What IS the odor of benzene?
David L. Heiserman
colorless and highly flammable liquid with a _characteristic odor_. Would
someone be kind enough to describe what that _characteristic odor_ is
like?
I have alcohols, acetone, and toluene around here and I know what they
smell like. But I have no benzene nor recollection of ever getting a whiff
of it.
Thanks for your help with a seeming trivial question that requires a
correct answer.
Dave Heiserman
swee...@infinet.com
Romas Cesas
Very interesting. A number of years back before everyone decided
that benzene was a carcinogen, we used to handle it all the time. I
have sniffed more than my fair share of it.
The odor is very distinct and relatively pleasant, a bit towards
the sweet side, I can't think of another compound that would be
similar. Toluene is definately sharper with no sweetness. Of course
sweetness in an odor is a relative term.
The word aromatic probably describes benzene to a tee and maybe
that is how it became to be called an aromatic compound. Short of
smelling it yourself, I just can't think of a good word to describe it.
Romas Cesas
Safety-Kleen Corp.
Richard Dickerson
Heiserman) writes:
>
>The major references I've checked more or less describe benzene as a
>colorless and highly flammable liquid with a _characteristic odor_.
Would
>someone be kind enough to describe what that _characteristic odor_ is
>like?
>
>I have alcohols, acetone, and toluene around here and I know what they
>smell like. But I have no benzene nor recollection of ever getting a
whiff
>of it.
>
>Thanks for your help with a seeming trivial question that requires a
>correct answer.
>
>Dave Heiserman
>swee...@infinet.com
In my opinion, toluene is a very close match for the aroma of
benzene. This opinion is (of course) as subjective as it is hard to
quantify. I think of it as: "smells like toluene, but lighter by 15
amu"
Jeff E. Janes
: The major references I've checked more or less describe benzene as a
: colorless and highly flammable liquid with a _characteristic odor_. Would
: someone be kind enough to describe what that _characteristic odor_ is
: like?
:
: I have alcohols, acetone, and toluene around here and I know what they
: smell like. But I have no benzene nor recollection of ever getting a whiff
: of it.
I will gladly send you a uuencoded file of the odor of benzene.
I can send it to you in either the wif or the nosepeg format,
but you may have difficulty getting a program which can interpret
these formats on your (or any) platform. :)
Seriously, odors are not something that can be descibed very well.
Which is why it is described as characteristic, because it is a
rather foundamental odor that is hard to describe in terms of something
else. I would call it toluene with the "edge" taken off.
--
Jeff Janes jej...@mtu.edu at Michigan Technological University
Second Law of Thermodynamics:
The enormousfees of the university is ever increasing.
William R. Penrose
>The major references I've checked more or less describe benzene as a
>colorless and highly flammable liquid with a _characteristic odor_. Would
>someone be kind enough to describe what that _characteristic odor_ is
>like?
'Characteristic odor' just means that it smells like benzene and not like
anything else, since nothing else smells quite like it.
Bruce Hamilton
>The major references I've checked more or less describe benzene as a
>colorless and highly flammable liquid with a _characteristic odor_. Would
>someone be kind enough to describe what that _characteristic odor_ is
>like?
In general, the aromatic hydrocarbons ( benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene,
o,m,p-xylene... ) are considered to have a "characteristic odour" which
is quite "aromatic".
>I have alcohols, acetone, and toluene around here and I know what they
>smell like. But I have no benzene nor recollection of ever getting a whiff
>of it.
As the boiling point increases (Benzene 80.1C, toluene 110.6C, xylenes
138.3-144.4C) the volatility drops, thus benzene tends to be in the
highest concentration and smells more if similar amounts of liquid
are compared. It is quite a sweet/tart smell, unfortuately best described
as "aromatic". As you have toluene, you will find that it's smell is often
described as "benzene-like" ( Merck,and Hawley both use the term )
People that have worked a lot with different aromatics can
easily discriminate between benzene, toluene and xylenes by
smell, but putting the differences here is more difficult.
