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Benzene is everywhere, particularly in trace amounts in otherwise harmless products. Benzene is a building block for the production of many chemicals, includin

Benzene is everywhere, particularly in trace amounts in otherwise harmless products. Benzene is a building block for the production of many chemicals, including plastics, synthetic fibers, rubber, resins, dyes and pharmaceuticals, and residual amounts may remain in the final products. Benzene is used as a solvent and cleaning agent in printing, paint manufacturing, electronics, etc. Benzene contributes to the overall VOC load of paint for example. And benzene is in the formulation of adhesives and sealants. Regulations often restrict the amount of benzene to a certain amount

TSiege 3y ago
I thought benzene as a solvent was replaced by toluene, which is not good for you either but is less bad.
FrustratedMonky 3y ago
>"Benzene is everywhere, particularly in trace amounts in otherwise harmless products." Note -> Everywhere 'Today' because of your listed modern products. Not, Everywhere because it is some natural thing. Saying it is "Everywhere" seems to imply it is ok. The point is, we are all exposed now.
- elevaet 3y ago
  I didn't pick up on it being ok as the implication, rather that it's not ok because it's everywhere in otherwise harmless products.
  - FrustratedMonky 3y ago
    Sorry. Think you are correct. I read word 'harmless' and associated it with entire comment indicating 'harmless'. But on closer reading, it could be as you say, and it is not trying to excuse it.
- sidewndr46 3y ago
  the same thing is true of brominated fire retardants. Somewhere along the way it was decided flameproofing was necessary for consumer products. As a result, we all get a free does of bromine in our homes! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brominated_flame_retardant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brominated_flame_retardant
  - mrguyorama 3y ago
    That article says that BFRs only account for 20% of the flame retardant market, and the vast majority of that goes into printed circuit boards and electrical components. There's no reference for that section, and I wonder if that calculation is by value, rather than by volume or weight, which would rather massively skew the calculation. Poisons don't usually care how much you paid for them.
ben7799 3y ago
Benzene is in sunscreen... at least some of the spray stuff. Apparently it doesn't get on your skin but it's important to apply it in a well ventilated area to make sure you don't breathe any of it.
- koboll 3y ago
  Not just the spray stuff https://www.valisure.com/valisure-newsroom/valisure-detects-benzene-in-sunscreen https://www.valisure.com/valisure-newsroom/valisure-detects-...
- hammock 3y ago
  Benzene is in most personal care products in at least trace amounts https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/CENODS/10001-feature2-benzene?$responsive$&wid=700&qlt=90,0&resMode=sharp2 https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/CENODS/10001-feature2-benze...
  - bob_theslob646 3y ago
    May please provide another source rather than an image with the cutout of a house and showing the parts per million of benzene versus the actual personal care products you were talking about that contain benzene?
  - InSteady 3y ago
    According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, it is a big enough concern to recommend safety equipment in exposure at or above 0.1 ppm. So most of the activities / sources on that diagram don't warrant too much concern, other than cigarette smoking and fresh pain fumes. Although benzene exposure from cosmetics probably depends highly on what you are using. As per another reply here, those spray on sunscreens are are pretty terrible (likely due to using butane, propane, etc as propellants). Exposure can get as high as 6 ppm in some cases.
- mint2 3y ago
  > Apparently it doesn't get on your skin That’s wishful thinking. Also, benzene is a common contaminant and breakdown product of chemical sunscreen (as opposed to mineral sunblock) ingredients. I.e. the older the tube of sunscreen is, the more benzene and other undesirable by products it’s likely to have.
refurb 3y ago
The dose makes the poison. Currently chemical analysis techniques can detect compounds down to picograms/L. That's billionth's of grams per liter. So saying "this material has benzene in it", doesn't really tell you anything about the level of exposure or risk. Very few compounds are toxic at that kind of exposure.
- nimos 3y ago
  A lot of chemicals seem to have effects on the endocrine system. I wonder if there is potentially an issue with them in aggregate. Such that the dose of any single chemical isn't problematic but all of them together with similar effects causes a problem.
  - mistrial9 3y ago
    you are right -- keyword search "body burden" or "forever chemicals"
  - milsorgen 3y ago
    >I wonder if there is potentially an issue with them in aggregate. Such that the dose of any single chemical isn't problematic but all of them together with similar effects causes a problem. I've been wondering about this a lot in recent years. Particularly in regards to medications/pharmaceuticals but also environmental containments/traces (which can include pharmaceuticals of course), pair with this what we are just starting to understand about plastics exposure and pervasiveness and I really wonder why more health research and workplace safety resources aren't being directed to look at compound and long term exposures.
    - brewdad 3y ago
      > I really wonder why more health research and workplace safety resources aren't being directed to look at compound and long term exposures. Probably because no one wants to find the various smoking guns alongside the fears of what each of the ensuing lawsuits would cost. Ignorance is bliss as they say.
    - 3y ago
tines 3y ago
ChatGPT?
ikekkdcjkfke 3y ago
Things i wish i knew before buying a fixer upper car is all the chemicals involved. Just one sniff of the brake cleaner and the rest of the day is gone. Probably some IQ ponis down the drain too. Should've just bought a tesla and be done with it...
- rootsudo 3y ago
  Brake cleaner is the worst, the others are pretty much okay as long as you avoid exposure. ATF, Oil, etc - just wear proper PPE :)
- scheme271 3y ago
  You'll need brake cleaners for Tesla brakes too. Less of it since you change the brake pads and rotors less often but it'll still be used.
- christophilus 3y ago
  > IQ ponis This made me laugh. Well played, sir.
  - samstave 3y ago
    https://youtu.be/iyC2ccF_-Pc https://youtu.be/iyC2ccF_-Pc
- wil421 3y ago
  A few guys I watch on YouTube repair cars with a mask on when they spray brake cleaner.
  - mint2 3y ago
    Note, the type of mask is pretty important. An n95 for particulates isn’t going to stop vapors nearly as well.
    - wil421 3y ago
      You can’t use n95 masks for toxic gases. These are what I would call paint respirators mask. It’s like a gas mask but doesn’t go over the face fully.
permo-w 3y ago
perhaps as a society we need to stop dismissing things containing plastics, synthetic fibres, rubber, resins, dyes and pharmaceuticals as otherwise harmless. I personally strongly avoid sleeping on or wearing anything containing synthetic fibres unless absolutely necessary. dyes I'm less cautious about, as short of dressing like a hippy they're almost impossible to avoid. it would be worse if I was a woman I'm sure, god knows what nonsense cosmetics contain
- MisterTea 3y ago
  > it would be worse if I was a woman I'm sure, god knows what nonsense cosmetics contain They can always not apply them.
  - ilikecakeandpie 3y ago
    Societal pressure and beauty standards for women are far different than for men. I agree that they could always just "not apply them", but look at tabloids showing things like "star unrecognizable without makeup" and memes where men are encouraged to take women swimming on a date so they can see what they look like without makeup. It's just not that easy
  - MrVandemar 3y ago
    That's startlingly naive. There are breathtaking double standards as applies to women. One of my friends is a graphic designer / coder working at a web-dev shop. Guys could come in wearing ripped jeans, hoodies, whatever. If she came in with low makeup and casual clothes she was upbraided for not "looking good" in case a client came in. It's by no means an uncommon incident. It's 2023, there's still a lot of discrimination and inequality. Women choosing to not wear makeup probably don't get jobs and contracts.
  - acumenical 3y ago
    Yes, if they want to opt out of society. In most places outside the farm, for a woman not to apply makeup is career and social suicide.
mint2 3y ago
Toluene is often used in place of benzene these days. That one methyl group makes a significant difference, but I still would avoid unnecessary exposure.
hilbert42 3y ago
"Benzene is everywhere, ..." The more I read these posts the more alarmed I become. As I posted above only minutes ago I was taught the dangers of benzene over 50 years ago to the extent that there were strict controls on how we used it—we weren't allowed to even take the stopper of the bottle unless it was in a fume cupboard.

