Benzene Awareness for General Industry and Construction

Overview

What is Benzene?

Benzene is a colorless or light yellow liquid at room temperature. It has a sweet odor and is highly flammable. Benzene is widely used in the United States; it ranks in the top 20 chemicals for production volume. It is primarily used as a starting material in making other chemicals. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil and gasoline.

Short-term exposure to high levels of benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, unconsciousness, and even death. Long-term exposure may affect bone marrow and blood production. Benzene is known to cause cancer in humans.

About Benzene Awareness Training

This Benzene Awareness for General Industry and Construction provides a general awareness of the risks and regulatory requirements for protecting employees who work with benzene as required by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Employers are required to provide employees with information and training at the time of their initial assignment to a work area where benzene is present.

If exposures are above the action level, employees must be provided with information and training at least annually thereafter.

We will discuss more about OSHA regulations and training requirements as they relate to benzene later in this course.

Objectives

In accordance with 29 CFR 1910.1028(j)(3) Information and Training, this Benzene Awareness Training provides a general awareness of the risks and regulatory requirements for protecting employees who work with benzene as required by OSHA.

The course will also introduce students to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations for General Industry, Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances - 29 CFR 1910.1028 (Benzene).

This training also meets the OSHA Construction Standard for Benzene, 29 CFR 1926.1128

Terminal Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Explain what benzene is;
• Describe where workers may encounter benzene;
• Understand the definitions and the hazards associated with benzene and benzene exposure;
• Describe sources of non-occupational exposure to benzene;
• Describe the health effects of benzene exposure;
• Understand the essentials of OSHA’s benzene standards;
• Identify and describe OSHA methods of compliance to prevent benzene exposure; and
• Explain how workers and employers can avoid benzene hazards through the Hierarchy of Controls.

Exams

This course has one final exam based upon the material in the 3 course sections.

The exam consists of 10 questions selected at random from a larger pool of questions. A score of 70% or better is required to pass each exam. If a student does not pass the exam the first time, they may retake the exam as many times as necessary in order to pass.

Required Training

Workers must receive additional training, when required by OSHA standards, on the specific hazards of their job. Training Providers should be used to ensure credibility and augment a company’s training program. Therefore, in addition to the training provided by an outside party, a student should receive site-specific training supplied by their employer. This training should target the company’s unique approach to hazard prevention, including the use of site-specific equipment, health and safety policies, and emergency procedures. As a rule, this company-specific training should be well documented.

Mobile version

This course is available in HTML5, so it works in the browser on your smartphone or tablet. It only needs the most recent version of your device's web browser.

Tablets work much better than smartphones, simply due to their screen size. The newer the device, the better the result. The course will not work on the first generation iPad, nor older Android tablets.

Frequently asked questions