Are there medical tests showing exposure to benzene?
There are several tests to show if you have been exposed to benzene. Testing for benzene in the breath must be performed shortly after exposure to benzene. Benzene can be measured in the blood, but since benzene quickly disappears from the blood, measurements are accurate only for recent benzene exposures. When benzene is in the body the benzene is converted to products called metabolites, and certain metabolites can be measured in the urine. This benzene test must also be done shortly after exposure to benzene and is not a reliable indicator of how much benzene you have been exposed to because the metabolites may be present in urine from other sources.
