Benzene Exposure Associated With Leukemia

Many working and retired North Carolina men and women are diagnosed each year with Leukemia. The disease is a cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, causing persistent bleeding, fatigue, bone pain and weight loss. It can occur at any age. There are a number of types of Leukemia, and some are caused by exposure to chemicals, such as Benzene.

Produced in large amounts in the United States, Benzene is a colorless liquid with a swee odor that evaporates quickly. One of the top 20 chemicals produced in this country each year, Benzene is used in gasoline and diesel fuel and is combined with other chemicals to make plastics, nylon and synthetic fibers, rubbers, lubricants, dyes, detergents and pesticides. Leukemia is often directly associated with Benzene exposure in the work place. People who work or have worked in these industries are the most likely to develop Leukemia. It can take a relatively short length of exposure to Benzene or other chemicals to cause Leukemia and more than 30,000 people are diagnosed each year with some form of Leukemia.

The primary sources of exposure are (1) inhalation, (2) dermal exposure, and (3) ingestion of water and other foods contaminated with Benzene. Although the respiratory route is commonly the primary source of human exposure, skin absorption is more prominent in the working population. Many workers never know they have been exposed until years later.

If you, a family member, or someone you know has any form of Leukemia, they may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits and additional compensation from the chemical companies which manufactured the chemicals they were exposed to on the job. North Carolina law permits someone injured under these circumstances to recover for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or wrongful death compensation in the event the person has died.

North Carolina has statutes of limitation which require the person injured or their family to bring a claim within three years form the date they were first diagnosed with the disease if the person is still living, or two years form the date of death in the event the person died. The law in North Carolina provides these remedies because employers and manufacturers should not be allowed to escape responsibility when they cause injury or death. The purpose of these laws in North Carolina is to make sure that employers and the manufacturers of dangerous products are held responsible, just like everyone else, when they do something that causes disease or death.