Brian Barton
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a group of chemicals that vaporize at room temperature and are emitted into the air from products or processes. They are found in thousands of everyday products, including paints, varnishes, cleaning products, and personal care items. VOCs can have serious health impacts, with exposure causing eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. Long-term exposure to VOCs can damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system, and some VOCs are known or suspected carcinogens. The health impacts of VOCs are gaining attention, with recent research highlighting their influence on a wide range of diseases and disorders, especially in children.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Health problems | Eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and difficulty breathing |
| Long-term exposure can damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system | |
| Some VOCs are linked to cancer | |
| May worsen symptoms for people with asthma and COPD | |
| VOCs can cause severe neurological harm | |
| Some VOCs are toxic at very low concentrations | |
| VOCs can cause drowsiness, dizziness, seizures, and comas depending on the level of concentration and time of exposure | |
| Sick building syndrome and building-related illness | |
| VOCs can enter groundwater and migrate to drinking-water supply wells | |
| VOCs can generate toxic vapors that move through soils and can get into buildings and degrade indoor air quality | |
| Sources | Home cleaning products, building materials, personal care products, and outdoor sources that can enter homes |
| Paint, varnish, wax, and various cleaning, degreasing, and cosmetic products | |
| Pesticides, especially organochlorine pesticides | |
| Paint strippers, adhesive removers, aerosol spray paints, and other products containing methylene chloride | |
| Gas engines, dry cleaners, auto-body shops, painting and coating facilities | |
| Industrial processes, vehicle pollution, and exhausts | |
| Decomposition of biological and non-biological wastes |
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What You'll Learn
VOCs are found in thousands of everyday products
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from thousands of everyday products and can have serious health impacts. VOCs are chemicals that vaporize at room temperature and are mostly released into the air during the use of products containing them, a process known as off-gassing.
VOCs are found in many household products, including paints, varnishes, wax, cleaning products, disinfectants, cosmetics, degreasers, and hobby products. Fuels are also made up of organic chemicals. Some specific VOCs include benzene, formaldehyde, and toluene, which are found in arts and crafts products like glues, paints, and permanent markers.
The concentrations of VOCs indoors are consistently higher than outdoors, with levels up to 10 times higher inside homes. The EPA's Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) Study found that levels of common organic pollutants were 2 to 5 times higher inside homes, and during activities like paint stripping, levels can be 1,000 times higher than outdoor background levels.
To reduce exposure to VOCs, it is recommended to read product labels, avoid or limit the use of items with harmful ingredients, safely dispose of unwanted products, and increase ventilation when using products containing VOCs. It is also important to store unused chemicals in a garage or shed and to buy only the amount of product that will be used immediately.
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VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs are emitted by thousands of everyday products, including cleaning products, paints, varnishes, wax, adhesives, fuels, and pesticides. Concentrations of VOCs are often much higher indoors than outdoors, with levels of common organic pollutants found to be 2 to 5 times higher inside homes than outside.
Breathing in VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation. Studies have found that higher levels of total VOCs are associated with increased prevalence rates for eye, nose, and throat irritation symptoms. Chamber studies with controlled exposures have documented increases in sensory irritation symptoms in people when VOCs are added to the chamber air. Formaldehyde, a well-known VOC, has been linked to increased rhinoconjunctivitis (nasal congestion, runny nose, red or irritated eyes) in classrooms.
The health effects of VOC exposure depend on the level of concentration and the length of exposure. Short-term exposure to certain VOCs may cause headaches and a worsening of asthma symptoms and other respiratory issues. Long-term exposure to VOCs can lead to more severe health issues, including liver or kidney damage and an increased risk of cancer.
To reduce exposure to VOCs, it is important to read product labels, avoid or limit the use of products with harmful ingredients, safely dispose of unwanted products, and increase ventilation when using products containing VOCs.
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Long-term exposure can damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from thousands of everyday products and can have serious health impacts. VOCs are gases that are emitted into the air from products or processes and can be found both indoors and outdoors. Some VOCs are harmful on their own, while others can react with other gases to form additional air pollutants.
Long-term exposure to VOCs can damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. The liver is often a target of toxicant exposure due to its role in filtering and removing toxic compounds from the body. The metabolism of these compounds can result in the formation of active metabolites or reactive intermediates, which may cause more harm than the parent compound. For example, they can lead to DNA or protein adduct formation or trigger an inflammatory response. This can result in liver damage and injury, as seen in both human and animal studies. Additionally, low-level exposures to certain toxicants, such as vinyl chloride, can enhance underlying liver injury.
