I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 44, after working in a chemical factory for twenty years. I believe there is a connection
Benjamin Bement worked in a chemical factory for almost twenty years before he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 44.
The now 55-year-old Louisiana resident told DailyMail.com he thinks near-daily exposure to dozens of chemicals had something to do with his early diagnosis. The average age at which Parkinson’s is diagnosed is 60 years.
Mr Bement said he was “chronically exposed to minuscule amounts of 60 different chemicals” during his career, despite wearing personal protective equipment.
He told this website: ‘After working in a chemical plant for 18 years, I believe the micro-exposures I suffered have accumulated over time and contributed to my Parkinson’s.’
In recent years, experts have theorized that exposure to certain chemicals and factory fumes are responsible for the rise in Parkinson’s diagnoses in certain areas of the US, where rates of the debilitating disease are nearly 50 percent higher than national averages.
Benjamin Bement was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 44 and believes his career, during which he was exposed to numerous chemicals, contributed.
Experts have called Southern California, the Rustbelt and the Sunbelt (which includes Louisiana) America’s “Parkinson’s Belt.”
A 2022 study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania identified Parkinson’s clusters in Southern California, Southeast Texas, Florida and Central Pennsylvania. Most were located in or near major industrial or agricultural activities, or both.
These clusters have researchers such as Dr. Ray Dorsey, a neurologist at the University of Rochester, to conclude that something in the environment must increase the local risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Mr. Bement worked for eighteen years at BASF, a chemical company with three factories in Louisiana.
Previously, Mr. Bement worked aboard a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine, handling “all the chemicals to be added to the nuclear and steam power plants.” He had also worked as a radiation safety officer in the oil field.
Looking at his work environment, Mr. Bement said he can’t prove anything, but he believes his Parkinson’s disease was “like death by a thousand cuts.” It was exposure to every little smell, drop and splash. It has to accumulate.”
Mr. Bement said he first started dealing with Parkinson’s symptoms while working at a BASF chemical plant.
The BASF group produces a wide range of chemicals, in addition to fertilizers, plastics, synthetic fibers, dyes, inks and printing accessories.
DailyMail.com has contacted BASF for comment but has not received a response.
Speaking about the series of events that led to his Parkinson’s diagnosis, Mr Bement said: ‘It should be known that the symptoms of Parkinson’s often ’emerge’ after a shock to the system.
‘My shock to the system was a negative reaction to medication.
‘I was taking a blood pressure medicine and started having hives all over the body and a large build-up of fluid in my legs. It took me a full three weeks to get over the reaction, but I never got completely back to normal.”
As the hives subsided and his legs returned to normal, Mr Bement said he was then struck by extreme fatigue and his body felt ‘sluggish’.
He added: ‘I felt like someone was adding weight to my arms and wrists, adding an extra pound week after week.
‘Eventually I started walking with a cane, not because of instability, but because I felt like I needed an extra limb to hold myself up.
“A 20-minute trip to Walmart felt like a marathon.”
Mr. Bement also served aboard a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine “handling all the chemicals to be added to the nuclear and steam power plants.”
In addition to the physical symptoms, Mr Bement said he noticed some psychological changes and didn’t feel as ‘sharp’.
In addition to the characteristic tremors of Parkinson’s disease, mental and emotional symptoms may also occur, such as depression, anxiety, memory problems and dementia.
Mr Bement said: ‘I also noticed that my thoughts were slow and I couldn’t remember things.
‘At the time, I qualified for a position that required me to study and memorize the layouts of pipes and equipment, how things flowed from point to point, and the purpose and limitations of each component. I had little trouble learning the system ten years earlier.
‘This time I studied part of the plant, went inside and immediately started forgetting everything I had just looked at. I could remember each piece, but I couldn’t connect them together. It was like my mind was a dry erase board.
“I wrote a lot of things on it, and then parts of it faded away. It was alarming. I was always the one who rarely had to study for a test. Now I couldn’t remember anything an hour later.’
