Naphthalene is a white solid found in petroleum and coal tar. It is also produced naturally when certain things burn so it can be found in cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and smoke from forest fires. It is processed for use in manufacturing insecticides and pest repellents. In the U.S., naphthalene was registered as a pesticide in 1948. Naphthalene is regulated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Naphthalene is a component in many products, such as dyes, deodorizers, resins, carpet cleaners, and moth repellents. Exposure to naphthalene mainly occurs through inhaling naphthalene that has entered the air from these products, tobacco smoke, moth repellents, such as moth balls, insecticides, and wood burning or the processing of fossil fuels.
How Can I Be Exposed to Naphthalene?
Naphthalene is widely distributed in nature from natural sources, e.g., fossil fuels, and synthetic sources such as pesticides. A person is usually exposed by inhaling it in the air or through skin contact with a naphthalene substance. Rarely, a person might ingest naphthalene. One risk would be that small children or pets eat a mothball in their home because they think it looks like candy.
People are most often exposed to naphthalene when they breathe it while working with it on the job. People might also inhale the chemical when they visit a chemical cleanup site or use mothballs around their house.
Anyone can be exposed to naphthalene in pesticides, which are chemicals that exterminate unwanted insects, if they breathe it in or get the substance on their skin. Someone might accidentally eat or drink something that contains a pesticide. Farmworkers and gardeners would risk exposure if they worked in fields where pesticides containing naphthalene are applied to crops.
An example of exposure through breathing in the vapor is when a person smells mothballs. If a person does this only rarely, however, and to a very limited extent, it should not be harmful. When naphthalene gas is inhaled, it is broken down into other chemicals by the body. These other chemicals react with cells in the body and can damage tissues if the amount inhaled is large enough or if the mothballs are ingested.
What Are the Symptoms of Brief Exposure to Naphthalene?
People have experienced headaches, nausea, dizziness, and/or vomiting after being exposed to naphthalene in a gas form. If someone breathes in enough of the vapor or eats a mothball containing naphthalene, they might develop hemolytic anemia. This is a condition in which the red blood cells break apart and no longer carry oxygen in the bloodstream as they should.
After eating mothballs that contain naphthalene, young children develop diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, and painful urination with discolored urine. Dogs have been known to eat mothballs containing naphthalene and have exhibited lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, and tremors.
Clothing and blankets stored in mothballs without being washed before use have caused anemia in infants who wore the clothing or used the blankets. People with an inherited enzyme deficiency are at much greater risk of anemia than people with normal enzyme levels. So, people with inherited enzyme deficiency should exercise special care to avoid naphthalene.
Acute exposure, which is exposure for a short duration, of humans to naphthalene through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact can cause hemolytic anemia, damage to the liver, and neurological damage in infants. The symptoms of acute exposure include headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, anemia, jaundice, convulsions, and coma. People who experience acute exposure to naphthalene by inhalation or ingestion have also developed cataracts in their eyes.
What Are the Effects of Long-term Exposure to Naphthalene?
Immediately or shortly after exposure to a higher level of naphthalene in the air, a person’s eyes, nose, or throat may feel irritated. Naphthalene can also irritate the skin. Very high levels of naphthalene can cause headaches and nausea. Naphthalene may also damage the liver, kidneys, and eyes.
People can experience anemia after several years of exposure to naphthalene. Anemia can result when high levels of naphthalene are inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or eaten. Repeated exposure to naphthalene can cause clouding of the lenses of the eyes and damage vision.
Chronic exposure of workers to naphthalene has reportedly caused cataracts and retinal hemorrhage.
There is a report in a medical journal of a serious condition, hemolysis, in a healthy child that was apparently the result of the child ingesting a mothball. Hemolysis is characterized by rapid red blood cell destruction leading to anemia, jaundice, and reticulocytosis. Fortunately, in that case, the child fully recovered after two weeks of intensive care.
Does Naphthalene Cause Cancer?
Animal studies have suggested that naphthalene may cause cancer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified naphthalene as possibly carcinogenic in humans, but this is based on animal studies. The case that naphthalene is carcinogenic to humans does not appear strong.
What Should I Do If I Am Exposed to Naphthalene at Work?
If a person works where naphthalene is processed and believes it is not handled safely in the workplace, they will file a claim with OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is the federal agency whose job is to ensure that workplaces are safe and that toxic substances are handled so as not to create the risk of harm to employees.
A person concerned about naphthalene in their place of employment can file a complaint with OSHA that can lead to an inspection. An inspection can reveal if naphthalene is handled appropriately in the workplace or whether any regulations have been violated. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration can impose sanctions on employers who violate OSHA regulations. This can ensure that a workplace is safe.
A person worried about naphthalene in their workplace or who thinks there has been a violation can file a complaint with OSHA by mail, fax, telephone, or online at the OSHA website. Or, they can report their concerns in person to their nearest regional or area OSHA office. There are 10 regional OSHA offices in the U.S. and 89 area offices.
In addition, some states have workplace safety and health plans. These state plans are approved by OSHA but operated by state governments. Twenty-two states in the U.S. currently have these plans, and they cover both the private sector and state and local government employees in their workplaces. Seven states have plans that only cover state and local government employees and workplaces.
The federal OSHA monitors these state plans and requires them to be as effective as OSHA in protecting workers. If their state has one, a person might also want to turn to their state plan administrator for help with a naphthalene concern.
What If I Have Been Injured by Naphthalene?
If a person thinks they have been injured by naphthalene exposure in their workplace, they would want to consult a workers’ compensation attorney who would help them file a claim with the workers’ compensation system in the state where they live. A workers’ compensation claim can provide a worker with damages to compensate them for the costs of medical care, lost wages, and future losses they may suffer because of their injuries.
If someone believes they have been injured by naphthalene exposure outside their workplace, they will consult a personal injury attorney. An attorney could enlist the help of experts who would be needed to relate the person’s injuries to naphthalene exposure. Another expert might be needed to identify how the person’s exposure came about, how severe it was, and how it could have caused the person’s injuries.
A lawsuit for strict product liability or negligence for injuries caused by naphthalene would seek to recover compensatory damages. Damages will cover the cost of all necessary medical treatment, lost wages, future medical care and future lost wages, and loss of earning capacity if this is at issue. In addition, a person would recover damages for their pain and suffering. In rare cases in which it is justified, punitive damages might be awarded.
Do I Need the Help of a Lawyer for My Naphthalene Issue?
If you believe you or a loved one has become ill because of naphthalene exposure, you should consult either a class action attorney, as explained above.
An experienced workers’ compensation or personal injury attorney can help you determine who is responsible for your exposure to naphthalene and get proper compensation for your injuries, whether they occurred in your workplace or elsewhere. An attorney will be able to enlist the help of the experts you need to make your best case.