The central nervous system (CNS) is also vulnerable to the effects of VOC exposure. Breathing in VOCs can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat, cause difficulty breathing and nausea, and lead to CNS damage. While the exact mechanisms are not fully understood, it is clear that VOC exposure can have detrimental effects on the CNS.
Kidney damage from long-term VOC exposure has also been observed. While there is limited direct evidence linking VOCs to kidney damage, it is known that the kidneys play a crucial role in filtering and removing toxins from the body. Given the toxicity of some VOCs, it is plausible that they can contribute to kidney damage over time.
To reduce the potential health risks associated with VOC exposure, it is important to increase ventilation when using products that emit VOCs, carefully read labels, and avoid or limit the use of items with harmful ingredients.
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Some VOCs are linked to cancer
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from thousands of everyday products and can have serious health impacts. Some VOCs are linked to cancer. VOCs are chemicals that vaporize at room temperature and are mostly released into the air during the use of products containing them, a process known as off-gassing. Concentrations of VOCs indoors are up to 10 times higher than outdoors.
Some VOCs, including benzene and formaldehyde, pose a lifetime cancer risk via different exposure routes, such as inhalation, oral ingestion, and dermal contact. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has classified these compounds as known and probable human carcinogens. Based on human and animal evidence, the U.S. EPA estimated that continuous exposure to 1 µg/m³ of benzene and formaldehyde in the air over a lifetime would respectively cause 2.2–7.8 leukemia cases and 13 lung and nasopharyngeal cancers per million people. Formaldehyde, in particular, is considered the highest cancer risk driver among 187 hazardous air pollutants in the US.
In addition to benzene and formaldehyde, other VOCs implicated in cancer risk include acetaldehyde, toluene, and methylene chloride. Methylene chloride, found in products like paint strippers, adhesive removers, and aerosol spray paints, is known to cause cancer in animals and can also be converted to carbon monoxide in the body, leading to carbon monoxide exposure symptoms.
Studies have indicated that global VOC emissions increased by 10.2% between 2000 and 2019, with substantial increases in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and China. This rise in VOC emissions contributes to the global health burden, with an estimated one-third of the global population exposed to harmful VOC levels.
While the specific health effects of each VOC can vary, long-term exposure to VOCs has been associated with adverse health outcomes, including cancer. It is important to minimize exposure to VOCs by reading product labels, increasing ventilation, and disposing of unwanted products properly.
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VOCs are emitted from industrial processes
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from industrial processes and are a major cause of air pollution. They are released into the atmosphere during the production and use of thousands of everyday products, including paints, coatings, inks, adhesives, personal care products, and cleaning agents. VOCs are also present in compressed aerosol products, such as butane and propane, and are released during the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass.
The health problems associated with exposure to VOCs are diverse and can be severe. Short-term exposure to VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. Long-term exposure to VOCs has been linked to more serious health issues, including central nervous system damage, liver and kidney damage, and cancer. Some VOCs can worsen symptoms for people with asthma and COPD.
Indoor concentrations of VOCs are often significantly higher than outdoor concentrations, with levels up to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors. This is due to the use of products containing VOCs in enclosed spaces, as well as inadequate ventilation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) studies found that levels of common organic pollutants were 2 to 5 times higher inside homes, even in rural areas, when compared to outdoor levels.
To reduce exposure to VOCs, it is recommended to increase ventilation when using products that contain them. Reading product labels, avoiding or limiting the use of items with harmful ingredients, and safely disposing of unwanted products are also important measures to minimize VOC exposure. Regulations and standards have been enacted in several countries, including the United States and several European nations, to limit VOC emissions from commercial products. These regulations have led to the development of low-emitting products and ecolabels, helping to reduce VOC exposure for consumers.
In addition to indoor air pollution, VOCs also contribute to outdoor air pollution and have impacts on the environment. Some VOCs react with other gases in the atmosphere, forming secondary pollutants such as oxidation products and secondary aerosols. These secondary pollutants can have sensory irritation effects on humans, further contributing to the health problems associated with VOC exposure.
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Frequently asked questions
VOCs are a group of chemicals that can vaporize into the air. They are found in thousands of products we use every day, including paint, varnish, wax, and various cleaning, degreasing, cosmetic, and building products.
Exposure to VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and difficulty breathing.
Long-term exposure to VOCs can damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system, and some VOCs are linked to cancer. They may worsen symptoms for people with asthma and COPD.
Some common VOCs include benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride.
To reduce exposure to VOCs, it is important to read product labels, avoid or limit the use of products with harmful ingredients, safely dispose of unwanted products, and increase ventilation when using products containing VOCs.
