Indoor Air Quality and VOC’s
As I began to read several articles about indoor air quality I learned quite a bit. One thing of particular interest was the fact that some of the vocabulary used in those articles was not in my usual vernacular. VOC’s was first on my radar. I really was a bit confused as to what that was or what the letters even stood for. So began my education.
VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. Great, now I know what the letters stand for but what does it mean and why should I care? VOC’s are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary room temperature. This means that large numbers of molecules evaporate or sublimate into the indoor air. They can be both human-made and naturally occurring. Most scents and odors are VOC ‘s. Some VOC’s are harmful but not all. Even the harmful ones are not immediately toxic. The truth is the effects are slowly compounding to long-term negative results. This fact also makes the long-term effects difficult to research. Of course, some research has been done and in some studies prolonged exposure to indoor VOC’s has been linked to some forms of leukemia and lymphoma. Some of the culprits of VOC’s are furniture, wall covering, new carpeting, office equipment, scented air fresheners, scented candles. The list could go on and on. Sounds depressing.
Fortunately, good ventilation and adequate rates of air exchange between indoor and outdoor air can take care of most VOC problems you might have. I certainly did not want frighten anyone with this information. I just wanted you to be at least semi knowledgeable about VOC’s and some of the possible dangers.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound#Indoor_air
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