We spend 90% of our time indoors where air pollution is two to five times greater than outdoors. There aren't any cars driving through the house to pollute the air, so where does the pollution come from? It is probably not surprising that tobacco smoke and mold pollute indoor air, but common household products are another key contributor. The good news is that manufacturers can protect public health and demonstrate their leadership by reducing the contribution their products make in polluting indoor air.

This Healthy Child Healthy World infographic shows (below) the potential hazards a baby's room may contain, including harmful volatile organic compounds from paint, carcinogenic formaldehyde from furniture, and asthma-causing agents from cleaning products. This is concerning, particularly when you consider that babies are especially vulnerable to indoor air quality issues because they breathe more air for their body size. The EPA considers improving indoor air quality an important health goal. Progress seen with some products highlights a potential strategy for manufacturers of all types of products to proactively advance health goals and reduce indoor air quality issues.

Many products contain chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that evaporate into the air. These VOCs linger in the air and can cause health problems including headaches, eye irritation, and asthma. There are some VOCs such as formaldehyde that are known to cause cancer. However, the EPA notes that all VOCs should be considered when assessing indoor air quality impacts and efforts to protect health.

Product VOC content has long been a regulatory target in California. Progressively more stringent California regulations that limit the VOC content of products have led to a decrease in VOCs in products. The VOC limits for flat interior paint were at 250 g/L in the early 1990's, 100 g/L in 2000, and are currently half that level at 50 g/L. A level less than 50 g/L is considered “low VOC" for paint and less than 5 g/L is considered “no VOC" for paint. Low and no VOC paints were very challenging to find 10 years ago when I painted my first baby's room (I remember hunting them down) but they are common and easy to find now – just take a walk through your local store and read the labels on interior paint. California has VOC content limits for about 140 more products, which mirror the trends seen with paints and coatings.

Indoor air quality is an active field of research yielding insights into additional considerations beyond reducing total VOC content. Air quality reflects what ends up in the air; this may not simply equate to product VOC content. In particular, the key issues are the amount of VOCs emitted into the air and what, specifically, is emitted. Studies of paint products conducted by UL Environment show that reducing VOC content does not always have a clear correlation with decreased indoor air pollution (e.g., a low VOC content paint may emit more VOCs than a higher VOC content paint). In addition, they found that health hazards such as formaldehyde and/or ethylene glycol were emitted by nearly half of the paint samples, including some with a low VOC content. Paint also typically has a tint added at the point-of-sale that adds even more VOCs. The product manufacturer needs to consider these auxiliary ingredients in their strategies to address indoor air pollution, even if they aren't within the company's control. (While in the past, reference to VOCs in paint excluded those in tint, it is becoming more common to include these – see Green Seal GS-11 paint standard and South Air Quality Management District in California).

Indoor air quality researchers have also focused on cleaning products because of the link between exposure to these products and asthma. Ingredients typically used for disinfecting, such as bleach, have been found to be particularly problematic. Also widely used in cleaning products, the chemicals that give pine and lemon their unique scents, terpenes, are cause for concern. When terpenes evaporate, the chemicals can react in the air forming respiratory hazards including formaldehyde, hydroxyl radicals, and fine particulate matter.

The examples from paint and cleaning products demonstrate that VOCs in products need to be and can be reduced. The reduction should be aggressive to protect consumer health, anticipate consumer concerns, and stay ahead of regulatory demands. In addition, it is important to understand the specific VOC issues relevant to your company's products (e.g., terpenes) to effectively address potential issues. This strategy can help move a company into a leadership position, advancing health by addressing indoor air quality.