At atmospheric temperature,
Benzene - pungent, aromatic, more tangy.
Toluene - more bland and sweeter but still aromatic, and tangy,
often used in solvent-based paints and adhesives
Xylenes - aromatic, starting to smell more like mineral turpentine
( which is mainly higher aromatics ) and also used in
paints. Sweeter, rather than tangy.
Hope this helps.
Bruce Hamilton
dip
[snip]
>>I have alcohols, acetone, and toluene around here and I know what they
>>smell like. But I have no benzene nor recollection of ever getting a whiff
>>of it.
I have been working with benzene as an elution solvent for open column
chromatography. Doing this in the hood but can't help catching a whiff now and
then. I would call the odor very much like the smell of freshly cut roses. I noticed
this one day after coming out of the lab. One of the secrataries(sp?) had several
of these incredible pink roses (fresh from her garden) in a vase on her desk.
The odor of the flowers was definitely sweeter and more complex than benzene,
but the two are EXTREMELY close.
any one else notice this?
dip
[snip]
> Bruce Hamilton
Bruce Hamilton
dip writes:
>In article <B.Hamilton....@irl.cri.nz>,
> B.Ham...@irl.cri.nz (Bruce Hamilton) says:
>[snip]
>>>I have alcohols, acetone, and toluene around here and I know what they
>>>smell like. But I have no benzene nor recollection of ever getting a whiff
>>>of it.
Please learn to be more careful when deleting attributions, I wrote none
of the above, as a check of the >>> would show....
>....One of the secrataries(sp?) had several
>of these incredible pink roses (fresh from her garden) in a vase on her desk.
>The odor of the flowers was definitely sweeter and more complex than benzene,
>but the two are EXTREMELY close.
>any one else notice this?
I work with benzene, and have roses in the garden - no way would I consider
the smells to be similar. You've either got sweet benzene or sour roses.
From the FAQ ( which has just been approved by news.answers so will now
be posted monthly ), and there are many others that have rose-like aromas..
18.3 What are the chemicals that give fruity aromas?
phenethyl alcohol rose
phenethyl isoamyl ether chamomile
phenethyl acetate rose
alpha-trichloromethylbenzyl acetate rose
4 methyl-2(2-methyl-1-propenyl)tetrahydropyran rose
Bruce Hamilton
cathy.h...@cornucopia.digital.net
Is Phenethyl alcohol a substance which has any toxic effects? I do know that
phenol is a problem. Also, this is a bit absurd but with my newest illness
I've developed a different body odor. It is a touch astringent a bit hay like
and fruity. Ish. Weird idea, but many chemists can identify a string of stuff
from the ole hand wave. I keep thinking I can pin this but I'm Chem Eng and
can't quite. (Of course I take lots of showers) Cathy.
nat...@imap1.asu.edu
purest form (i.e., liquid) it may be too late as the individual may have
already contracted leukemia. I know this for a fact since I have
witnessed a student playing around with C6H6 outside the hood and
directly out of the bottle without a mask! Well, after taking his butt to
the University Medical Center (and it wasn't at ASU, by the way), he had
contracted it in a small dosage :( Too bad for him but he should have
been more careful as those of us at that time warned him of it; he just
wouldn't listen to experience.
******************************************************************************
George David 'Merlin' McCallion * I know fools don't change with time.
Department of Chemistry *
Arizona State University *Internet: ch...@asu.edu
PO Box 2312 *Voice: 602.804.1183
Tempe, AZ 85280-2312 * Chemistry is really pHun :)
******************************************************************************
Michael K. Richmann
Wow! I guess I better contact my former grad school advisor and tell
him to immediately check into the nearest hospital. Think I'll join
him while I'm at it as we both apparently have leukemia and just didn't
know it. On a more serious note, all of the toxicological studies I've
ever heard of on the subject of benzene and leukemia indicated a correl-
ation between long term exposure and the disease. Let's be a little more
careful in how we ascribe cancer risk to dosage, shall we?
