Reducing VOC's in New Homes John Lapotaireciec IAQ Solutions #IAQS #IAQ...

Microshield IAQ 1 www.FloridaIAQ.com

Building A Healthy Home

John P. Lapotaire, CIEC John@FloridaIAQ.com

Lydia A. Lapotaire, CIEC Lydia@FloridaIAQ.com

Understanding & Reducing VOC’s in New Homes

1 Introduction

2 Building a Healthy Home

3 Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs

Where do VOCs come from?

5 What levels of VOCs are safe?

5 What can I do about VOCs?

VOC Pictures

3 Questions & Discussion

“Healthier Air Starts Here”

Building a Healthy Home

• Today's Home Builders Build Green

• Today's Home Builders Sell Green

• A Healthy Home is

Tomorrow’s Green Home!

• So…… Now It’s Time to Build and Sell

Healthy Homes!

• There is nothing stopping Home Builders

from building a Healthy Home

• Building a Healthy Home starts with carful

selection of the products used to build the

• Low VOC products are a must when

building a Healthy Home.

• The old adage “an ounce of prevention is

worth a pound of cure” applies when

building a Healthy Home.

• So remember to look for Low VOC or VOC

Free choices when purchasing building

products.

• Currently there are no standard labeling

system for VOCs, but many manufacturers

offer a Low or No VOC option.

• Formaldehyde, one of the best known

VOCs, is surprisingly common in new home

construction.

• Luckily, it happens to be one of the few

indoor air pollutants that can be readily

measured.

• Air monitoring is one approach that can

help prevent adverse effects of exposure to

volatile organic compounds.

• Many products merely claim to be “Low

VOC.”

• Everyone specifying and purchasing

products must actually find the products’

VOC content in grams per liter (g/L), which

is usually found on the product’s technical

data sheet or material safety data sheet.

• Compare the listed VOC number with VOC

limits listed for different uses determined by

– South Coast Air Quality Management

District (SCAQMD)

– Rule #1113 and Green Seal GS-11 and GS-

• SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency

for all of Orange County and the urban

portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San

Bernardino counties, the smoggiest region

of the U.S.

• When you shop around, you’ll see labels

indicating “Low-VOC” and “zero-VOC”

paints, meaning they contain a reduced

number of grams of VOC per liter

– (under 150 grams for low-VOC and

– under 5 for zero-VOC).

• The majority of common paint brands now

provide these kinds of alternatives

• Water-based wood finishes, such as

waterborne urethane or acrylic, also have

decreased toxic compounds, but still provide

comparable durability to their standard

counterparts.

• You can also find paint with recycled content

which keeps remainders out of the waste

stream, cuts down on new production, and

generally costs less.

• Many conventional interior grade composite

materials, like carbon fiber and engineered

wood, contain urea-formaldehyde binder,

which has been classified as a Toxic Air

Contaminant by the California Air Resources

Board due to its potential to cause cancer.

• It’s now fairly common to hear about

formaldehyde-free fiberboards, and those

are the ones you want to look for.

Volatile Organic Compounds

• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a

large group of carbon-based chemicals that

easily evaporate at room temperature.

• While most people can smell high levels of

some VOCs, other VOCs have no odor.

• Odor does not indicate the level of risk from

inhalation of this group of chemicals.

Volatile Organic Compounds

• Acetone

• Benzene

• Ethylene glycol

• Formaldehyde

• Methylene chloride

• Perchloroethylene

• Toluene

• Xylene

• 1,3-butadiene

There are thousands of different VOCs

produced and used in our daily lives. Some

common examples include:

• Building Materials

– Carpets and

adhesives

– Composite wood

products

– Paints

– Sealing caulks

– Solvents

– Upholstery fabrics

– Varnishes

– Vinyl Floors

– Structural

components

Many products we have in our homes

release or “off-gas” VOCs. Some examples

of sources of VOCs are:

• Far too often the reason a product produces

excessive amounts of VOC’s is Miss-

Application of the product.

• All Building Products MUST be installed and

applied according to the manufacturers

specifications.

• Failure to follow the spec’s can lead to

increased levels of product emitted VOC’s

• Home and Personal Care Products

– Air fresheners

– Air cleaners that produce ozone

– Cleaning and disinfecting chemicals

– Cosmetics

– Fuel oil, gasoline

– Moth balls

– Vehicle exhaust running a car in an attached

garage

• Behaviors

– Cooking

– Dry-cleaning

– Hobbies

– Newspapers

– Non-electric space heaters

– Photocopiers

– Smoking

– Stored paints and chemicals

– Wood burning stoves

• Studies have shown that the level of VOCs

indoors is generally two to five times higher

than the level of VOC’s outdoors.

