The apparent regulatory conflict regarding the assessment of exposure to the hydrocarbon benzene in occupational environment activities: application of the quantitative or qualitative method?

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the regulation and, secondarily, the potential social security impacts of the method used to assess benzene exposure in the occupational environment. The gray area of interpretive understandings and the proliferation of disparate norms have led to the judicialization of the issue, particularly regarding whether benzene exposure should be recorded in the social security occupational profile for purposes of claiming special retirement benefits. Through normative research with a qualitative approach, the documentary corpus on the subject is examined in order to foster reflection on the criterion that administrative and judicial authorities should currently apply and its possible consequences. To reinforce the argument, this study also adds a purely comparative analysis of foreign regulation concerning benzene in light of the methodology adopted by other international hygiene institutes, such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is the U.S. agency responsible for recommendations on preventing work-related injuries and illnesses.