Facts About Benzene

30 July 2008

Facts About Benzene

Drinking clean fresh water is paramount to our health. There are several ways in which to do this but by far the healthiest is from a water cooler or domestic water filter using reverse osmosis technology. What it does is removes a range of contaminants, which ordinary carbon filters are unable to do. This includes many chemicals, inorganic minerals, heavy metals, bacteria, parasites and viruses.

This is a fact sheet about a chemical that may be found in some public or private drinking water supplies.
What is Benzene and how is it used?

Benzene is a clear, colorless aromatic liquid. It is highly flammable. The greatest use of benzene is as a building block for making plastics, rubber, resins and synthetic fabrics like nylon and polyester. Other uses include a solvent in printing, paints, dry cleaning, etc. The list of trade names given below may help you find out whether you are using this chemical at home or work.

Trade Names and Synonyms:
  • Benzol 90
  • Pyrobenzol
  • Polystream
  • Coal naphtha
  • Phene
What are the Health Effects?

Short-term: benzene potentially causes the following health effects when people are exposed to it at high levels for relatively short periods: temporary nervous system disorders, immune system depression and anemia.

Long-term: Benzene has the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure: chromosome aberrations, cancer.
How much Benzene is produced and released to the environment?

Benzene is released to air primarily from fumes and exhaust connected with its use in gasoline. Other sources are fumes from its production and use in manufacturing other chemicals. In addition, there are discharges into water from industrial effluents and losses during spills.

What happens to Benzene when it is released to the environment?

If benzene is released to soil, it will either evaporate very quickly or leach to groundwater. Some soil microbes can break it down and may degrade in some ground waters. If benzene is released to surface water, most of it should evaporate within a few hours. Though it does not degrade by reacting with water, microbes may degrade it. It is not likely to accumulate in aquatic organisms.

How will Benzene be Detected in and Removed from My Drinking Water?

If contaminant levels are high, your water supplier must take steps to reduce the amount of benzene so that it is consistently below that level. Then to ensure safe drinking water the installation of Pure Eau’s Reverse Osmosis Water Coolers and Domestic Water Filters will remove Benzene.

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