TSiege 3y ago

I thought benzene as a solvent was replaced by toluene, which is not good for you either but is less bad.

FrustratedMonky 3y ago

>"Benzene is everywhere, particularly in trace amounts in otherwise harmless products." Note -> Everywhere 'Today' because of your listed modern products. Not, Everywhere because it is some natural thing. Saying it is "Everywhere" seems to imply it is ok. The point is, we are all exposed now.

elevaet 3y ago
I didn't pick up on it being ok as the implication, rather that it's not ok because it's everywhere in otherwise harmless products.
- FrustratedMonky 3y ago
  Sorry. Think you are correct. I read word 'harmless' and associated it with entire comment indicating 'harmless'. But on closer reading, it could be as you say, and it is not trying to excuse it.
sidewndr46 3y ago
the same thing is true of brominated fire retardants. Somewhere along the way it was decided flameproofing was necessary for consumer products. As a result, we all get a free does of bromine in our homes! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brominated_flame_retardant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brominated_flame_retardant
- mrguyorama 3y ago
  That article says that BFRs only account for 20% of the flame retardant market, and the vast majority of that goes into printed circuit boards and electrical components. There's no reference for that section, and I wonder if that calculation is by value, rather than by volume or weight, which would rather massively skew the calculation. Poisons don't usually care how much you paid for them.

ben7799 3y ago

Benzene is in sunscreen... at least some of the spray stuff. Apparently it doesn't get on your skin but it's important to apply it in a well ventilated area to make sure you don't breathe any of it.

koboll 3y ago
Not just the spray stuff https://www.valisure.com/valisure-newsroom/valisure-detects-benzene-in-sunscreen https://www.valisure.com/valisure-newsroom/valisure-detects-...
hammock 3y ago
Benzene is in most personal care products in at least trace amounts https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/CENODS/10001-feature2-benzene?$responsive$&wid=700&qlt=90,0&resMode=sharp2 https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/CENODS/10001-feature2-benze...
- bob_theslob646 3y ago
  May please provide another source rather than an image with the cutout of a house and showing the parts per million of benzene versus the actual personal care products you were talking about that contain benzene?
- InSteady 3y ago
  According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, it is a big enough concern to recommend safety equipment in exposure at or above 0.1 ppm. So most of the activities / sources on that diagram don't warrant too much concern, other than cigarette smoking and fresh pain fumes. Although benzene exposure from cosmetics probably depends highly on what you are using. As per another reply here, those spray on sunscreens are are pretty terrible (likely due to using butane, propane, etc as propellants). Exposure can get as high as 6 ppm in some cases.
mint2 3y ago
> Apparently it doesn't get on your skin That’s wishful thinking. Also, benzene is a common contaminant and breakdown product of chemical sunscreen (as opposed to mineral sunblock) ingredients. I.e. the older the tube of sunscreen is, the more benzene and other undesirable by products it’s likely to have.

