Tests Discover High Levels of Benzene in Sodas
Suit Filed to Protect Consumers from Cancer Causing Solvent
BOSTON, April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- According to independent laboratory tests released today, two widely sold soft drink products contain benzene, a known carcinogen, at levels exceeding safe drinking water standards. The tests were released by McRoberts, Roberts & Rainer, L.L.P. in conjunction with class action lawsuits filed today in Boston and Tallahassee. The court complaints identify Polar Beverages of Worcester, Massachusetts and In Zone Brands of Austell, Georgia as the manufacturers of the products.
"Benzene is simply unfit for human consumption," said Andrew Rainer, a partner with the Boston firm of McRoberts, Roberts & Rainer, L.L.P., and a former state prosecutor. "That's why we have filed suit today, and are calling on Polar Beverages and In Zone Brands, the manufacturer of BellyWashers, to pull their products from store shelves."
According to the United State Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), nervous system disorders and immune system damage can occur following short periods of exposure to Benzene. Lifetime exposure has the potential to cause cancer, and chromosomal aberrations, according to the EPA. ( http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwh/c-voc/benzene.html)
Independent lab testing conducted by the plaintiffs found that Polar Diet Orange Dry contained 9.1 parts per billion (ppb) of Benzene. BellyWashers 2/3 Less Sugar (http://www.bellywashers.com ) in the Spiderman bottle had 69 ppb, more than 13 times the level allowed in public water supplies. The EPA standard for tap water is 5 ppb.
More product testing is underway.
"Toxic cocktails of benzene, artificial sweeteners, colorings, additives, and sugar threaten our children's health," said Boston University professor and attorney Dr. Tim Howard, of Howard & Associates, P.A., a successful veteran of the nation's tobacco wars. "Parents have a legal right to know if benzene is in their children's drinks. Responsible corporations must act to remove these lethal toxins that are so easily prevented," Howard added.
Researchers believe that Benzene forms when two commonly found soft drink ingredients, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and the preservative sodium benzoate react. Excessive levels of the colorless solvent Benzene can be created when soft drinks containing these ingredients are exposed to heat or light.
Records show that in 1990, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the industry's trade association knew of the risk of benzene in soft drink products, yet failed to issue any recall or inform the public of the potential danger. The FDA left it to the industry to modify its manufacturing processes to prevent the chemical reaction that produces Benzene, and the industry has failed to ensure that all its products are safe.
"It's impossible for parents to know which soft drinks are safe and which contain cancer-causing Benzene," said Timothy Newell, a pre-school teacher and the named plaintiff in the Boston class action suit filed in Massachusetts Superior Court. "That's why I'm bringing these companies to court. I want to know that my own kids are drinking sodas that are safe."
A related class action suit was filed in Florida Circuit Court today. Lisbeth Gordon, the named plaintiff in that suit is a Tallahassee Emergency Room nurse and mother of four children ages seven through fifteen. "I see children suffer needlessly every day," she said. "We have a chance to prevent future suffering and I'm proud to be part of it." SOURCE McRoberts, Roberts & Rainer, L.L.P.
