Volatile Organic Compounds health effects

Difunctional oxygenated organic compounds health effects of, 4 volatility of, 86 Diolefins, 57-58,60 aerosols from, 4, 70-72,83, 88.675 in automotive exhahst, 101 DNA (deoxyribonudeic add), effect of ozone exposure on, 351-52, 363 Dose-response relationship, for exposure to ozone... 

In nonindustrial settings, MCS substances are the cause of indoor air pollution and are the contaminants in air and water. Many of the chemicals which trigger MCS symptoms are known to be irritants or toxic to the nervous system. As an example, volatile organic compounds readily evaporate into the air at room temperature. Permitted airborne levels of such contaminants can still make ordinary people sick. When the human body is assaulted with levels of toxic chemicals that it cannot safely process, it is likely that at some point an individual will become ill. For some, the outcome could be cancer or reproductive damage. Others may become hypersensitive to these chemicals or develop other chronic disorders, while some people may not experience any noticeable health effects. Even where high levels of exposure occur, generally only a small percentage of people become chemically sensitive. 

Although REACH involved a revision of most EU chemical control legislation, one existing directive that was not incorporated into REACH is the Solvent Emissions Directive [26]. The aim of this Directive is to prevent or reduce the effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on the environment (mainly via the atmosphere) and reduce the potential human health risks from solvent-based activities. Most of the provisions of the directive relate to emission and inventory control, but one part of the directive has potentially negative consequences in terms of Green Chemistry. 

Decreases in nitrogen oxide emissions are also expected to have positive health effects by reducing the nitrate component of inhalable particulates and reducing the nitrogen oxides available to react with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and form ozone. Ozone impacts on human health include a number of morbidity and mortality risks associated with lung disorders. 

Hudnell, H.K., Otto, D.A. and House, D. (1993) Time course of odor and irritation effects in humans exposed to a mixture of 22 volatile organic compounds, in Proceedings of Indoor Air 93. Health Effects, Vol. 1 (eds R. Ilmarinen,). Jaakkola and O. Seppanen), SIY Indoor air information Oy, Helsinki, Finland, pp. 567-72. 

Molliave, L. (2000b) Volatile organic compounds and the sick building syndrome, in Environmental Toxicants. Human Exposures and Their Health Effects, 2nd edn (ed. M. Lippmann), John Wiley Sons, Inc., New York, USA, pp. 889-903. 

Ware JH, Spengler JD, Neas LM, Samet JM, Wagner GR, Coultas D, Ozkaynak H, Schwab M (1993) Respiratory and irritant health effects of ambient volatile organic compounds. The Kanawha County Health Study. Am J Epidemiol, 137(12) 1287-1301. 

There is a standard of performance for equipment leaks of formamide and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI). The intended effect of these standards is to require all newly constructed, modified, and reconstructed SOCMI process units to use the best demonstrated system of continuous emission reduction for equipment leaks of VOCs, considering costs, nonair quality health and environmental impact and energy requirements. 

The relevance of using the total concentration of volatile organic compounds (TVOC) for prediction of effects regarding health and comfort in non-industrial buildings has... 

As generally accepted approaches are lacking, the assessment of exposures to VOC and the evaluation of the associated health and discomfort effects are often based on some sort of integrating or summarizing measure. An often-used measure is the Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC). This means that one single value represents the mixture of many VOCs (Mplhave and Nielsen, 1992). Usually, TVOC values represent a summation of some or (rarely) all of the VOCs present in air indoors. 

Otto D.A., Hudnell H.K., Goldstein G. and O Neil J. (1990b) Indoor air-Health. Neurotoxic effects of controlled exposure to a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds. Report EEA/600/1-90/001. Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, HERL, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

---