Low Levels of Benzene Affect Blood Cells
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Blood changes, including a decline in disease-fighting white cells, have been found in workers persistently exposed to low levels of benzene, a common industrial chemical that poses a leukemia risk at high concentrations.
Researchers reported Thursday in the journal Science that workers in a Chinese shoe factory exposed to less than one part per million of benzene experienced a significant decline of white cells and found their blood-forming cells were less vigorous than normal. U.S. occupational guidelines limit benzene exposure to one part per million, but the study found changes in blood from lower exposure.
