Health Effects of Benzene Exposure among Children Following a Flaring Incident at the British Petroleum Refinery in Texas City

• Published in: Pediatric hematology and oncology Vol. 31; no. 1; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Authors: D'Andrea, Mark A., Reddy, G. Kesava
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa Healthcare 01.02.2014; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Accidents, Occupational; Adolescent; Air Pollutants - toxicity; Benzene - toxicity; benzene poisoning; Blood Cell Count; blood disorders; chemical exposure; Chemical Industry; Child; Creatinine - blood; Digestive System Diseases - blood; Digestive System Diseases - chemically induced; Digestive System Diseases - epidemiology; Environmental Exposure; Exanthema - chemically induced; Exanthema - epidemiology; Female; health impact; hematological toxicity; Hemoglobins - analysis; hepatotoxicity; Humans; Kidney - drug effects; Liver - drug effects; Liver Function Tests; Male; Nervous System Diseases - chemically induced; Nervous System Diseases - epidemiology; Petroleum; petroleum refinery; Phenol - urine; Respiratory Tract Diseases - chemically induced; Respiratory Tract Diseases - epidemiology; Retrospective Studies; Sex Factors; Texas; urinary metabolites of benzene; Texas
• ISSN: 0888-0018; 1521-0669; 1521-0669
• DOI: 10.3109/08880018.2013.831511

Human exposure to benzene is associated with multiple adverse health effects leading to hematological malignancies. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the health consequences of benzene exposure in children following a flaring incident at the British petroleum (BP) refinery in the Texas City, Texas. The study included children aged <17 years who had been exposed and unexposed to benzene. Using medical charts, clinical data including white blood cell (WBC) counts, platelets counts, hemoglobin, hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), and somatic symptom complaints by the children exposed to benzene were reviewed and analyzed. A total of 312 subjects (benzene exposed, n = 157 and unexposed, n = 155) were included. Hematologic analysis showed that WBC counts were significantly decreased in benzene-exposed children compared with the unexposed children (6.8 ± 2.1 versus 7.3 ± 1.7, P = .022). Conversely, platelet (X 103 per μL) counts were increased significantly in the benzene-exposed group compared with the unexposed group (278.4 ± 59.9 versus 261.6 ± 51.7, P = .005). Similarly, benzene-exposed children had significantly higher levels of ALP (183.7± 95.6 versus 165 ± 70.3 IU/L, P = .04), AST (23.6 ± 15.3 versus 20.5 ± 5.5 IU/L, P = .015), and ALT (19.2 ± 7.8 versus 16.9 ± 6.9 IU/L, P = .005) compared with the unexposed children. Together, the results of the study reveal that children exposed to benzene experienced significantly altered blood profiles, liver enzymes, and somatic symptoms indicating that children exposed to benzene are at a higher risk of developing hepatic or blood related disorders.