Is it gasoline or exhaust fumes that harm health?
Thread Content
Hello, while looking up information online, I came across some reports stating that gasoline has an impact on the incidence of lung cancer; therefore, the hazards posed by gasoline cannot be ignored. I would like to ask: 1. When people talk online about the effects of gasoline on the lungs, do they refer to the exhaust gases produced after combustion, or the gasoline in its liquid form or various chemical components themselves (in liquid state)? My office is about 100 meters away from the oil depot, which is used for blending gasoline (such as benzene, toluene, xylene, heavy aromatics, C9, C5, MTBE, etc.). At its peak, the depot held around 1,000 tons of fuel; usually, however, a flow rate of about 5,000 tons per month is involved. Raw materials are delivered to the tanks via tank trucks, and after being mixed together, the mixture is then sent back out in tank trucks. Apart from maintaining pressure at the vents, there is oil and gas evaporation; everything else takes place in a sealed environment. Above-ground vertical oil tank. 2. In China, roughly how many people are directly exposed to gasoline and various raw materials? 3. I would like to ask: In the past, the company mixed benzene-based materials, and it was located about 30–40 meters away from me; the smell was very strong. This activity took place two or three times a week, and it lasted for less than a year. Now they stop doing this. Could this work experience have a significant impact on one’s health? Does benzene accumulate in the body? Is there such a thing as an incubation period? P.S. I’m not a front-line employee; I work as an accountant. Currently, the office is about 100 meters away from the oil depot; it used to be around 30 to 40 meters for over a year. I’m not sure whether past and current work experiences have a significant impact on the lungs; is it really true, as reported online, that they can lead to lung diseases or even cancer? Thank you for your reply!
There should be no aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene and xylene in standard-grade gasoline. Your oil refinery probably isn’t a legitimate enterprise. Aromatic hydrocarbons are extremely harmful to the human body; they mainly affect the hematopoietic system, including the bone marrow. Once accumulated, they take a very long time to be eliminated from the body. The time it takes for symptoms to appear varies depending on an individual’s physical condition and proximity to the source of exposure. However, in a workplace environment, the levels of these substances inevitably exceed safe limits—there’s no way to avoid this
http://iask.sina.com.cn/b/15042471.html Benzene, which has a pungent odor, is certainly harmful to the human body... In the case of the person who posted this question, only by undergoing a medical examination specific to occupational diseases can it be determined to what extent they have been harmed; however, it’s difficult to give a precise answer... The so-called harm caused by gasoline or exhaust fumes is actually due to the additives in gasoline. Gasoline itself poses limited health risks, but the various additives may not be harmless... The damage to the body (caused by chemicals, radiation, etc.) depends on three factors: 1. The properties of the substance itself – the more toxic a substance is, the greater the damage it can cause to the body； 2. Contact time: The longer the contact time, the greater the damage ； 3. Exposure dose: The higher the exposure dose (for example, inhaling a large amount), the greater the impact on the body. Apart from these three factors, it also relates to an individual’s physical condition, such as their constitution and metabolic capacity, etc. The above are merely my personal opinions for reference only; please point out any errors!
Aromatics are definitely carcinogens; this is well-known. I don’t know much about blended gasoline; as a fuel for civilian use, is the use of aromatics allowed in it? Gasoline itself is also somewhat toxic. Alcohol is also toxic, it’s just not that scary. It mainly acts on the central nervous system. Symptoms of acute poisoning include dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, unsteady gait, and ataxia. Toxic encephalopathy occurs with high-level inhalation. Inhalation of extremely high concentrations causes sudden loss of consciousness, reflexive respiratory arrest, and chemical pneumonia. It may be accompanied by toxic peripheral neuropathy. Liquid aspiration into the respiratory tract causes aspiration pneumonia. If it gets into the eyes, it can cause corneal ulcers, perforation, and even blindness. Skin contact can cause acute contact dermatitis or allergic dermatitis. Acute oral poisoning causes acute gastroenteritis ； In severe cases, symptoms similar to acute inhalation poisoning occur. Chronic poisoning: neurasthenic syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, skin lesions. Specific hazards can only be determined through occupational health monitoring. It’s hard to say. As for the poster’s concern about poisoning and the need to prevent accidents, I have a simple and easy suggestion for you; take a look and see if you can adopt it: one bottle of milk per day.
This post was last edited and replied to by anima1 on 2011-3-8 at 12:45. Reply to 2# wxm930575: Hello, the gasoline used in our company is blended gasoline, which is sold after passing inspection. The national standard for gasoline specifies that it contains benzene, in amounts of up to 1%, while the aromatic compounds make up around 42%. Does this amount of aromatic compounds not include xylene? Our company mixes xylene, toluene, benzene, light aromatics, heavy aromatics, C9, C5, MTBE, and other substances together before testing them and selling them; the test results show that they meet **the standards**. May I ask that after the aforementioned raw materials are mixed together and meet the testing standards, the same approach used by large petrochemical companies to produce gasoline through distillation and catalytic cracking can also ensure that the contents of various raw materials meet the allowed standards. Both blended gasoline and gasoline obtained through distillation meet **all the permissible content limits**. Is there a big difference in the harm these two methods cause to the human body? My office is located about 100 meters away from the oil depot (vertical oil tanks with a capacity of up to 1,000 tons and a monthly flow rate of around 5,000 tons). I work inside the office. Will the concentration of oil and gas in such an working environment definitely exceed the safe levels? Thank you
Reply to 3# fallautumn: Hello, our company currently uses MTBE as well as a gasoline additive; the concentration of these additives is 1. 5%) Are these two types of additives harmful? Currently, my workplace is located about 100 meters away from the oil loading point. I’ve never been to that location. I’m an accountant who works in an office; I’m not a frontline worker, so I don’t have any protective clothing or the like. Is the harm significant? (Usually, no gasoline smell can be detected.) The blended fuel is transported through pipes from the vehicle to the fuel tanks, and from there it is distributed. The storage capacity per tank is 1,000 tons, (at its maximum). The monthly throughput is around 5,000 tons. Typically, the amount of material fed in at one time is about 30–40 tons; occasionally it reaches 50–60 tons. The total amount of raw materials used in one blending process is roughly 200 tons. How much harm would it cause to me if light passed through several vents on oil tanks (which maintain pressure) over a distance of about 100 meters? Thank you
Without conducting tests, it’s impossible to determine the concentration of harmful substances in the environment. You can refer to your organization’s regular monitoring reports or the annual mandatory test reports... Regarding drinking milk daily, in my opinion, there’s definitely no harm in doing so. However, milk only helps alleviate poisoning caused by heavy metals; for organic substances, I believe its effectiveness is limited...
Great post! The replies are also awesome! Learned it! One more question: what is the mechanism by which milk detoxifies?