[Image: Wikicommons]
Although many people say they enjoy the smell of petrol, huffing 95 Unleaded all day can be extremely harmful to your health.
A new study by scientists at the National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH) is now looking to rooibos to protect the friendly people who have to work in a cloud of toxic fumes all day.
NOIH believes that the popular herbal tea could help protect workers from harmful chemicals found at petrol stations, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, or BTEX. All of which are known to cause breathing problems, skin rashes, blood disorders, and even liver and kidney damage.
Dr Kerry Wilson, an epidemiologist at the NIOH, said petrol attendants in South Africa breathe in more of these chemicals than most workers because of their long shifts and close contact with fuel.
She added that although South Africa has safety laws, they are not always followed properly.
“These chemicals can damage DNA and even lead to blood poisoning.”
South Africa is one of the few countries in the world that still employ petrol attendants, and as such, we have a duty to ensure their working conditions don’t end up killing them. The answer, scientists believe, may lie with rooibos.
“We were encouraged by international studies showing how antioxidants in tea can reduce damage caused by BTEX exposure. Rooibos has no caffeine and is known to fight oxidative stress, so it’s a natural fit for the trial.”
To explore rooibos as a potential remedy, researchers selected petrol attendants from various filling stations and assigned them to different study groups.
In late 2023, the researchers assessed the workers’ health, and by early 2024, they began giving each participant three daily cups of rooibos tea, each 250ml, for a period of six months.
The study’s final results are anticipated to be available in August or September.
[Source: Scrolla]
