Benzene
Definition of benzene:
Benzene is a colourless liquid with a sweet odor. It evaporates into the air very quickly and dissolves slightly in water. It is highly flammable and is formed from both natural processes and human activities. [1]
This is the common definition for benzene, other definitions can be discussed in the article
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Notes
Benzene is widely used in the United States; it ranks in the top 20 chemicals for production volume. Some industries use benzene to make other chemicals which are used to make plastics, resins, and nylon and synthetic fibers. Benzene is also used to make some types of rubbers, lubricants, dyes, detergents, drugs, and pesticides. Natural sources of benzene include volcanoes and forest fires. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke.[1]
Anthropogenic releases of benzene into the atmosphere result mainly from environmental tobacco smoke, automobile exhaust, automobile refuelling operations, and industrial emissions.
Benzene has a moderate water solubility of 1,78 g/l, but is highly volatile and can rapidly evaporate from surface waters to the atmosphere. It has a low adsorption to sediments or soils and will rapidly be removed from them to surface and ground water and the atmosphere. In the atmosphere it will be degraded within 8 days.
It has a low tendency to bioaccumulate, concentrations in goldfish are typically only 4 times higher than those in the environment, and is not considered to biomagnify though food chains.
