The High Wire By Tracy Beanz & Michelle Edwards 9/10/2024
The cancer-causing chemical benzene is in the news again. Benzene is colorless or light yellow at room temperature and is highly flammable. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) notes that it evaporates into the air very quickly, is heavier than air, and dissolves only slightly in water, instead of floating on top. Natural sources of benzene include volcanoes and forest fires. It is also a natural part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke. However, big industry has taken over and catapulted benzene to rank as one of the top 20 chemicals widely used in the United States. Highly toxic and a known carcinogen, benzene increases the risk of leukemia, blood disorders, and several forms of cancer. And, as proven to be the case with most profitable poisons, benzene has found its way into products regularly used by men, women, and children, including hand sanitizers, acne creams, deodorants, dry shampoos, sunscreens, and generic over-the-counter cold medicines.
A Google search will tell you that benzene is used primarily as a solvent in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as a starting material and an intermediate in synthesizing numerous chemicals, and in gasoline. The unsafe pollutant was one of the dangerous chemicals on board when a freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, and the source of serious pollution violations for plastics plants, including record levels at a Shell plant in Pennsylvania, which crippled residents with headaches, nausea, irritated throats and watery eyes. But clearly, and especially in the last four years with the promoted illness and fears around COVID-19, besides the industrial mishaps with benzene, the chemical has undoubtedly touched and entered the bodies of millions upon millions of Americans as they practiced basic hygiene, over-sanitized their hands, and treated cold and flu-like symptoms.
In 2021, Johnson & Johnson was slapped with a class-action lawsuit after announcing that it was recalling five of its spray sunscreens due to the presence of cancer-causing benzene. The case remains ongoing. In a 2023 article titled ‘What is benzene, and why does it keep causing beauty product recalls,’ the Washington Post asked the critical question: How does benzene get into beauty products? According to the article, butane-powered propellants in aerosol sprays were among the highest risk categories for benzene contamination in consumer products. The article included a timeline of benzene recalls, including a plethora of brands commonly used by millions, reporting that:
More:
https://thehighwire.com/editorial/most-recent-toxic-benzene-incident-linked-to-distributor-partnered-with-fda/
