Do you have to drive with the windows down to prevent your car from killing you with cancer-causing benzene?!
Check out the viral claim and find out what the facts really are!
Claim: Your car is killing you with cancer-causing benzene!
This message continues to go viral on WhatsApp and social media platforms, because it claims that our cars are killing us with cancer-causing benzene!
It’s very long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
😳🔴ATTENTION🔴😳
🚙 🚘 🚗 🚖 🚕
🔈 This message from renowned Atlanta neurologist Dr. Syed Badar Husain:
Please circulate 🔜
🔈For every AC Car user, now this is very interesting and a MUST READ as it is for HEALTH!… The car manual says to roll down the windows to let all the hot air out before starting the air conditioning. BECAUSE ?
No wonder more people are dying of cancer than ever before. We wonder where this stuff comes from, but here’s an example that explains many of the cancer-causing incidents.
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Truth: Your car is No Killing you with benzene!
This seems to be another example FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and here are the reasons!
Fact #1: This is very old fake news
First, I must emphasize that this is not a new viral message. This message first appeared in email chain letters sometime in 2009. It then migrated to social media and instant messaging platforms over time.
Fact #2: No evidence Dr. Badar wrote it
Apparently there is a neurologist named Dr. Badar Husain Syed, but he is based in Snellville, Georgia, not Atlanta; and specializes in Sleep Medicine. There is no evidence that Dr. Syed ever wrote this viral message.
Fact #3: Benzene has been linked to cancer
Benzene is a colorless, volatile chemical with a sweet smell, commonly used in many industries. It is found in everything from plastics to lubricants, gums, cigarettes, detergents, drugs, pesticides and even petrol/petrol.
Studies have shown that exposure to high levels of benzene is associated with an increased risk of developing leukemia. However, it does not appear to be associated with other types of cancer.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies benzene as “carcinogenic to humans”. The US EPA also classifies benzene as “a known human carcinogen.”
Fact #4: The American Cancer Society called it false
In 2011, the American Cancer Society (ACS) addressed the viral message and called it fake news.
We found no published studies to support the claims in this email. Benzene levels exceeding recommendations for chronic workplace exposure have been observed in some moving cars, but such levels appear unlikely in properly maintained cars.
Fact #5: Claim disproved by 2007 German study
In 2007, the American Chemical Society published a German study called “Toxicity of Parked Motor Vehicle Indoor Air,” which examined “the health effects of emissions from vehicles exposed to “parked in the sun” conditions.“.
The researchers exposed a new car as well as a 3-year-old car with an identical interior to 14,000 watts of light, then analyzed their interior air. They found that the two cars produced different types of volatile organic compounds (VOCs):
| Age of the vehicle | The main VOCs |
| new car | or, m, p-xylenes, C3 and C4 alkylbenzenes, dodecane, tridecane, methylpyrrolidinone |
| 3 I Dear | acetone, methylpyrrolidinone, methylcyclohexane, acetaldehyde, or, m, p-xylenes, ethylhexanol, toluene |
Interestingly, the study found no significant amounts of benzene inside the two cars, despite subjecting them to intense levels of light and heat.
The study also found that the indoor air in both cars poses no apparent health hazards. The amounts of VOCs present in the collected indoor air also did not seem to pose any carcinogenic risk.
No toxicity was observed in any cell line with or without metabolic activation. We also did not find an effect on type IV sensitization or irritant potential.
A slight but statistically significant aggravating effect on the IgE-mediated immune response was determined from the indoor air of the new vehicle only (p < 0.05). The IgE response modulatory effect of indoor air may be relevant for atopic individuals.
Otherwise, no direct toxicity, no toxicity following metabolic activation by cytochrome P450, and no Type IV sensitization or irritant potential were found in the indoor air of the motor vehicle, the new vehicle, or the used vehicle Our investigations indicated no apparent health hazard from the indoor air of parked motor vehicles.
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Fact #6: The greatest risk from benzene comes from other causes
Benzene is so commonly used in many products that it is simply impossible to avoid exposure completely. But the air inside your car is really the least of your worries, if any.
Exposure to benzene in the workplace is a significant risk, which is why exposure to benzene is highly regulated in the workplace. However, workers in the rubber industry, oil-related industries (including refineries and gas stations), chemical plants, shoe manufacturers, steel workers, laboratory technicians, and firefighters have increased exposure to benzene.
Outside the workplace, people are most exposed to benzene from vehicle exhaust fumes, fumes and wastewater from nearby factories, gas stations, etc. Many people are also exposed to benzene from smoking cigarettes or secondhand smoke.
To limit your exposure to benzene, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends doing the following:
Stay away from cigarette smoke. If you are a smoker, try to quit. Avoiding secondhand smoke is also important. Cigarette smoke is a major source of benzene exposure.
Pump gas carefully and use gas stations with vapor recovery systems that capture the fumes. Avoid skin contact with gasoline.
When possible, limit the time you spend near idling car engines. This can help reduce exposure to exhaust fumes, which contain benzene (as well as other potentially harmful chemicals).
Use common sense around any chemical that may contain benzene. Limit or avoid exposure to fumes from solvents, paints and art supplies, especially in unventilated spaces.
If you are exposed to benzene in your workplace, talk to your employer about limiting your exposure through process changes (such as replacing benzene with another solvent or shutting off the benzene source) or using personal protective equipment. If necessary, you can also contact the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), who can provide you with more information or assistance.
Notice how the ACS didn’t mention driving with the car windows down? Or “blow out” the air inside the car before driving? That’s because there’s simply no evidence that significant amounts of benzene are inside the car.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about technology and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking the BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to spend countless hours every day writing about technology, medicine and science, in his search for facts in a post-truth world.
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