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List of VOCs in the Home and Garage |
Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs are present in the air of nearly every interior. They are solids and liquids that evaporate easily (have low boiling points). Many household products, new furniture and flooring contain VOCs. Minor exposure to VOCs does little to harm human health beyond making us feel dizzy; however, longer exposure can lead to serious medical problems such as cancer and liver disease.
Many VOCs have a sweet smell. If you think you detect VOCs in the air, the best thing to do is to open a window. If you buy new furniture or carpet then VOCs will continue to off-gas for a number of days. One solution is to put your new furniture or carpet in the garage or other sheltered spot for a week or so to avoid the worst of the VOC off-gassing.
VOCs can also enter a building from contaminated soil and groundwater under buildings via cracks in the basement flooring.
However, in most cases of people being made sick by VOCs it is everyday products that are responsible. Below is a list of products and the possible VOCs they contain.
| PRODUCT | POSSIBLE VOCs | |
gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, paint thinner, oil-based stains, paint, insect/pest killers, mineral spirits, furniture polish |
BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene), hexane, cyclohexane, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene |
|
Nail polish, nail polish remover, colognes, perfumes, rubbing alcohol, hair spray |
Acetone, ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, methacrylates (methyl or ethyl), ethyl acetate |
|
| Dry cleaned clothes, spot removers, leather cleaners | Tetrachloroethene, perchloroethene (PERC), trichloroethene (TCE) |
|
| Paint stripper and glue removers | Methylene chloride, toluene, older products may contain carbon tetrachloride | |
Citrus oil, pine oil cleaners, solvents and some odor masking products |
d-limonene (citrus odor), a-pinene (pine odor), isoprene |
|
Degreasers, brake cleaner, carburator cleaner, electronics cleaners, spray lubricants |
Methylene chloride, PERC, TCE, toluene, xylenes, methyl ethyl ketone, 1,1,1-trichloroethane |
|
| Moth balls, deodorizers, air fresheners | 1,4-dichlorobenzene, naphthalene | |
Some aerosol sprays for paints, cosmetics, leather treatments and pesticides |
Heptane, butane, pentane | |
Upholstered furniture, plywood, pressed wood products, carpets |
Formaldehyde |
Armed with the information in this table you know not only which household and garage products to be wary of but also the chemical names for the VOCs you should be on your guard for. As more and more people wake up to the health dangers of VOCs, especially for young children, so demand grows for water based solvents and other low VOC or VOC free products. One field where much progress has been made is indoor paint. Insl-x do an excellent range of zero VOC paints called Naturescape.
For detailed information about the particular health dangers associated with different products consult the National Institute of Health database of household products.
Article based on information put out by the New York State Department of Health
More Pages on Interior Health Issues
Improving Indoor Environmental Quality | How to Get Clean Indoor Air | Paint Health Risks