Thread: Warnings
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Old Fri May 21, 2010, 12:51 AM
lotusbud lotusbud is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2010
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Most gasoline still has benzene, but apparently in different quantities http://www.tambang.org/ifqc-ranks-to...anks-67th.html

Years past I worked in environmental assessments of especially gas stations; benzene was usually the limiting chemical as its allowed ppm or concentration is one of the lowest and it is the most prevalent. We used a handheld device to measure the fumes in the air (approximately of course), whether from soil vapors or air. Sometimes gasoline could be seen on groundwater, if leak was bad (remember a layer of a few feet or nearly half a meter - we joked to siphon it directly to car, but did not know the octane..).

Benzene is not the only constituent of gasoline, nor chemical compound that is bad for us. Ethylbenzene, toluene and other things are also bad, or not healthy.

It seems organic solvents are not very good either, they can cause various nerve damage as well. I was looking into trichloroethylene; it is used as a degreaser in many industries and as a dry cleaning agent (perhaps it is a good idea to air out the clothes from dry cleaners). One of my doctors noted that it can also be a degreaser of human tissues... fatty tissues, nerves and bone marrow.

Usually the concentrations are for acute exposure and sustained exposure, but low level, or person who is less than 70kg (standard weight in exposure levels) and/or sensitive, are not known well. Did find a paper of low chronic exposure (meaning the exposure was fine according to regularoty agencies) causing mild nerve ilnesses, with real symptoms but with sub-clinical signs.
You can find MSDS (material safety data sheet) on most compounds in the net, which states the basic danger, levels allowed for how long, and how it can enter human body (breathing, through skin, eating), and what type of things it can cause (eg skin irritation, dermatitis,..).

Marlene, when I was working there, one boss asked us to not fill gas on the way to take soil samples for gasoline exposure, or wash hands well afterwards. Even when wearing gloves during the sampling, there might be contamination from the hands; we were measuring concentrations in ppm or ppb (parts per billion). But, not all these people working in gas stations get ill-?

BDANDFAM3, so glad you do not have leukemia!! Good luck!
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