--
Mike
My opinions, not Argonne's...
Romas Cesas
nat...@imap1.asu.edu writes:
>
>Well, for all intentions...if one actually does smell Benzene in its
>purest form (i.e., liquid) it may be too late as the individual may
have
>already contracted leukemia. I know this for a fact since I have
>witnessed a student playing around with C6H6 outside the hood and
>directly out of the bottle without a mask! Well, after taking his butt
to
>the University Medical Center (and it wasn't at ASU, by the way), he
had
>contracted it in a small dosage :( Too bad for him but he should have
>been more careful as those of us at that time warned him of it; he
just
>wouldn't listen to experience.
>
>**********************************************************************
*******
with time.
>Department of Chemistry *
>Arizona State University *Internet: ch...@asu.edu
>PO Box 2312 *Voice: 602.804.1183
>Tempe, AZ 85280-2312 * Chemistry is really pHun :)
>**********************************************************************
*******
>
Sorry to disagree with you, but it takes a constant exposure in excess
of the OSHA TLV or PEL in order to possibly have toxicological effects.
Just because a mouse or rat or whatever other animal that was used in
the lab contracted some type of cancer does not mean that a human will
definately contract it. All it means is that the odds for conracting
cancer have increased.
Also not all people are created equal. Some have an incredible
tolerance to many toxins, others are susceptible to very small
exposures.
I used to work with benzene over 20 years ago and could smell it in the
air quite often. I have had no ill effects. However there was a
coworker who seemed to become sensitized to it and would break out in a
rash if there were any benzene vapors in the air.
Now I'm not saying that safety precautions should be ignored; I'm just
saying read the MSDS on a particular material first and be aware of
what the IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) level is for
the particular compound.
Romas Cesas
Safety-Kleen Corp.
Chicago Recycle Center
William R. Penrose
>Well, for all intentions...if one actually does smell Benzene in its
>purest form (i.e., liquid) it may be too late as the individual may have
>already contracted leukemia.
A few years ago, benzene "wasn't toxic". People used to wash engine parts in
it and there was no epidemic of leukemia. Fact is, the incidence of leukemia
among benzene users is very small. Sniffing it a few times or using it
outside the hood is not a one-way ticket to Stiff Park.
Thirty-two years ago, I used to rinse glassware with it, but I don't recommend
it. This was the same chemical world where every sink was full of
mercury droplets and every hot plate had a flask of ether on it. In
the case of benzene, caution but not panic is appropriate.
>I know this for a fact since I have
>witnessed a student playing around with C6H6 outside the hood and
>directly out of the bottle without a mask! Well, after taking his butt to
>the University Medical Center (and it wasn't at ASU, by the way), he had
>contracted it in a small dosage :( Too bad for him but he should have
>been more careful as those of us at that time warned him of it; he just
>wouldn't listen to experience.
Do you know anyone who died of it?
The scare probably did him more good than the medical attention.
Tom Christian Holm Adamsen
Benzene is therefore not worth smelling.
John S. Roberts
|:>Well, for all intentions...if one actually does smell Benzene in its
|:>purest form (i.e., liquid) it may be too late as the individual may have
|:>already contracted leukemia. I know this for a fact since I have
|:>witnessed a student playing around with C6H6 outside the hood and
|:>directly out of the bottle without a mask! Well, after taking his butt to
|:>the University Medical Center (and it wasn't at ASU, by the way), he had
|:>contracted it in a small dosage :( Too bad for him but he should have
|:>been more careful as those of us at that time warned him of it; he just
|:>wouldn't listen to experience.
|:>******************************************************************************
|:>George David 'Merlin' McCallion * I know fools don't change with time.
|:>Department of Chemistry *
|:>Arizona State University *Internet: ch...@asu.edu
|:>PO Box 2312 *Voice: 602.804.1183
|:>Tempe, AZ 85280-2312 * Chemistry is really pHun :)
|:>******************************************************************************
BS (Bad Science!!) Carcinogens do not instantaneously induce cancer.
