Ethylbenzene Surveillance

Ethylbenzene is widely used in the chemical industry in the production of polystyrene foam.

-It is used in paints, lacquers, adhesives, inks, and cleaning materials, and in the production of dyes, perfumes, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. Ethylbenzene is a natural component of petroleum and is therefore found in gasoline.

Sources of ethylbenzene to the atmosphere include petroleum and coal refining, vehicle emissions, and evaporation from solvents and thinners. Ethylbenzene may be released to the air through the use of consumer products such as solvents, enamel brush paints and spray paints, stains and varnishes. It may be released to soil and water from leaking underground gasoline storage tanks, landfill sites, spills during transportation, pesticide use, and discharges of industrial and municipal waste. Ethylbenzene is also found in tobacco and wood smoke.

The health effects of exposure to ethylbenzene are not well understood, although adverse outcomes associated with airborne ethylbenzene have been demonstrated in animal studies. High concentrations of ethylbenzene have been shown to cause liver and lung cancer in mice and kidney cancer in rats. An assessment by the International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that ethylbenzene was possibly carcinogenic to humans, based on sufficient evidence in experimental animals and inadequate evidence in humans.

Ethylbenzene may affect the health of workers if it’s in a form that may be inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the skin. Occupations such as petroleum companies, plastic and paint manufacturing, soil remediation and construction companies are susceptible to danger from exposure to ethylbenzene.