Benzene in the Car

Everyone knows that driving car is a risky business but what about just getting into one?  Especially on a hot day!  And we’re not talking about burning your rear by depositing it on the plastic seat.  It is in a more insidious way that the plastic seat, along with numerous other plastic components in the car, are claimed to present a risk in a widely circulating email.  We are urged to ventilate a car for a few minutes before turning on the AC to get rid of any “toxic” benzene that has outgassed from the car’s interior.  Like with most such emails, there is a kernel of truth to the scare, but it is greatly exaggerated.  Benzene is toxic alright, and can be detected in virtually any air sample, taken anywhere.  It’s presence in cigarette smoke, wood smoke and gasoline vapours is well documented.  So is the fact that it can outgas from plastics.  Benzene is used to make styrene and phenol, both of which are common raw materials for plastic production and there is always a residual that remains in the plastic and can outgas, especially when the temperature rises.  Nylon manufacture also relies on benzene which is used to produce cyclohexane, a compound eventually converted to adipic acid, a basic component of nylon.  Benzene, which these days is produced from petroleum, is also extensively used in the detergent, glue, rubber, dye, lubricant and pharmaceutical industries.  So it really comes as no surprise that the compound can be detected in the air, especially in the confines of a car’s interior. Read more