2 C6H5COCl + H2O2 + 2 NaOH → (C6H5CO)2O2 + 2 NaCl + 2 H2OThe oxygen–oxygen bond in peroxides is weak. Thus, benzoyl peroxide readily undergoes homolysis (symmetrical fission), forming free radicals:

(C6H5CO)2O2 → 2 C6H5CO•2The symbol • indicates that the products are radicals; i.e., they contain at least one unpaired electron. Such species are highly reactive. The homolysis is usually induced by heating. The half-life of benzoyl peroxide is one hour at 92 °C. At 131 °C, the half-life is one minute. References
External links
"Benzoyl peroxide". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. International Chemical Safety Card 0225
NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. "#0052". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). SIDS Initial Assessment Report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Organic Peroxide Producers Safety Division (OPPSD)
The most common clinical syndromes of EOD are sepsis without apparent focus, pneumonia, and less frequently meningitis. EOD is acquired vertically (vertical transmission),  through exposure of the fetus or the baby to GBS from the vagina of a colonized woman, either intrautero or during birth after rupture of membranes. Infants can be infected during passage through the birth canal, nevertheless newborns that acquire GBS through this route can become only colonized, and these colonized infants habitually do not develop EOD. Roughly 50% of newborns to GBS colonized mothers are also GBS colonized and (without prevention measures) 1–2% of these newborns will develop EOD. In the past, the incidence of EOD ranged from 0.7 to 3.7 per thousand live births in the US and from 0.2 to 3.25 per thousand in Europe. In 2008, after widespread use of antenatal screening and intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP), the CDC reported an incidence of 0.28 cases of EOD per thousand live births in the US.Multistate surveillance 2006-2015 shows a decline in EOD from 0.37 to 0.23 per 1000 live births in the US but LOD remains steady at 0.31 per 1000 live births.It has been indicated that where there was a policy of providing IAP for GBS colonized mothers the overall risk of EOGBS is 0.3%. Since 2006 to 2015 the incidence of GBS EOD decreased from 0.37 to 0.23 per thousand live births in the US.Though maternal GBS colonization is the key determinant for EOD, other factors also increase the risk.