title: Hematological and hepatic alterations in nonsmoking residents exposed to benzene following a flaring incident at the British petroleum plant in Texas City.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Human exposure to benzene is associated with multiple adverse health effects with an increased risk of developing carcinogenesis. Benzene exposure is known to affect many critical organs including the hematological, hepatic, renal, lung, and cardiac functions. The purpose of this study is to examine the health effects of benzene exposure among nonsmoking subjects from a prolonged flaring incident that occurred at the British petroleum (BP) refinery in the Texas City, Texas.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included nonsmoking subjects who had been exposed and unexposed to benzene. Using medical charts, clinical data including white blood cell (WBC) counts, platelet counts, hemoglobin, hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST), and alanine amino transferase (ALT) in nonsmoking subjects exposed to benzene were reviewed and analyzed and compared with unexposed adults.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1422 nonsmoking subjects (benzene exposed, n=1093 and unexposed, n=329) were included. Benzene exposed subjects had significantly higher levels of WBC (×10(3) per μL) counts (7.7±2.2 versus 6.8±1.7, P=0.001) and platelet (×10(3) per μL) counts (288.8±59.0 versus 245.3±54.4, P=0.001) compared with the unexposed subjects. The mean serum creatinine (mg/dL) levels were also significantly increased in the benzene exposed group compared with the unexposed group (1.1±0.4 versus 0.8±0.2, P=0.001). Serum levels of ALP (IU/L) was significantly elevated in the benzene exposed subjects compared with the unexposed subjects (87.3±22.6 versus 69.6±16.5, P=0.001). Similarly, benzene exposed subjects had significantly higher levels of AST and ALT compared with those unexposed subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Benzene exposure from the prolonged BP flaring incident caused significant alterations in hematological and liver markers indicating that these nonsmoking residents exposed to refinery chemicals may be at a higher risk of developing hepatic or blood related disorders.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: D'Andrea
authors.affiliation: University Cancer and Diagnostic Centers, 12811 Beamer Road, Houston 77089, TX, USA. kreddy_usa@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: G Kesava
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D001554:Benzene / Q000633:toxicity*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006403:Hematologic Tests; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D012737:Sex Factors; D013781:Texas
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D015415:Biomarkers; D001554:Benzene