New Research Suggests Deodorants Like Body Spray And Perfume May Affect Air Quality In Our Homes And Lead To Respiratory Health Impacts
The hygiene products we use to freshen ourselves up on a daily basis may be contributing to poorer air quality in our homes.
These personal care items, including roll-on deodorant, body spray, perfume, hand lotion, and spray shampoos, contain more than 200 volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
When they are released into the air, they react with ozone to form other potentially hazardous chemicals. Who knew that something as simple as deodorant could be affecting more than just your scent?
According to researchers, we could be breathing the newly formed chemicals into our lungs every day. It could have effects on our respiratory health that scientists do not yet fully understand.
“Some molecules ‘nucleate’—in other words, they form new particles that can coagulate into larger ultra-fine particles that can effectively deposit into our lungs,” said Dusan Licina, an assistant professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne in Switzerland.
“In my opinion, we still don’t fully understand the health effects of these pollutants, but they may be more harmful than we think, especially because they are applied close to our breathing zone. This is an area where new toxicological studies are needed.”
The VOCs in personal hygiene products typically include monoterpenes, acetaldehyde, siloxanes, alkanes, and alcohol. Monoterpenes, in particular, react with ozone indoors to form secondary organic aerosols (SOCs).
The use of personal care products indoors is a significant source of human exposure to VOCs. They can cause indoor VOC levels to rise “one or two orders of magnitude higher” than outdoor levels.
The research team tested how many VOCs these personal care products released in an indoor area.
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They also investigated what would happen when ozone was introduced into the environment. Ozone can enter homes through open windows. In addition, it can be created by laser printers and 3D printers.
They found that when personal care products were used indoors in the presence of ozone, the VOCs went through oxidation reactions to form various gas-phased vapors, which led to rapid new particle formation (NPF) events. The particle growth rates were up to 10 times higher than the rates of NPF events outdoors.
It is crucial to take the proper measures to reduce the reaction between VOCs and ozone. The researchers recommend improving ventilation and using these products less.
“I know this is difficult to hear, but we’re going to have to reduce our reliance on these products, or if possible, replace them with more natural alternatives that contain fragrant compounds with low chemical reactivity,” said Licina.
“Another helpful measure would be to raise awareness of these issues among medical professionals and staff working with vulnerable groups, such as children and the elderly.”
The study was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
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