VOCs are a known risk in the cleaning industry, so why is the British Press only just realizing this?

There have been recent articles in the British Press about the ‘hidden dangers in your house‘ – with VOCs highlighted as a cause. Experts warn household products including some air fresheners and cleaning products, are putting lives at risk.

However, commercial manufacturers have known about the dangers of VOCs for a number of years, so why are we just realizing this in everyday life?

Reduce levels of VOCs

The study (by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health) suggests that indoor air pollution alone may have caused or contributed to 99,000 deaths in a year across Europe;

“Being indoors can offer some protection against outdoor air pollution, but it can also expose us to other air pollution sources,” the report said.

It added: “The lemon and pine scents that we use to make our homes smell fresh can react chemically to generate air pollutants, and ozone-based air fresheners can also cause indoor air pollution.”

This statement, while it may be true, provides a very vague picture about air fresheners – not all air fresheners contain VOCs.

According to the articles, the most ‘disturbing’ aspects of air pollution highlighted by the report are cleaning products that often use chemicals known as Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which start off as solids or liquids but readily evaporate into the air. Furthermore, certain furniture, fabric, furnishings, glue and insulation can emit formaldehyde vapour, causing irritation to the lungs.

HOWEVER, what if, there were products currently being sold commercially (B2B) that were using alternative ingredients to VOCs and that were VOC exempt? It’s been a known issue in the cleaning industry for a number of years, so here are some tips of reducing VOCs indoors;

• Buy low VOC products or VOC exempt products – see our Multi-phasing air freshener and our Harmonize Your World project to see the benefits of VOC exemption in air fresheners.
• Improve and increase ventilation when using cleaning products and air fresheners.
• Buy only what you need – storage of chemicals is a major source of VOCs, even when the packaging/container is closed up tight.

Companies need to assess the environmental impacts of their products and ensure that they are continuing to innovate both in terms of new technology and environmental factors. Commercial customers are increasingly looking for aircare systems that are extremely environmentally friendly, and that can be safely used for prolonged periods in public areas.

Any aerosol products that we do provide that do contain VOCs are well under European legislation and guidelines and all our air fresheners use ingredients that are IFRA registered.

Countries, such as the USA, take VOCs very seriously. The ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association) produced a report in August 2015 on the ‘Summary of State and Federal VOC Limitations for Institutional and Consumer Products’ which says;

“VOCs have been determined to be a major contributing factor to the formation of ground-level ozone, which has been proven to be a public health concern. In order to reduce ozone levels, the U.S. EPA and numerous state agencies have issued regulations to reduce VOC emissions from a variety of sources, including products that contain solvents such as cleaning product formulations. In the case of cleaning products, the regulations limit the amount of VOCs that can be used in various product categories.”

With all this in mind, could we say that in the UK, we are learning to be cautious with what we put into public spaces (offices, hotels, airports etc.) with schemes like BIM, but we aren’t so concerned with educating everyday people on looking for VOC exempt products, or products low in VOCs, in their homes? I think so.

Sources: Sky News, Telegraph, ISSA, IFRA.