Everything you never wanted to know about Benzene fuel

With the F-35 burning significantly more fuel than the F-16, you can see why our clean air is such a draw.

From JP Fuel and Benzene:

"Benzene can cause cancer of the blood-forming organs. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that benzene is a known human carcinogen. Long-term exposure to relatively high levels of benzene in the air can cause cancer of the blood-forming organs. This condition is called leukemia.

Exposure to benzene has also been linked with damage to chromosomes which are the parts of cells that are responsible for the development of hereditary characteristics. Exposure to benzene may also be harmful to the reproductive organs. Some women workers who breathed high levels of benzene for many months had irregular menstrual periods. When examined, these women showed a decrease in the size of their ovaries. However, exact exposure levels were unknown, and the studies of these women did not prove that benzene caused these effects. It is not known what effects exposure to benzene might have on the developing fetus in pregnant women or on fertility in men. Studies with pregnant animals show that breathing benzene has harmful effects on the developing fetus. These effects include low birth weight, delayed bone formation, and bone marrow damage.

The health effects that might occur in humans following long-term exposure to food and water contaminated with benzene are not known. In animals, exposure to food or water contaminated with benzene can damage the blood and the immune system and can even cause cancer."

From the Vermont Department of Health: 

"What are the health effects of benzene? Half of the benzene a person inhales is then exhaled. The rest is temporarily stored in the body’s bone marrow and fat. The liver and bone marrow break benzene down into metabolites (the products of physical or chemical processes in the body). Some of these metabolites, such as hydroquinone, are more toxic than benzene. The metabolites are then eliminated from the body after about two days.

• Benzene is a carcinogen. While many chemicals are suspected to be cancer-causing, benzene is one of the few substances that have been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a “known human carcinogen.” The International Agency for Cancer Research has also determined that benzene is carcinogenic to humans.

• Occupational studies of workers exposed to benzene have shown that long-term exposure to high levels has caused acute myeloid leukemia. In laboratory studies with rats and mice, benzene has been shown to cause leukemia and other types of cancer.

• Benzene can cause neurological damage and can harm the immune system. Long-term exposure to benzene fumes can cause nerve damage. Short-term exposure to high levels of benzene, and to other related aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and xylene, can cause dizziness, nausea, headaches and unconsciousness. Excessive exposure to benzene can harm the immune system.

• Sensitive Populations—As with most chemicals, benzene poses a potentially greater hazard to young children and pregnant women. Studies indicate that alcohol consumption increases the toxicity of benzene."