For workers where benzene is present: recognize its hazards, know the exposure limits and regulated areas, use the protection required, know your monitoring and medical rights, and respond to a splash or release.
Based on OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1028 (Benzene) · about 7 min read
Need proof of training? The full course (25 min) adds practice questions, a job scenario, the final quiz and a certificate your employer can verify.
Benzene can affect your health if you breathe it in, or if it gets on your skin or eyes. It is also harmful if you swallow it.
Short term, high exposureHeadache, dizziness, nausea, feeling intoxicated. Severe exposures may lead to convulsions and loss of consciousness.
Long term, even low levelsRepeated or prolonged exposure may cause blood disorders, from anemia to leukemia, an irreversible, fatal disease.
Do not trust your nose or how you feel. Benzene is a clear, colorless liquid with a sweet odor, but the odor does not give adequate warning of its hazard. Many blood disorders from benzene may occur without symptoms.
Reference: 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, II.A · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, II.B.1 · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, II.B.2 · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, I.C
Know the hazard
The hazards benzene labels and SDSs must address
When benzene's hazards are classified for labels and Safety Data Sheets, at least these hazards must be addressed.
CancerLong-term exposure may lead to leukemia.
Blood effectsBlood disorders ranging from anemia to leukemia.
Central nervous system effectsHeadache, dizziness, nausea; severe exposures may lead to convulsions and loss of consciousness.
AspirationAspiration of small amounts of liquid benzene immediately damages the lungs.
IrritationSkin, eye and respiratory tract irritation.
FlammabilityThe liquid is highly flammable, and the vapor may form explosive mixtures in air.
Reference: 29 CFR 1910.1028(j)(1)(ii) · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, VIII · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, II.B · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix C, II
Limits and regulated areas
Three numbers to know
1 ppm, 8-hour averageThe time-weighted average limit (TWA). Your employer must assure no employee is exposed above this.
5 ppm, any 15 minutesThe short-term exposure limit (STEL), averaged over any 15-minute period.
0.5 ppm, 8-hour averageThe action level. At or above it, other requirements can apply, such as periodic monitoring and medical surveillance.
"Exposure" means what you would breathe without a respirator. Wearing a respirator protects you, but it does not lower your measured exposure.
Not every benzene job is covered. The standard has exceptions, for example oil and gas drilling, production and servicing operations, and most handling of gasoline and other fuels after they leave bulk wholesale storage (indoor dispensing for more than 4 hours per day is still covered). Ask your supervisor whether the standard covers your work.
A regulated area is set up wherever benzene in the air exceeds, or can reasonably be expected to exceed, 1 ppm as an 8-hour average or 5 ppm for 15 minutes. Signs are posted at its entrances.
BENZENE
DO NOT SMOKE
DANGER
The signal word. The regulated area exists because benzene in the air exceeds, or can reasonably be expected to exceed, a permissible exposure limit.
Cancer hazard
Cancer is one of the hazards that must be addressed for benzene. Long-term exposure can damage your blood and may cause leukemia.
Flammable
Benzene liquid is highly flammable and its vapor may form explosive mixtures in air. That is why the sign also says DO NOT SMOKE.
Respirator required
Inside this area you must wear the respiratory protection your employer provides.
Authorized personnel only
Access to regulated areas is limited to authorized persons. If you are not authorized, do not go in.
Sample sign for training only, using the legend the standard requires.
Reference: 29 CFR 1910.1028(d)(1) · 29 CFR 1910.1028(d)(2) · 29 CFR 1910.1028(j)(2)(i) · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, II.B.2 · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, VIII
Protecting yourself
Controls first, then respirators
Your employer must use engineering controls and work practices to keep exposure at or below the limits, unless they can show those controls are not feasible or a listed exception applies. Where feasible controls are not enough, respirators are added on top of them.
Respirators must be used during
Periods needed to install or implement feasible controls
Work where the employer establishes controls are not feasible, for example some maintenance and repair, and vessel cleaning
Work where feasible controls are not yet sufficient, or are not required, to get exposure to or below the limits
Emergencies
Cartridges and canisters
For air-purifying respirators, the cartridge or canister must be replaced at the end of its service life or at the beginning of each shift it is used, whichever comes first.
One exception: if NIOSH approves an air-purifying element with an end-of-service-life indicator for benzene, that element may be used until the indicator shows no further useful life. Without one, yesterday's cartridge is not today's protection.
If you cannot use a negative-pressure respirator, you must be allowed to use one with less breathing resistance, such as a powered air-purifying respirator or a supplied-air respirator.
Protective clothing and equipment must be worn where appropriate to prevent eye contact and limit skin contact with liquid benzene. Your employer provides it at no cost to you and must make sure it is used.
OSHA's substance data sheet for benzene (Appendix A) tells you to:
Wear protective clothing, such as boots, gloves, sleeves and aprons, over any part of your body that could be exposed to liquid benzene
Wear splash-proof safety goggles if benzene could get into your eyes, and a face shield too if your face could be splashed
Fire
All sources of ignition must be controlled
Use nonsparking tools when opening or closing benzene containers
Smoking is prohibited where benzene is used or stored
Reference: 29 CFR 1910.1028(h) · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, III.B · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, III.C · 29 CFR 1910.1028 Appendix A, VIII
Monitoring, medical and training
Air monitoring: your results and your right to watch
You may be asked to wear an air sampler in your breathing zone. This is how your exposure is measured.
How often: if your exposure is at or above the action level but at or below the TWA, monitoring is repeated at least every year. If it is above the TWA, at least every six months.
Your results: within 15 working days after the employer receives results, you must be notified, either individually in writing or by posting in an accessible place.
Over the limit: the notice must state the corrective action being taken, or refer to a document that states it.
Watch it done: you or your designated representative must be given an opportunity to observe the monitoring.
Your employer must make a medical surveillance program available to you if, for example, you are or may be exposed:
at or above the action level on 30 or more days per year, or
at or above the PELs on 10 or more days per year.
Exams are without cost to you, at a reasonable time and place, and are repeated annually. Because benzene can damage blood without symptoms, these exams include blood tests. You get a copy of the physician's written opinion within 15 days of each exam.
Training
You must be trained when you are first assigned to a work area where benzene is present. If exposures are above the action level, training is repeated at least annually.
An emergency is any occurrence, such as equipment failure, a ruptured container or failed control equipment, that may or does result in an unexpected significant release of benzene.
Report it. If you were exposed in an emergency, your employer must have you give a urine sample at the end of your shift and have it tested within 72 hours. A good practice is to report any emergency exposure to your supervisor right away so this can happen.
After cleanup or repair, your employer must monitor to make sure exposures are back to where they were before the incident.
Never enter a vessel or confined space where benzene might be high without proper safety equipment and at least one other person who stays outside.
Fact-checked against the regulation text on October 09, 2026. This certificate records completion of awareness training based on OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1028. It is not an OSHA card or license, and it does not by itself meet the training requirements of 29 CFR 1910.1028(j)(3). Your employer must still provide employees with information and training at the time of their initial assignment to a work area where benzene is present, and at least annually thereafter if exposures are above the action level; the training must follow 29 CFR 1910.1200(h)(1) and (2) with specific information on benzene, explain the contents of 1910.1028 including Appendices A and B and where the standard is available, and describe the medical surveillance program and explain the information in Appendix C. Where respirators are required, your employer must also cover you under a respiratory protection program that meets 29 CFR 1910.134, including its training and fit-testing requirements.
This guide explains the rule in plain words. Always read the regulation itself and your employer's site-specific procedures.