No Fun in the Sun With Summer VOCs

Imagine being shut in, without air conditioning, without being able to open the windows to refresh the air, because the outdoor air is so full of VOCs as to be totally disabling…

For some of us, this is a somewhat usual occurrence anyway, due to the prevalence of toxic laundry products blowing out of dryer vents everywhere, but during summer, things can get so much worse!

The heat makes many chemicals more volatile, and where do they off-gas? Into the air we breathe…

Here are just some of the things that affect summer air quality:

Roads (asphalt) and driveways – all those new roads require tons of toxic asphalt…

Roof repairs and replacements… More asphalt shingles,  tar and tar paper

Maintenance – caulking, painting, glues and solvents, etc

Grass cutting (yes, VOCs in cut grass) in addition to gas mower exhaust

Fragrant flowers and tree VOCs reacting with pollution

Burning wood and BBQs (lighter fluid, gas, propane) and sometimes some nasty processed food fumes too

Plastic toys and patio furniture, vinyl/PVC especially

Pesticides, more pesticides and fertilizers

Sun screens and insect repellants

Fireworks

Fragranced products are a huge contributor to  Smog

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Painting of pregnant Mother Earth wearing a gas mask and  with a tree growing from her head. She is surrounded by toxic products and flames arise from below. Her left hand is outstretched as to stay stop.
By Mario Rosales Ramírez “Ponle un Alto al Calentamiento Global”

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More resources

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Climate change is a symptom of pollution

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Primer on Volatile Organic Compounds

Pollution Probe is pleased to present this primer on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) as an introduction to some of the toxic VOCs that we encounter in everyday life. As with other Pollution primers, The Primer on Volatile Organic Compounds has been designed as an educational resource for people who want to understand this source of pollution and then take action to protect themselves and their children.

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Toxic Trespass (interview) / Chemical Trespass

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Forgive us our (chemical) trespasses

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Pollution and Health Issues

Air pollution does not respect political boundaries, whether provincial or national. Winds can transport pollutants long distances away from their source, adding to the levels of air pollution that are generated locally, and greatly increasing the intensity of our air quality concerns.

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Air Pollution May Damage People’s Brains

Contaminants in the atmosphere appear to have harmful effects on neurodevelopment and cognitive function.

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Thousands of pollution deaths worldwide linked to western consumers – study

Study shows extent to which US and western European demand for clothes, toys and mobile phones contributes to air pollution in developing countries

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Cutting air pollution ‘can prevent deaths within weeks’

Asthma and heart attacks fall rapidly and babies born healthier, review finds

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Volatile chemical products emerging as largest petrochemical source of urban organic emissions

Air pollution evolution

“Transport-derived emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have decreased owing to stricter controls on air pollution.

This means that the relative importance of chemicals in pesticides, coatings, printing inks, adhesives, cleaning agents, and personal care products has increased.

McDonald et al. show that these volatile chemical products now contribute fully one-half of emitted VOCs in 33 industrialized cities (see the Perspective by Lewis). Thus, the focus of efforts to mitigate ozone formation and toxic chemical burdens need to be adjusted.”
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“A detailed mass balance demonstrates that the use of volatile chemical products (VCPs)—including pesticides, coatings, printing inks, adhesives, cleaning agents, and personal care products—now constitutes half of fossil fuel VOC emissions in industrialized cities.

The high fraction of VCP emissions is consistent with observed urban outdoor and indoor air measurements. We show that human exposure to carbonaceous aerosols of fossil origin is transitioning away from transportation-related sources and toward VCPs.

Existing U.S. regulations on VCPs emphasize mitigating ozone and air toxics, but they currently exempt many chemicals that lead to secondary organic aerosols.”

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Fragrant consumer products a key source of ozone-forming pollution in New York City

… Coggon’s study built on another study published earlier this year in Environmental Science & Technology, which found volatile chemical products including paints, cleaners, and personal care products were responsible for 78% of the Manhattan VOC budget, versus just 22%for transportation.
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Volatile chemical products are a category of VOCs that share two common characteristics. Key ingredients must evaporate in order for them to function, to carry scent for example, or to cause a residue to stick to a surface. These evaporative ingredients – including the fragrances featured in a wide array of products – are typically derived from fossil fuels.

VOCs are one of two critical constituents needed to produce ground-level ozone pollution and urban smog – nitrogen oxides (or NOx) being the other. In the air, sunlight can trigger VOCs to react with NOx to form ozone and particulate matter. Air quality regulations typically target both to control ozone pollution.

The growing body of work shows that emissions from volatile chemical products are ubiquitous, contributing up to half or more of the total anthropogenic VOC emissions in the U.S. and European cities that were investigated. Vehicle traffic dominates the remainder.
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Personal care products contribute to a pollution ‘rush hour’

Emissions from products such as shampoo and perfume are comparable to the emissions from auto exhaust

“When people are out and about, they leave plumes of chemicals behind them — from both car tailpipes and the products they put on their skin and hair. In fact, emissions of siloxane, a common ingredient in shampoos, lotions, and deodorants, are comparable in magnitude to the emissions of major components of vehicle exhaust, such as benzene, from rush-hour traffic.”

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International prevalence of chemical sensitivity, co-prevalences with asthma and autism, and effects from fragranced consumer products

Results found that, across the four countries, 19.9% of the population report chemical sensitivity, 7.4% report medically diagnosed MCS, 21.2% report either or both, and 32.2% report fragrance sensitivity.

In addition, 26.0% of the population report asthma/asthma-like conditions, of which 42.6% report chemical sensitivity and 57.8% fragrance sensitivity.

Also, 4.5% of the population report autism/ASDs, of which 60.6% report chemical sensitivity and 75.8% fragrance sensitivity.

Results also found that, for 44.1% of individuals with chemical sensitivity, the severity of health effects from fragranced products can be potentially disabling.

Results indicate that chemical sensitivity is widespread across the four countries, affecting over 61 million people, that vulnerable individuals such as those with asthma and autism are especially affected, and that fragranced consumer products can contribute to the adverse health, economic, and societal effects.

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“Further, 28.6% of those with chemical sensitivity have lost workdays or a job, in the past year, due to exposure to fragranced products in the workplace.

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Be fragrance-free!

It’s good for you! It’s good for me!

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Where Does Clean Air Come From

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Shouldn’t the right to breathe clean air take precedence over the right to pollute

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