Assessment of occupational benzene exposure in petrol filling stations at Rangoon

An occupational health survey was conducted on workers, who inhale petrol fumes which contain low concentrations of benzene, at petrol filling stations in the city of Rangoon, Burma. To evaluate the exposure to benzene, urinary phenol (which is a principal metabolite of absorbed benzene) was measured in workers at petrol filling stations and in a control group of healthy male adults. The survey revealed that the urinary phenol content of workers exposed to petrol fumes was significantly higher than that of workers who were not exposed.