October 15 Science AMA session with Doctor Gabriella Motta

In this article you will find the answers that Doctor Gabriella Motta gave in the Science AMA session on October 15.

Here you can find PlanetWatchers’ questions to Gabriella

I would like to start this session by talking about Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), because I have received many questions about this topic. 

What are VOCs?

VOCs are a large group of chemicals that are found in many products we use to build and maintain in our homes. Once these chemicals are in our home, they are released into the indoor air we breathe and you may not even notice it because they may or not may smell. 

What is the most likely source when VOCs are elevated?

I will give you some examples: paint strippers and other solvents, sprays cleanser and disinfectants, hand sanitisers, sanitising wipes, air fresheners and also dry cleaned clothing. My suggestion is that if you have very high VOC levels, first of all turn off all air fresheners, if possible use water-based detergents and, before buying new furniture or painting the wall, find out about their VOC emissions.

Why do VOC levels double after closing the windows and why does the use of hand sanitisers increase VOC levels?

Indoor air quality has been identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as one of the five major environmental risks to public health because exposure to toxic agents indoors can be up to 10 times higher than outdoors. So, it is perfectly normal for VOC values to increase with closed windows due to internal sources. Regarding hand sanitisers or disinfectants, they are excellent sources of VOCs and I will give you an example of a test that we made in a fitness centre: for a fitness bench sanitised by using sanitising wipes, we measured a 100 times increase in VOC. Don’t worry if your VOCs levels are high using sanitising wipes.

What’s the impact of indoor air quality on our health? Is the size of particles important?

Yes, it is. Particles tend to accumulate in specific parts of the airways, based on their size and we have natural filters in our body at different levels: nose, larynx, bronchi, alveoli. Each level filters particles of different sizes, gradually getting smaller, so they accumulate in different parts of the body, which over time create inflammation. The smaller they are, the more dangerous they can be, since they can reach the alveolus and come in contact with the bloodstream. 

Which are the most important indoor air quality parameters to monitor?

The most important parameters to monitor are CO2, VOC, PM 2.5, temperature and humidity. It is necessary to monitor them continuously, because indoor air quality changes continuously as occupant activities impact CO2, VOC, PM. The main problems we face when the levels of the monitored parameters are high are:

• CO2 can significantly impact productivity occupying the building and also decision making capabilities;
• PM 2.5, can enter the deepest portion of the lungs and when they are water soluble, they can pass directly into the bloodstream, while non-water-soluble particles remain in the alveolar portion of the lungs and may cause lung disease emphysema and lung cancer.
• VOCs are extremely common in building materials, as I mentioned earlier, and they can cause headaches, rashes, nausea or irritation of the eyes, nose and throat.

On some foggy days my Airqino shows poor air quality, however on some other foggy days again, air quality appears to be good based on Airqino. Will Airqino be able to differentiate between good and bad PM 2.5, since that is the only thing I see increases on such occasions?

It is not possible. The presence of fog is not strictly related to pollution, so it is reasonable that the PM readings are not related to the days of fog. Let’s check if on those days, your Airqino detects an increasing level of humidity, because it is related to the days of fog.

Keep watching our Planet and stay tuned for more announcements coming soon!