• VOC concentrations in indoor air depend on

many factors, including the:

– Amount of VOCs in a product;

– Rate at which the VOCs are released;

– Volume of the air in the room/building;

– Ventilation rate or the area; and

– Outdoor concentrations of VOCs.

What levels of VOCs is safe?

• No standards have been set for VOCs in

non industrial settings.

• OSHA regulates formaldehyde, a specific

VOC, as a carcinogen.

• OSHA has adopted a Permissible Exposure

Level (PEL) of .75 ppm, and an action level

of 0.5 ppm.

• HUD has established a level of .4 ppm for

mobile homes. It is advisable to mitigate

formaldehyde that is present at levels higher

than 0.1 ppm.

What levels of VOCs are safe?

• The best health protection measure is to

limit your exposure to products and

materials that contain VOCs when possible.

• If you think you may be having health

problems caused by VOCs, try reducing

levels in your home.

• If symptoms persist, consult with your doctor

to rule out other serious health conditions

that may have similar symptoms.

• There are established Health Risk Values

(HRVs) for some individual VOCs.

• HRVs are “concentrations of chemicals or

defined mixtures of chemicals emitted to air

that are unlikely to pose a significant risk of

harmful effects when humans are exposed

to those concentrations over a specified

time.”

Are some people at greater risk

from VOC exposure than others?

• Persons with respiratory problems such as

asthma, young children, elderly, and

• persons with heightened sensitivity to

chemicals may be more susceptible to

irritation and illness from VOCs.

Low-VOC Products

• Cleaner indoor air quality as well as reduced

chemical emissions can be realized by

simply using Low or No VOC building

materials.

• Elevated levels of VOC’s in new homes

have been linked to

– eye and respiratory irritation,

– headaches,

– fatigue and

– other symptoms associated with “sick

building” syndrome.

Low-VOC Products

• Many commonly used building products,

such as

– Paints

– Varnishes

– Adhesives

– Carpets

– Cabinets

– Structural Components

Some of these products can emit a variety of

harmful chemicals into the air for months

after they have been applied.

Low-VOC Products

• Paints

• Paint thinner

• Solvents

• Wood preservatives

• Finishes

• Aerosol sprays

• Cleaners and

disinfectants

• Air fresheners

• Stored fuels

• Dry-cleaned clothing

• Carpets

• Caulks and sealants

• Adhesives

• Office furniture

Products that emit VOCs include, but are

not limited to, the following:

What can I do about VOCs that

are in the homes I build?

• Although home screening kits (devices) are

available to measure total volatile organic

compounds (TVOC) levels they are of

limited use and won’t correct a VOC

problem.

• Instead of testing, the first step is to conduct

an inspection of your home for the common

sources of VOCs.

What can I do about VOCs homes

I build?

• Sources that may be problematic include

almost everything you use to build your

homes which tend to off-gas more VOC’s

when they are new.

• The primary sources include carpet, paint,

plastics structural components or

manufactured wood products.

• And don’t forget the cleaning products used

when your home is complete.

• Once you determine the probable source(s)

of VOCs, steps can be taken to reduce the

levels.

• If you are unable to determine probable

sources, a professional indoor air quality

investigator can be consulted.

• Source control: Remove or reduce the

number of products in the homes you build

that give off VOCs.

• Only purchase Low or No VOC Products

and carefully follow the manufacturers

spec’s on product labels.

• Remove unused building products from the

home immediately after use.

• stored chemicals in closed containers can

sometimes “leak” and release VOCs into

indoor air.

• Ventilation and climate control can be used

to reduce exposure to VOCs.

• Keep both the temperature and relative

humidity as low as possible or comfortable.

Chemicals will off-gas more under warmer

conditions with high humidity

• In summary, the most effective way to limit

VOCs indoors is to limit the potential

sources of VOCs.

• Increasing the amount of outdoor “fresh air”

into a space can also dilute and reduce

VOC levels.

Why Should You Use Low VOC

Building Materials?

• Reduced chemical emissions from VOCs.

• Improved indoor air quality.

• Improved occupant health.

• Reduced nuisance odor complaints

– eye and respiratory irritation, headaches,

fatigue and other symptoms of “sick

building” syndrome.

• Value-added appeal to Health Conscious

Home Buyers!

VOC’S PRODUCED FROM

BUILDING PRODUCTS

Photos of Building Products Emitting VOC’s

What is the Catalyst Causing the Building

Products to Emit the VOC’s

VOC HOUSEHOLD

PRODUCTS

Photos of Personal Belongings Emitting VOC’s

Sometimes it’s the litter box

Sometimes it’s the CAT

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Reducing VOC's in New Homes John Lapotaireciec IAQ Solutions #IAQS #IAQ...

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