Line T.
>The major references I've checked more or less describe benzene as a
>colorless and highly flammable liquid with a _characteristic odor_. Would
>someone be kind enough to describe what that _characteristic odor_ is
>like?
>I have alcohols, acetone, and toluene around here and I know what they
>smell like. But I have no benzene nor recollection of ever getting a whiff
>of it.
>Thanks for your help with a seeming trivial question that requires a
>correct answer.
>Dave Heiserman
>swee...@infinet.com
Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon and has an odor very close to
toluene (an other aromatic hydrocarbon)
nat...@imap1.asu.edu
newsgroup. Needless to day, despite the good and bad replies that have
been received from this topic, I acknowledge that a) cancer is NOT
instaneous and b) some people can go through chemistry with smelling
benzene and not contracting any disease(s).
My sincere aplogies to this newsgroup fro any information that was
miscontrude
Sincerely,
George David McCallion
Alberto Federman Neto
>In article <B.Hamilton....@irl.cri.nz>, B.Ham...@irl.cri.nz (Bruce Hamilton) says:
>>In article <43i4d1$f...@hubcap.clemson.edu>
>> dip writes:
>>>In article <B.Hamilton....@irl.cri.nz>,
>>> B.Ham...@irl.cri.nz (Bruce Hamilton) says:
>>>[snip]
>>>>>I have alcohols, acetone, and toluene around here and I know what they
>>>>>smell like. But I have no benzene nor recollection of ever getting a whiff
>>>>>of it.
>>Please learn to be more careful when deleting attributions, I wrote none
>>of the above, as a check of the >>> would show....
>humblest apologies for the botched deletions...
>>>....One of the secrataries(sp?) had several
>>>of these incredible pink roses (fresh from her garden) in a vase on her desk.
>>>The odor of the flowers was definitely sweeter and more complex than benzene,
>>>but the two are EXTREMELY close.
>>>any one else notice this?
>>I work with benzene, and have roses in the garden - no way would I consider
>>the smells to be similar. You've either got sweet benzene or sour roses.
>maybe it's sweet benzene, or maybe roses just smell differently in New
>Zealand than they do in South Carolina. anyway, I just checked again. although
>it's hardly fruity, the smell definitely reminds me of roses. maybe my sniffer's
>just screwed.
>>From the FAQ ( which has just been approved by news.answers so will now
>>be posted monthly ), and there are many others that have rose-like aromas..
>>18.3 What are the chemicals that give fruity aromas?
>>phenethyl alcohol rose
>>phenethyl isoamyl ether chamomile
>>phenethyl acetate rose
>>alpha-trichloromethylbenzyl acetate rose
>>4 methyl-2(2-methyl-1-propenyl)tetrahydropyran rose
>> Bruce Hamilton
>I don't have any phenethyl alcohol/acetate on hand. otherwise I'd love to
>compare. I'll have to see if I can lay my hands on one of the two. I have a
>feeling this question will haunt me until I do.
>I will have to be careful though, another gentleman posted a note under
>this thread talking about seemingly instantaneous contraction of leukemia
>from a small whiff of benzene. always thought it took a little longer than that
>to develop that kind of disease.
>dip
Benzene hve the same odor of toluene, but is much, much toxic compound, and also
a carcinogen! Not intent to make comprovation of benzene odor!
secret...@gmail.com
Frank
> [In (relatively) low concentrations] it smells very sweet (and quite nice). The oder is reminiscent of almonds/frangipane.
>
Benzene has a sweet, aromatic, gasoline-like odor. Most individuals can
begin to smell benzene in air at 1.5 to 4.7 ppm. The odor threshold
generally provides adequate warning for acutely hazardous exposure
concentrations but is inadequate for more chronic exposures.