Airborne Chemical Exposure from Household Products

Written by guest blogger Martin Spartz, Ph.D., Prism Analytical Technologies, Inc.

Consumer-type personal care and household products (e.g., hand sanitizers, reed diffusers, nail polish remover, gasoline, etc.) contain chemicals that off-gas into the air, and are called VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).  The total level of all VOCs in the natural outdoor air is about 12 to 25 parts per billion (ppb).  Home air routinely contains total VOCs of between 125 and 750 ppb, which is 10 to 60 times that in outdoor air. In some homes, VOCs have been measured at more than 12,500 ppb!  Approximately 50% of homes tested for airborne VOCs had a significant percentage of the total VOCs come from personal care products and gasoline.  What this means is that we cause a vast majority of the air pollution in our own home!

 To determine the potential effect of VOCs on your health is to first understand how the human body interacts with these chemicals.  In a recent study, four people were placed in a room and exposed to controlled airborne levels of ethanol, acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and toluene for a short period of time.  Ethanol, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol are common VOCs found in personal care products. Toluene is a VOC found in gasoline, paints, and adhesives. All of these chemicals are found in most homes at elevated levels.  Each person was then asked to provide a deep lung breath sample (just like a breath alcohol test) so that a determination could be made of the percentage of each VOC retained in the body – either by entering the bloodstream or remaining in the lung. Following are the results:

·         Isopropanol (rubbing alcohol, sanitary wipes) – 84% to 91% was retained

·         Acetone (nail polish remover) – 39% to 80% was retained

·         Ethanol (drinking alcohol, reed diffusers) – 20% to 76% was retained

·         Toluene (gasoline, many adhesives) – 61% to 74% was retained

As these compounds are breathed in and reach the deepest part of the lungs they can be transferred to the bloodstream.  Once the chemicals reach the bloodstream it is the same as if they were ingested by drinking (like alcohol), but in this case this “ingestion” is happening continuously while being exposed to the elevated VOC level. For people with chemical sensitivities, or children and pregnant women who can have twice the metabolic rate (chemical absorption will occur more quickly than in adults or non-pregnant women), chemical exposure can cause adverse health affects like headaches, confusion, respiratory issues, and/or general malaise.

So before you add another seemingly harmless household or personal care product to your home, think twice about how that product will be  “consumed” by the body and the potential health consequences of that consumption.

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