Hematological Assessment of Benzene Exposure among Employees in Brega Oil Marketing Company (BOMC), Benghazi

Background: Benzene is a toxic chemical and is a human carcinogenic. It is found in both the natural and industrial atmosphere. Its exposure can cause hematological health problems as a result of metabolite formation in the liver and bone marrow. The aim of this study is to evaluate the hematological health effects of benzene exposure amongst workers in loading and uploading stations at the Ras-Elmengar depository of BOMC, Benghazi, Libya.

Methods: This study was a cross sectional design with the study sample being 30 participants, 15 exposed workers and 15 non-exposed employees. They were asked to fill out a questionnaire about socio-demographic data and symptoms of benzene exposure. Blood samples were also taken from the participants by a laboratory technician to test the complete blood counts. The data from the blood test was analyzed using SPSS.

Results: The findings demonstrated a significant difference in CBC between the exposed and non-exposed groups. There was a reduction in WBC, RBCs and HCT of workers who were exposed to benzene. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between the hematological effects of benzene exposure and the BMI, years of experience and smoking habits of the workers.

Conclusion: The exposure to benzene has negative effects on the workers blood, and this effect is associated with work duration. Furthermore, it correlates with BMI and the smoking habits of the workers. Therefore, safety measures must be applied to protect the employees working at the company.