refurb 3y ago

The dose makes the poison. Currently chemical analysis techniques can detect compounds down to picograms/L. That's billionth's of grams per liter. So saying "this material has benzene in it", doesn't really tell you anything about the level of exposure or risk. Very few compounds are toxic at that kind of exposure.

nimos 3y ago
A lot of chemicals seem to have effects on the endocrine system. I wonder if there is potentially an issue with them in aggregate. Such that the dose of any single chemical isn't problematic but all of them together with similar effects causes a problem.
- mistrial9 3y ago
  you are right -- keyword search "body burden" or "forever chemicals"
- milsorgen 3y ago
  >I wonder if there is potentially an issue with them in aggregate. Such that the dose of any single chemical isn't problematic but all of them together with similar effects causes a problem. I've been wondering about this a lot in recent years. Particularly in regards to medications/pharmaceuticals but also environmental containments/traces (which can include pharmaceuticals of course), pair with this what we are just starting to understand about plastics exposure and pervasiveness and I really wonder why more health research and workplace safety resources aren't being directed to look at compound and long term exposures.
  - brewdad 3y ago
    > I really wonder why more health research and workplace safety resources aren't being directed to look at compound and long term exposures. Probably because no one wants to find the various smoking guns alongside the fears of what each of the ensuing lawsuits would cost. Ignorance is bliss as they say.
  - 3y ago

tines 3y ago

ChatGPT?

ikekkdcjkfke 3y ago

Things i wish i knew before buying a fixer upper car is all the chemicals involved. Just one sniff of the brake cleaner and the rest of the day is gone. Probably some IQ ponis down the drain too. Should've just bought a tesla and be done with it...

rootsudo 3y ago
Brake cleaner is the worst, the others are pretty much okay as long as you avoid exposure. ATF, Oil, etc - just wear proper PPE :)
scheme271 3y ago
You'll need brake cleaners for Tesla brakes too. Less of it since you change the brake pads and rotors less often but it'll still be used.
christophilus 3y ago
> IQ ponis This made me laugh. Well played, sir.
- samstave 3y ago
  https://youtu.be/iyC2ccF_-Pc https://youtu.be/iyC2ccF_-Pc
wil421 3y ago
A few guys I watch on YouTube repair cars with a mask on when they spray brake cleaner.
- mint2 3y ago
  Note, the type of mask is pretty important. An n95 for particulates isn’t going to stop vapors nearly as well.
  - wil421 3y ago
    You can’t use n95 masks for toxic gases. These are what I would call paint respirators mask. It’s like a gas mask but doesn’t go over the face fully.

permo-w 3y ago

perhaps as a society we need to stop dismissing things containing plastics, synthetic fibres, rubber, resins, dyes and pharmaceuticals as otherwise harmless. I personally strongly avoid sleeping on or wearing anything containing synthetic fibres unless absolutely necessary. dyes I'm less cautious about, as short of dressing like a hippy they're almost impossible to avoid. it would be worse if I was a woman I'm sure, god knows what nonsense cosmetics contain

MisterTea 3y ago
> it would be worse if I was a woman I'm sure, god knows what nonsense cosmetics contain They can always not apply them.
- ilikecakeandpie 3y ago
  Societal pressure and beauty standards for women are far different than for men. I agree that they could always just "not apply them", but look at tabloids showing things like "star unrecognizable without makeup" and memes where men are encouraged to take women swimming on a date so they can see what they look like without makeup. It's just not that easy
- MrVandemar 3y ago
  That's startlingly naive. There are breathtaking double standards as applies to women. One of my friends is a graphic designer / coder working at a web-dev shop. Guys could come in wearing ripped jeans, hoodies, whatever. If she came in with low makeup and casual clothes she was upbraided for not "looking good" in case a client came in. It's by no means an uncommon incident. It's 2023, there's still a lot of discrimination and inequality. Women choosing to not wear makeup probably don't get jobs and contracts.
- acumenical 3y ago
  Yes, if they want to opt out of society. In most places outside the farm, for a woman not to apply makeup is career and social suicide.

mint2 3y ago

Toluene is often used in place of benzene these days. That one methyl group makes a significant difference, but I still would avoid unnecessary exposure.

hilbert42 3y ago

"Benzene is everywhere, ..." The more I read these posts the more alarmed I become. As I posted above only minutes ago I was taught the dangers of benzene over 50 years ago to the extent that there were strict controls on how we used it—we weren't allowed to even take the stopper of the bottle unless it was in a fume cupboard.