2022

Environmental protection knowledge | What are the human health effects of VOCs?

Source:

Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences; Map/Photographic Network

The research shows that in general, the concentration of volatile organic compounds in indoor air is 2-5 times that of outdoor air, while the VOCs pollution in newly decorated houses is more serious, and the concentration is more than 10 times that of outdoor air. This is undoubtedly a dangerous signal for those who have been engaged in house decoration and painting for a long time, operators in painting workshops, and people around industrial areas and traffic arteries.
VOCs can be said to be harmful to human body from outside to inside. Some VOCs can cause skin papules, itching and other symptoms, stimulate eyes, nose and respiratory tract, cause inflammation of eyes, nose and throat, and even cause asthma, confusion, fainting, vomiting and bronchitis in severe cases. What's more, VOCs are easy to enter the human body through the respiratory tract, digestive tract and skin, thus causing gastric distension, stomach pain, liver and kidney damage, central nervous system impact, headache and other symptoms.
The killer of VOCs is two words that make everyone tremble: cancer. Long term indoor exposure to VOCs will increase the risk of lung cancer, leukemia and lymphoma.
In the report on environmental carcinogens published by the World Health Organization, benzene, mustard gas, vinyl chloride, 4-aminobiphenyl, dichloromethyl ether and industrial grade chloromethyl ether and formaldehyde, which belong to the first class carcinogens, have solid evidence for human carcinogenesis; Among the secondary carcinogens, acrylonitrile, carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, ethylene oxide, dimethyl sulfate, polychlorinated biphenyls have solid evidence of carcinogenesis in animal tests; There is sufficient evidence in animal tests for styrene and trichloroethylene among the third grade carcinogens. Without exception, the above substances belong to VOCs.
In a word, some VOCs in the ambient air have special smell and show irritation, corrosiveness, organ toxicity and carcinogenicity, which have a great impact on human health. For the sake of health, please keep away from VOCs.