Background: Organic solvents are a group of chemicals that can be toxic to the nervous, cardiovascular, and hematopoietic systems for a long time. Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, and isomers toxic to humans have been studied by the world as well as Vietnam for a long time. In our country, diseases caused by exposure to benzene and isomers were soon included in the list of occupational diseases and were insured in 1976.
Objectives: Describe the status of occupational exposure to benzene and isomers, to attach some related factors in workers exposed to petroleum in 2022.
Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2022 to October 2022 with a sample size of 336 workers.
Results: There are 10 workers monitoring occupational exposure to benzene, accounting for 3%. In particular, the most common symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea often appears in the hot afternoon, and red blood cell disorder. The group of workers with occupational age ≥ 10 years has a 41,5 times higher risk of poisoning than the group of workers with less than 10 years of age (p<0.001, Fisher's exact test). Occupational exposure to benzene occurs mainly in the age group of 30-49 years old, with more women than men, the group of petrol truck drivers has a higher risk than the group of petrol sellers (p>0.05).
Conclusions: The rate occupational exposure to benzene in workers exposed to gasoline is 3%, the common symptoms are headache, dizziness, nausea, and red blood cell disorder. Occupational exposure to benzene and isomers is related to occupational age and job position.