Short Course on Health Risk and Impact Assessment in EIA

Risk Characterization Exercise : Benzene Spill Modeling

Problem

Benzene is the 16th most abundantly produced chemical in the United States. It is obtained
from crude petroleum. Benzene is used mainly as raw material for synthesizing chemicals
such as styrene, phenol and cyclohexane, and for manufacturing dyes, detergents,
explosives, rubber, plastics and pharmaceuticals. It is also found as a contaminant in some
industrial solvents and as a constituent in motor fuels, unleaded gasoline in particular.

A bottle containing 1 liter of benzene has fallen off a shelf in an unventilated storage room.
Due to the size of the room, it is initially assumed that all of the benzene has volatilized
into the air of the 4 by 3 by 3 meters room.

Information Given

Chemical formula of benzene is C6 H6.

Atomic weight for carbon is 12 and for hydrogen is 1.
Density (mass/volume) of benzene = 0.879 g/ml
Vapor pressure of benzene = 74.6 mmHg; 12.5 % v/v
Vapor density of benzene = 2.8
Explosive range of benzene = 1.5 % v/v (LEL) to 8.0 % v/v (UEL)
Formula for conversion of mg/m3 to ppm :
(Conc in mg/m3) x 24.5
MW

Questions

1. Calculate the molecular weight of benzene.

2. Assuming that the storage room is well sealed, calculate the probable concentration of
benzene in the room air.
3. Based on the vapor pressure of benzene, is the air in the room fully saturated with
benzene?
4. Would the benzene vapor be well dispersed throughout the storage room?
5. Is the benzene vapor in the storage room explosive?
6. Compare the concentration calculated in (2) above with the LC50, PEL, STEL and
IDLH concentrations for benzene.
7. How long an exposure to this benzene concentration will likely result in 100 %
mortality?

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 Short Course on Health Risk and Impact Assessment in EIA

Risk Characterization Exercise : Benzene Spill Modeling

Solution

1. Molecular weight of benzene = (At. wt. of C x no. of C atoms) +

(At. wt. of H x no. of H atoms) = (12 x 6) + (1 x 6) = 78

2. Mass of benzene spilled = density x volume

= 0.879 g/ml x 1000 ml = 879 g = 879,000 mg
Volume of storage room = 4m x 3m x 3m = 36 m3
 conc. of benzene in the room air = 879,000 mg / 36 m3 = 24,417 mg/m3
Benzene conc. in ppm = (24,417 x 24.5) / 78 = 7,669 ppm

3. At 7669 ppm : 7669 / 106 x 100 = 0.77 % v/v

Since this is well below the vapor pressure of benzene (12.5 % v/v), the air in the room
is not fully saturated with benzene. Therefore, it would have been easy for all of the
spilled benzene to have evaporated.

4. Benzene has a vapor density of 2.8 (compared to 1 for air). This means that benzene
vapor is 2.8 times heavier than air. Therefore, there is a tendency for the benzene vapor
to be more concentrated near the storage room floor.

5. Since the benzene vapor in the room is below the explosive range of 1.5 to 8.0 % v/v,
the air-benzene mixture is not explosive.

6. LC50 (rat) = 10,000 ppm

Malaysian PEL = 1.6 mg/m3 or 0.5 ppm
Malaysian MEL (STEL) = 3 x PEL = 3 x 1.6 mg/m3 = 4.8 mg/m3 or
= 3 x 0.5 ppm = 1.5 ppm
U.S. OSHA’s PEL = 1 ppm
U.S. OSHA’s STEL = 5 ppm
U.S. NIOSH IDLH = 3,000 ppm

Note : PEL is an 8-hour time-weighted average Permissible Exposure Limit; MEL is

a 15-minute time-weighted average Maximum Exposure Limit (same as STEL or
Short Term Exposure Limit); IDLH is the Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health,
which represents the maximum concentration from which, in the event of respirator
failure, one could escape within 30 minutes without a respirator and without
experiencing any escape-impairing (e.g. severe eye irritation) or irreversible health
effects.

The concentration of 7,669 ppm is above all toxicological reference parameters except for
the 10,000 ppm for rat LC50. This shows that LD50 and LC50 are not very useful
toxicological parameters for assessing health effects from acute exposure. They are useful
though for chemical classification and toxicity comparison purposes.

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7. Probit equation for benzene : Pr = - 109.78 + 5.3 ln (C2 t)
For 99.9 % mortality rate, Pr = 8.09
8.09 = - 109.78 + 5.3 ln (76692 t)
ln (7,6692 t) = (8.09 + 109.78) / 5.3 = 22.24
(7,6692 t) = 4,557,317,410
 t = 77 min.