Benzene Lawsuits

Benzene lawsuits usually name large industrial employers for exposing a worker to the chemical. Benzene is one of the 20 most widely produced chemicals in the U.S. and is used by dozens of industries.

It is also a known cause of cancer and exposure is strictly limited by government regulators. But some researchers believe the benzene exposure limits set by those rules are still too high.

In addition to benzene lawsuits against employers, consumers are also filing sunscreen lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson after the company recalled Neutrogena and Aveeno sunscreens for benzene contamination.

Benzene lawsuits claim that on-the-job exposure to the chemical caused blood-related cancers.

Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services list benzene as a “known human carcinogen.” A carcinogen is a substance that can cause cancer or helps it grow in the body.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration limits workplace exposure to benzene over an 8-hour day to no more than 1 part-per-million, or 1 ppm. That means air in the workplace can have no more than 1 part benzene for every million parts of air. OSHA also limits short-term exposure to 5 ppm for any 15-minute part of the workday.

However, National Cancer Institute researchers have found that there may be no safe level of benzene exposure. Their 2004 study in the Annals of Work Exposures and Health found Chinese factory workers showing indications of bone marrow issues that can precede cancer. The workers were exposed to benzene levels considered safe in the U.S.

The chemical is used in hundreds of ways. It occurs naturally in crude oil and gasoline. It’s used in paints, glues and solvents. And it’s used to make other chemicals and synthetics as well. Thousands of people are exposed to it at work every day.

A 2014 investigation by the Center for Public Integrity found the petrochemical industry “went to great lengths” to quash scientific studies that showed a cancer risk from low-level benzene exposure.

The nonprofit investigative journalism group reviewed 20,000 internal memos and communications. The documents included evidence that the industry knew about the link between benzene and leukemia since at least 1948. That year, the industry’s trade group, the American Petroleum Institute, concluded that “the only absolutely safe concentration for benzene is zero.”

But 30 years later, API challenged federal regulations setting the 1 ppm limit on benzene exposure in the workplace. The legal battle lasted almost 10 years before OSHA won at the U.S. Supreme Court and the limit remained in place.

Benzene lawsuits can be complicated, often requiring lawyers with environmental, labor law and medical expertise to prove a connection between benzene exposure and a person’s cancer.

Few cases can go to trial because they often end in large judgments against companies that made or distributed benzene. But settlements can also be costly for companies.

In March 2019, a California jury awarded $21.4 million to the families of two brothers who died after decades of working with solvents containing benzene in an Arkansas tire factory. The families of Gary and Randy Eaves sued California-based Chevron. The company bought the solvent’s maker, Unocal, in 2005.

Gary died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015. Randy died of leukemia in 2018.

Both brothers worked at times as “spray booth operators,” during which they sprayed the solvent onto tires. Gary Eaves also carried tires after they were sprayed. Their lawsuit claimed that none of the workers wore protective clothing or respirators and Chevron never warned them about the dangers of the company’s chemicals.

A group of paint manufacturers, distributors and retailers paid a total of $6.3 million to settle a benzene lawsuit just days before it was supposed to go to trial in July 2019.

Jimmy Thomas was an auto mechanic and painter who claimed benzene in their products caused his myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS. MDS is a type of cancer that affects blood and bone marrow.

Thomas had worked in auto repair from 1967 until 2008. He used paint strippers, solvents and other products containing benzene during that time.

Johnson & Johnson issued a recall for some of its Aveeno and Neutrogena aerosol sunscreen brands in July 2021. The healthcare company told consumers to immediately stop using the products after lab testing found benzene in some batches.

According to J&J, benzene isn’t an ingredient in their sunscreen products. The company continues to investigate how the cancer-causing chemical got into the sunscreens.

Because benzene is a known carcinogen, people who used recalled J&J sunscreens and later developed cancer are filing sunscreen lawsuits against the company. According to a Valisure citizen petition, lab testing found benzene in other brands of J&J sunscreen products not included in the recall.

In January 2023, Edgewell Personal Care Company expanded a recall of its Banana Boat Hair & Scalp Sunscreen Spray SPF 30 to include a new batch lot. The company first issued the recall in 2022 over benzene contamination.

Edgewell claims it does not use benzene in its products. The company discovered the contamination during an internal review. The benzene was coming from a propellant that sprays the sunscreen out of the can.

A class-action lawsuit against the manufacturer began in November 2021 after the laboratory Valisure reported benzene in 10 different sunscreen brands it tested. Valisure found benzene in seven Banana Boat products.

Consumers may seek a refund from Edgewell if they purchased recalled products.