To Your Heath: Be aware of what you're breathing

By Jeremy Berger and Ann Backus, Harvard Chan School of Public Health

Have you come across any volatile organic compounds (VOCs) recently?

You probably have but didn’t notice. Figuratively speaking, they are right under your nose. They are liquids that evaporate very easily, and they have a distinctive, recognizable odor. Turpentine is one, toluene is another, both excellent for cleaning or soaking greasy things such as engine parts or paint brushes.

Benzene is another VOC. It is a component of oil-based fuels; you can smell is when filling your lawn mower, gas-fired leaf blower, boat or car fuel tank.

If you still paint your buoys with oil-based paint and/or apply a buoy coating over the paint, then you have breathed in VOCs. As the paints or coating dry, they release the vapors. If you hang your buoys in your workshop to dry, the distinctive odor is likely to be very noticeable and noxious. Perhaps you are doing a more heavy-duty task such as priming the bottom of your fiberglass boat. That primer is loaded with a variety of VOCs.

Effects of VOCs

VOCs are toxic chemicals. As a liquid they can pass through your skin, and in the gaseous phase they are inhaled. They get into your entire system and can affect various organs: lungs, liver, the nervous system and brain as well as blood. They are also genotoxic, meaning they can damage your DNA, and carcinogenic, meaning they can cause cancer.

If you experience headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea or vertigo when working with VOCs, it’s time to take a break. These symptoms are indications that the vapors are circulating and affecting cellular function. A word of caution: keep children away from these compounds when the compounds are being applied and while they are drying. If your workshop is connected to your house, be especially aware that the vapors can travel great distances.

If you are working in a marina or constantly exposed to VOCs, you are likely to experience additional symptoms, such as sore throat and cough. With long term or repeated exposures to VOCs the progression of symptoms might go from cough and sore throat to chronic bronchitis or asthma to lung cancer. For the nervous system, the progression might be from headaches and dizziness to cognitive decline, depression, and other behavioral changes. You could also suffer cirrhosis of the liver and anemia.

Controlling your exposure

Working with volatile organic compounds and fuels should be done in a well-ventilated area, preferably outdoors. Personal protective equipment includes gloves and a half-face mask with organic vapor cartridges. All product manufacturers are required to provide a Safety Data Sheet for each product. When you buy a toxic product, ask for and take home the safety data sheet. The emergency response number may be useful, and the sheet may give you a new appreciation for how toxic VOCs can be if not used safely.

VOCs aren’t just strong-smelling stuff. They are dangerous if you don’t use them safely. Open a window, throw on some gloves, and you’re good to go.