and ingestion. Most people are exposed to dangerous levels of the toxic chemical through their work. People working in the steel, rubber, painting, mechanic, firefighting, petroleum, and printing industries have a higher risk of being exposed and developing a benzene-related illness.
What Are the Risks of Benzene Exposure?
Benzene exposure can lead to acute myelogenous leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome or aplastic anemia, and blood disorders.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) starts in the bone marrow (the soft inner part of certain bones, where new blood cells are made), but most often it quickly moves into the blood, as well. It can sometimes spread to other parts of the body including the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), and testicles.
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which is caused by exposure to benzene, forms in the lymph system, which is part of the immune system. Lymph tissue is located throughout the body; as a result, NHL can start in virtually any part of the body. Once it takes hold, the cancer can spread, or metastasize, to the liver and many other critical organs and tissues. In 2010, there were an estimated 65,540 new cases of NHL in the United States and a reported 20,210 deaths from the disease.
Discuss Your Legal Options with a Benzene Attorney
If you have been diagnosed with AML or any other benzene-related disease while working with any of the aforementioned materials or in any listed industry, contact us. Our attorneys will review the circumstances of your case and explain your possible legal options. Get in touch with a benzene lawyer today to learn more.
