A European occupational and industrial employee testing company has provided the first benzene urine test kits and exposure analysis for vessels involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup efforts. Concateno has over 20 years of experience working with the maritime industry to help regulate its safety. Their Benzene Exposure Biomonitoring Kits (BEB’s) allow for rapid screening on a large scale. Norweigian shipping company Eidesvik is already using the BEB technology in the Gulf.
Thousands of maritime workers are involved in cleaning up multiple millions of gallons of crude oil spilled out in the Gulf of Mexico after one of the worst environmental disasters in world history. At least 5,000 vessels and more than 25,000 crewmembers have been involved so far in the Gulf Coast oil spill clean up. This large-scale operation runs a huge risk of exposure to benzene. This risk of widespread benzene exposure can hopefully be better evaluation and minimized through urine sampling. The samples are then packaged, sent off and the results emailed in as quickly as a day or two.
Offshore workers can be exposed to benzene by inhaling it and absorbing it through their skin. Short-term benzene exposure can cause uncomfortable side effects like headaches and nauseau. As has been researched and documented, long-term benzene exposure can lead to fatal illnesses like leukemia.
In the body, benzene is metabolized. Certain metabolites can be measured in the urine. However, testing the urine for benzene exposure must be done shortly after the actual exposure. Some argue that urine testing is altogether not a reliable indicator of benzene exposure, since the same metabolites may be present in urine from other sources.