Chicago, IL"My wife died from myelodysplastic syndrome, that could only have been caused by exposure to benzene," says Dr. Todd Molis, "and the only way she had prolonged exposure to benzene was from drinking so much cola."
In 2004 Judy Molis was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, (MDS, formerly known as "preleukemia") which affects the blast cells of bone marrow (the "factory" that produces white and red blood cells) and subsequently causes low cell counts of white and red blood cells.
Nobody could figure out how Judy Molis contracted MDS. "Usually it strikes males in their late 60s - 70s because they usually work with benzene products but my wife was never exposed to benzene," says Dr. Molis. "Then I read an article online, issued by the FDA. The agency cited soda manufacturing companies for having high levels of benzene in sodas - and my wife drank a lot of cola. This was the only way she had prolonged exposure to benzene."
Dr. David T Bowen, University of Dundee Medical School in Dundee, Scotland, states on the [MDS Foundation website] that "For cases of MDS developing after exposure to an agent known or presumed to cause MDS, the latency period varies...up to 30 years for benzene." He adds that, "Exposure to high concentrations of benzene clearly causes bone marrow toxicity, usually aplasia, some of which will progress to MDS."
Why is benzene even used in soft drinks?
To understand how benzene gets into the product, benzoic acid is used as a preservative. If the soda is stored at a high temperature, benzoic acid is broken down to form benzene. "I first read about benzene in the late 90s and at that time, some of these soft drink companies had four times the accepted level of benzene - that meant the benzoic acid had broken down," says Dr. Molis. "Now, I want to find out if there is a correlation between drinking cola and MDS."
Dr. Molis wants answers to the following questions:
Is there a direct correlation between the consumption of cola, exposure to benzene and MDS?
Are the soft drink companies ignoring the FDA report?
Are these companies actively searching for a benzoic acid substitute which would be safer?
Is the FDA doing anything about it? Are they continuing to test these soft drinks or was this study a one-shot deal?
The FDA first [reported] finding low levels of benzene in soft drinks back in November, 2005. It also said that the FDA "has no regulatory limits for benzene in beverages other than bottled water, for which FDA uses the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 5 ppb for drinking water, as a quality standard." So who is minding the store?
Then, in April of 2006, the FDA backtracked and announced that its scientists found benzene in soft drinks at levels higher than the established safety standard for tap water, not long after they said that there was no cause for concern.
The FDA published results from 1995 to 2001 in its Total Diet Study (TDS) that indicated benzene levels in soft drinks were well above levels "reported in previous and current peer-reviewed literature and with hundreds of recent domestic and international government and beverage industry results."
The agency is currently "working to determine the source of the differences" and "continuing to follow up with companies to ensure that processing conditions are established that will ensure that benzene formation is avoided or minimized." In other words the FDA admits that soft drink companies have been found to have unacceptable levels of benzene in their beverages. Is this statement supposed to be reassuring?
"I have a lot of respect for the FDA - I am a dentist and dispense drugs," says Dr. Molis. "But are they understaffed? Did they stumble upon something and not pursue this?
"If I can get the ball rolling and help prevent anyone else having to go through the suffering my wife endured, whatever I can do will be worthwhile. I don't care about anything monetary compensation -- I have a very successful dental practice.
"My wife passed away February 21, 2006; she was only 59 years old. Nobody knows why my wife or any others come down with this disease - I don't know what studies, if any, have been done. It is very hard for the layman to get any information on MDS and its link to benzene, but I just want some answers."