For decades, Akron, Ohio was known as the “Rubber Capital of the World.” The northeast Ohio region once held almost half of the state’s polymer industry, which accounted for a large part of America’s tire and rubber manufacturing.
However, one of the great downfalls of the tire and rubber industry was the fact that thousands of former tire and rubber workers in Akron and elsewhere in Ohio were exposed to toxic materials at the workplace, including Benzene, which is known to cause cancers like Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
Benzene has been a concern for medical experts for many decades. The chemical is known to cause several forms of cancers and blood disorders in employees with chronic benzene exposure.
But even with the knowledge that their workers were exposed to toxins at Ohio tire and rubber plants, corporations continued to manufacture dangerous products, failed to warn employees of the health risks, and failed to offer workers proper protection against the cancer-causing exposure.
How Are Rubber Workers Exposed?
The production of tires and certain rubber products involves subjecting dangerous mixtures of hundreds of chemicals to heat and pressure during a variety of manufacturing processes. As a result, work environments are regularly contaminated with toxic dusts, gases, vapors, fumes, and chemical byproducts.
Exposure to Benzene in Ohio tire and rubber manufacturing remains a serious occupational health concern. Workers are exposed to Benzene by skin contact or inhalation.
Aside from several cancers, rubber manufacturing work is associated with a high prevalence of dermatologic diseases such as eczema, allergic contact dermatitis and atopic dermatitis.
Benzene causes bodily harm by damaging blood cells. The chemical can cause bone marrow not to produce enough red blood cells, which can lead to anemia. It can also damage the immune system by changing blood levels of antibodies and the loss of white blood cells. The health effects of Benzene depend on the amount, route, and duration of exposure.
Cancer cases and deaths have been reported from hundreds of former rubber and tire workers. Cancers affect the blood, bladder, stomach, lung, and other areas of the body among workers involved in the manufacture of tires and other rubber products. Rubber workers in Ohio may also risk respiratory disease, heart disease, dermatologic diseases, and negative reproductive defects.
