Reducing VOC's in New Homes John Lapotaireciec IAQ Solutions #IAQS #IAQ 4-4-2011-110407110535-phpapp02

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

2
1 Introduction
2 Building a Healthy Home
4
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
home.
• 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-
03.
• 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
VOCs
• 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
VOCs
• 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

A
C
D
B

A

B

C

D

VOC HOUSEHOLD
PRODUCTS
Photos of Personal Belongings Emitting VOC’s

Sometimes it’s the litter box

Sometimes it’s the CAT

“Healthier Air Starts Here”

Reducing VOC's in New Homes John Lapotaireciec IAQ Solutions #IAQS #IAQ 4-4-2011-110407110535-phpapp02

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