Here are links to research and other information that illuminates the relationship between benzene, its electromagnetic properties, and its role in causing cancer. OSHA does not currently maintain a national repository of Material Safety Data Sheets for products that contain benzene.

Benzene basics - Benzene has a unique resonance hybrid structure, which makes it very carcinogenic.

Getting the word out

• Benzene Toxicity - Standards and Regulations from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is the largest medical library in the world. The goal of the NLM is to collect, organize and make available biomedical literature to advance medical science and improve public health. The NLM does not do research for individuals or send materials. The NLM makes available a variety of health information sources and offers assistance to find and use them.
• Virtual Text of Organic Chemistry ©1999 by William Reusch
• NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Toxnet - exhaustive information about benzene
• Benzene, including health effects, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Benzene and resonance by Dr. Edwin Thall
• Resonance Theory 
• Resonance Hybrid - a report by Del Parkinson
• Benzene structure, production, uses, and health effects from the World of Molecules web site
• National Toxicology Program, Dept. of Health and Human Services - enter "benzene" in the search field and select the collection you want to search, such as the "11th Report on Carcinogens"
• National Institutes of Health Safety Data Sheet for Benzene (issued 10/1988)
• Public Citizen - National non-profit public interest organization founded in 1971 to represent consumer interests (including safer drugs and public health) in Congress, the executive branch and the courts.
• Federal Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research - monitors and regulates drugs
• Trade Secrets: A Bill Moyers Report

Chemical structure of laundry detergents - The benzene compound linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS) is used as a surfactant in laundry detergents.

• Chemical structure of laundry detergents
• Synonyms for linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS)
• How do detergents clean? by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
• LAS in powdered detergents - a look at the electrochemical action of LAS ( referred to here as DDBSA)
• Linear Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate in the environment - studies compiled by the Environmental Risk Assessment and Management, a research partnership of the Detergents and Surfactants Industries in Europe
• LAS is used in many common cleaning products - from Oil Chem Technologies
• Household Products Safety Database - information about products that contain LAS, along with the percentage of LAS in each product.
• Ariel, Gain, Tide - Material Safety Data Sheets for three Proctor and Gamble products as reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Note that all of the powdered laundry detergents contain 7-13% of  linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS). 

Benzene or its derivatives are used in many medications

• Benzene in phenylpropanolamine
• Drugs that contain phenylpropanolamine recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Worst Pills provides info about what medications are used for and how these medications might cause additional medical problems for users. 
• Many popular medications incorporate benzene or its derivatives. Click the medication name to view its molecular structure (provided by Wikipedia).
  • Aspirin - contains a benzene-based molecule
  • Acetaminophen - contains a benzene-based molecule
  • Ibuprofen - contains a benzene-based molecule
  • Naproxen - contains two benzene molecules
  • Celecoxib (marketed as Celebrex) - contains two molecules of benzene derivative
  • Rofecoxib (marketed as Vioxx) - contains two molecules of benzene derivative
  • Valdecoxib (marketed as Bextra) - contains two molecules of benzene derivative
• Benzene is found in drugs commonly used to treat:
  • Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
  • Weight loss
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Hypertension

Benzene is a carcinogen

• Chemical Research in Toxicology, a journal published by the American Chemical Society - details how metabolites of benzene affect human DNA
• Benzene substance profile from the National Institutes of Health 
• Benzene-A Review of the Literature from a Health Effects Perspective - written by Ginger L. Gist, Ph.D. and JeAnne R. Burg, Ph.D., Exposure and Disease Registry Branch, Division of Health Studies, Agency for Toxic Sub stances and Disease Registry, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Benzene Toxic at Levels Below U.S. Standards
• Human and Environmental Risk Assessment on ingredients of household cleaning products
• Genotoxic effects of linear alkyl benzene sulfonate, sodium pentachlorophenate and dichromate on Tetrahymena pyriformis
• How Benzene Affects Your Health - articles provided by the Law Offices of James Sokolove
  • What is Benzene?
  • Benzene and Leukemia
  • Benzene Exposure Risks
  • Benzene and Acute Myelogenous Leukemia 
• Health Canada, Environmental and Occupational Toxicology Division - describes how benzene can enter the body through the skin
• A to Z List of Cancers from the National Cancer Institute

Epidemic of cancer and other diseases

• American Cancer Society - the nation's cancer burden
• Washington State Cancer Registry
• Cancer Prevention Coalition

Health impacts of radio frequency fields - Cell phone studies, EMFs, and electrical hypersensitivity

• The research presented in this report by the Canadian Division of Mechanical Engineering was completed in 1973. In 1973, we were using  only analog 900 MHz cell phones, and now we use 1.9 GHz digital Global Satellite for Mobile (GSM), which has modulations of Gaussian minimum shift that are twice as powerful and twice as dangerous as the radiation evaluated in this report.
• The biological effect of radio frequency (RF) fields remains controversial - summary of research performed by staff at the Department of Medicine, University of Chicago
• Summaries of numerous studies examining potential health effects from cell phone usage
• Comparing standards for general public RF exposure levels
  1000 u W/cm2 is for only 30 minutes, NOT  24/7 as all the cell phone people are saying.
• Public Appeal to remove cancer-promoting EMFs from power lines, homes, schools, and workplaces - Shocking News, March 7, 2004
• Electrical Hypersensitivity - a look at how "dirty" electricity can affect human health from the World Health Organization Workshop on Electrical Hypersensitivity, 25-26 October 2004
• Electromagnetic fields, leukemia, and DNA damage from the Institute of Science and Society
• Letter from Dr. Hillman