1980 Supreme Court decision vacates OSHA’s updated benzene standard on this date. It takes OSHA another seven years to readopt its benzene standard to better protect workers. The Supreme Court, ruled that OSHA had to first show "significant" risk to workers, which it defined as somewhere between 1 death per 1,000 workers to 1 death per 1 billion workers. Since this decision, OSHA has used the less safe risk of 1 death per 1,000 workers to set workplace standards. This clip shows a worker with leukemia from benzene exposure on the job. It is from the 1980 film, OSHA. Benzene exposure has serious health effects. The short term breathing of high levels of benzene can result in death, while low levels can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, headaches, tremors, confusion, and unconsciousness. The major effects of benzene are chronic (long-term) exposure through the blood. Benzene damages the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anemia. Benzene causes leukemia and is associated with other blood cancers and pre-cancers of the blood. Benzene was first reported to induce cancer in humans in the 1920s.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 09:51:42 +0000
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