Benzene and aromatic hydrocarbons
Sampling, drumming, tank gauging and pump-seal leaks expose operators to benzene, toluene and xylene. Benzene acts on the bone marrow, so a falling white-cell or platelet count is the earliest objective signal.
Petrochemical sector
Occupational health for refineries and petrochemical complexes
Benzene is the exposure that defines this sector. It is haematotoxic and carcinogenic at concentrations a worker cannot smell reliably, and the damage shows in a blood count long before anyone reports a symptom. Surveillance here is built around the counts and the biomonitoring, not around a general physical.
6-monthly
CBC cycle for benzene-exposed roles
S-PMA
Biomonitoring marker used
Permit-linked
Confined-space fitness on record
Primary hazard
Benzene & hydrocarbon exposure
Haematological surveillance and confined-space fitness
Exposure profile
What your people areactually exposed to
The hazards below drive every test in the petrochemical protocol. Nothing is included because it is standard — each one answers a specific exposure.
Hydrogen sulphide
Sour-gas service, sewers and confined vessels carry H2S, which deadens the sense of smell at the very concentrations that become dangerous. Fitness for respirator use and escape-set work has to be confirmed, not assumed.
Confined-space and turnaround work
Vessel entry, column internals and shutdown campaigns require documented cardiac, respiratory and vertigo clearance before a permit is issued — and again for contractors mobilised only for the turnaround.
Flare, furnace and compressor exposure
Radiant heat around furnaces and flares combines with sustained noise from compressors and turbines, driving both heat-strain assessment and statutory audiometry.
Examination protocol
The test panel, andthe reason for each test
This is the panel an inspector will ask you to justify. Every row states the exposure it answers and the cycle it runs on.
| Test | Why it is in the panel | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Complete blood count with peripheral smear | Benzene haematotoxicity — the primary surveillance test | Six-monthly for benzene-exposed |
| Urinary benzene metabolites (S-PMA) | Confirms actual absorbed dose, not just area sampling | End of shift, per cycle |
| Liver and renal function panel | Hydrocarbon and solvent load | Annual |
| Spirometry (PFT) | Vapour and catalyst-dust airway effects | Annual |
| Audiometry | Compressor and flare noise above 85 dB(A) | Annual |
| Chest radiograph | Baseline and dust-related change | Annual |
| ECG and blood pressure | Respirator and confined-space fitness, heat load | Annual, and before permit work |
Statutory basis
What the law expectsof this sector
We prepare the registers and evidence in these formats as part of the programme — not as an add-on when an inspection is announced.
Factories Act 1948 — petroleum and petrochemical listed as a hazardous process, with Section 41-C medical examination and health-record obligations
Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules 1989 — occupational health surveillance of exposed workers
Benzene-exposed workers examined on a shortened cycle, with exposure records retained alongside the medical record
Contractor and turnaround workforces certified to the same protocol as permanent staff, not a reduced one
Other sectors we run protocols for
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