As many patients note, it took a long time for Mr. Bement to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Because there is currently no single or definitive test that can diagnose the disease, doctors find it difficult to diagnose and there are other conditions that have similar symptoms.
After Mr Bement was referred by a neurologist to a specialist in movement disorders, a DaT scan (dopamine transporter scan) confirmed his diagnosis.
A DaT scan – in which a small amount of radioactive medicine is injected – can show whether there is a reduced function of the dopamine system in a part of the brain involved in controlling movements.
Although Mr Bement believes that working in a chemical industrial plant as an operator for almost two decades played a role in his deteriorating health, he does not have any concrete evidence and says there could be many factors.
He explained, “I cannot prove or even theorize which chemicals did or did not contribute to my Parkinson’s. But the facts remain: I served aboard a US Navy nuclear submarine handling all the chemicals that needed to be added to the nuclear and steam power plants.
“I worked in the oil field as a radiation safety officer for a few years. I worked in a chemical factory for 18 years.
“That plant was located near or across the Mississippi River from sugar cane fields where various forms of fertilizer and pest control were used.
‘At the factory we had a truck that went around spraying all the ditches with a chemical that would prevent vegetation from growing. We were advised not to wear PPE while spraying, even though the person who sprayed it was wearing PPE.’
Mr Bement said he first started dealing with Parkinson’s symptoms while working in a chemical factory (stock image)
Dr. Tim Greenamyre, the director of the Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, had been conducting laboratory studies on one of the chemicals thought to be a factor in Parkinson’s disease: a pesticide known as Rotenone.
Rotenone is a chemical used across the country as a pesticide on crops and livestock and to manage fish populations, as well as by home gardeners.
It turns out that Dr. Greenamyre himself developed the disease he was studying – which has no treatment and slowly erodes the control a person has over their body, ultimately leading to death.
The Pennsylvania doctor suspects he contracted the disease because of the chemicals he studied in the lab, which could be one reason why the rates in his region are also so high.
Dr. Dorsey, the neurologist at the University of Rochester, told NBC News: ‘If Parkinson’s disease were purely a coincidence, you wouldn’t expect parts of the country or parts of the world to have higher rates than other parts.’
His theory is that the chemicals released from historic factory and farm work contributed to the risk of Parkinson’s.
The work of Dr. Dorsey focuses on a chemical called trichloroethylene (TCE), a chemical used in dry cleaning, degreasing and the production of disinfectants, dyes, perfumes and soaps.
The EPA tackled this chemical in 2023, proposing a ban on all uses of TCE, which it deemed “extremely toxic.” It has been linked to cancer, nerve damage and reproductive problems.
In a 2023 studyDr. Dorsey said studies have also linked the chemical to a 500 percent increased risk of developing Parkinson’s.
Experts aren’t sure how the chemical could do this, but suggest it could change the way brain cells use energy, the study said.
Although Parkinson’s disease has affected Mr. Bement’s life in many ways, with tremors, stiffness and poor balance among his symptoms, the veteran says he likes to keep a positive attitude and has become an advocate for the Parkinson’s Foundation in an attempt to help others.
He told DailyMail.com: ‘Parkinson’s disease has changed my life. In fact, my wife Kelly and I agree that this might be the best thing that ever happened to me.
‘Not in the sense that I now face difficult challenges, but before I really only worked for a salary.
“I would work just about as much overtime as possible. As a result, I was either working or recovering from working.
‘I never saw my son or relatives. No vacation was long enough to rejuvenate. Who knows? Perhaps the chronic stress that comes with working so much also had an effect.
Mr Bement continued: ‘Now I am surrounded by people who battle Parkinson’s disease every day. They do things they shouldn’t do. Those are miracles.
“I prefer to stay in the moment, serve others and celebrate victories, rather than dwelling on what I can’t prove or blaming for what got me here. I choose joy. I choose to serve others. I choose to celebrate what I can still do, versus what I can’t.’
