The products you use on a daily basis may be changing the air quality in your home in ways we don’t yet understand.
Personal hygiene products such as roll-on deodorants, hand lotions, body sprays, perfumes, and spray shampoos contain more than 200 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that react with ozone in the air and release other potentially hazardous substances. It is said to produce chemical substances. New paper submitted to Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Researchers say these newly produced chemicals can enter our lungs every day and can have unknown effects on our respiratory health.
“Some molecules ‘nucleate’ – in other words, form new particles that can coagulate into larger ultrafine particles that can effectively be deposited in the lungs,” said Associate Professor at the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne. , Dusan Lisina said in a statement.
“In my opinion, the health effects of these pollutants are not yet fully understood, but they are more prevalent than we think, especially since they apply so close to our breathing zone. may also be harmful. This is an area where new toxicological research is needed.” ”
Personal care products contain large amounts of VOCs such as monoterpenes, acetaldehyde, siloxanes, alcohols, and alkanes.
Stock image of a person spraying perfume. Personal care products such as perfume, hairspray, and hand lotion can emit volatile chemicals that can react with ozone to form other compounds. Stock image of a person spraying perfume. Personal care products such as perfume, hairspray, and hand lotion can emit volatile chemicals that can react with ozone to form other compounds. Stock/Getty Images Plus
“Indoor use of PCPs therefore represents a potentially important source of human exposure to VOCs,” the researchers said in their paper. “The use of PCPs can result in short-lived, strong emission events that can cause indoor VOC levels to be one to two orders of magnitude higher than outdoors.”
In particular, monoterpenes are known to internally react with ozone and form secondary organic aerosols (SOA).
“Similar particle formation may occur when using fragranced PCP indoors,” the researchers wrote.
Scientists tested how much VOCs were emitted by these personal care products in an indoor environment and then tested what happened when ozone was introduced. Ozone can enter your home through open windows and can also be produced by laser printers and 3D printers.
“When using PCP in the presence of indoor ozone, these reactive VOCs undergo oxidation reactions to form various gas-phase oxidation vapors, leading to rapid new particle formation with particle growth rates up to 10 times higher than outdoors ( NPF) event in the atmosphere,” the researchers wrote.
Researchers said there is a need to find ways to reduce the reaction between these VOCs and ozone by improving ventilation and reducing the use of these personal care products.
“I know it’s hard to hear, but we need to reduce our dependence on these products or replace them with more natural alternatives, preferably containing less chemically reactive aroma compounds,” Lisina said. . “Another helpful step would be to raise awareness of these issues among health professionals and staff who work with vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly.”
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References
Wu, T., Müller, T., Wang, N., Byron, J., Langer, S., Williams, J., and Licina, D. (2024). Indoor emissions, oxidation, and new particle formation of volatile organic compounds related to personal care products. Letters on Environmental Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00353