Four Common Warehouse Pollutants and their Health Impacts

Benzene is a colorless, flammable gas that has a sweet smell. Traceable to common products such as diesel, plastics, and pesticides, it is among the top 20 chemicals used in industrial production. It can be absorbed by the body through air or skin. Some common signs of exposure are dizziness, headaches, and drowsiness. It can cause hematologic cancers, which start from blood-forming tissues or immune system cells (an example of this type of cancer is leukemia, the cancer of white blood cells). 

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are a category of molecules that are generally colorless with a harsh odor. One of the main sources of NOx comes from the diesel emissions of vehicles. This is one of the reasons that certain distribution warehouses can pose a serious threat to communities— they attract diesel burning heavy-duty trucks, generators, and yard equipment that produce high volumes of NOx pollution. Some common signs of NOx exposure are coughing, wheezing, and asthma, with children being the most susceptible to these symptoms. Dangerous medical conditions associated with nitrogen oxide exposure are lung diseases, cancer, and even premature death. Nitrogen oxides are known to be dangerous because they have free radicals. In chemistry, this means that the compound has one unpaired electron. Because electrons prefer to group in pairs, unpaired electrons are very chemically reactive and seek to pair with another electron. Free radicals can harm normal functions in the body by impacting blood flow, protein function, and even acting as neurotransmitters because they latch onto cells in your body. 

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless and odorless gas. It is found in diesel, propane-powered forklifts, and gas-powered generators. Some common signs of exposure are headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and nausea. Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body and brings carbon dioxide back to the lungs. Once carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin, it forms carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and outcompetes oxygen by a factor of 200. This decreases the body’s capacity to take in oxygen, creating numerous major health issues like hypoxia, which happens when there is not enough oxygen to sustain tissues. Similar to nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide has free radicals that cause it to easily disrupt normal body functions. It takes just one event of CO poisoning to lead to long-term effects such as behavior changes and memory loss or even death.

Ozone is a gas that ranges in appearance from colorless to blue and has a similar smell to chlorine. Ozone is generally known for forming the layer in the atmosphere that helps protect the Earth’s surface from ultraviolet light, but it can also act as a detrimental pollutant that comes from diesel trucks. Ozone is an unstable molecule due to its electrical charge. This instability, like other pollutants, causes it to easily bind to cells in your body, impacting body function and causing issues such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, and aggravation of respiratory diseases.