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CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY - VOCs 
(Volatile Organic Compounds)

Volatile organic compounds when sampling for unknown contaminants are generally of concern for people with a chemical sensitivity, those who are having respiratory problems or are showing signs of skin irritation.

In 1995, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported 16 percent of all their indoor air quality surveys had identified VOCs as either the cause or contributor to the indoor air quality complaints. (This was in office buildings.) In most homes today can be found stored chemicals that release VOCs. Some of these are paints, cleaning supplies, solvents (paint thinners, fingernail polish remover, plug in air fresheners etc.), gas, transmission oil, and many more if we just look. These are stored mostly within the home or in the garage, both of which can contaminant the indoor air quality.

Another source of VOCs is from the outside. Pollution from outside sources can be of concern if the home is situated near a factory, a heavily traveled highway or some other outside source that may be found upon investigation.

Most testing of this nature is done only after a thorough investigation as they are very costly. The approach most common is one test that will identify as many VOCs as possible and to narrow it down from there if any are found to be excessive.