Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that vaporize easily and have low water solubility. They are found in natural gas, furniture, paints, and cleaning solutions. VOCs contribute to environmental problems and can cause respiratory and immune system disorders. California was the first state to regulate VOCs, and the EPA established federal regulations in 1999. Many states have stricter regulations than the federal government. Efforts are being made to reduce VOC levels in various industries and settings.
The legal definition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) varies from country to country. The United States defines volatile organic compounds as organic compounds, essentially all hydrocarbons, with low water solubility, and a propensity to vaporize at relatively low temperatures, including room temperature. Essentially, a volatile organic compound is a chemical or compound that contains such a vapor pressure that it doesn’t take much heat to vaporize the particular chemical or compound into a gaseous form.
The most common naturally occurring volatile organic compound is methane, an indicator of natural gas formation. A common man-made volatile organic compound is formaldehyde, which is found in furniture components, paints, and many cleaning and disinfecting solutions. Volatile organic compounds and their hitherto unlimited use have been major contributors to environmental problems such as smog and “sick building syndrome”.
Mostly, the effects of VOCs are seen in respiratory disorders and immune system disorders. However, it is increasingly recognized that the vaporous effects of volatile organic compounds are actually absorbed through the skin, leading to further complications. VOCs are now considered more than a nuisance, they are downright deadly.
California, long plagued by smog, was the first US state to recognize the devastating effects of volatile organic compound emissions on health and the environment. Thus, California was the first state to institute regulations on volatile organic compounds. New York, New Jersey, Arizona and many other states soon recognized the physical and environmental benefits of regulating VOCs and joined California in implementing their own VOC statutes.
The Environmental Protection Agency, in the mid-1990s, finally established definitions and standards for what constitutes hazardous compounds and levels of VOCs. On September 13, 1999, the first federal regulations for levels of VOCs, essentially volatile organic compounds from the EPA went into effect. A volatile organic compound EPA is an organic compound that is determined, by EPA, to have an especially high photochemical reactivity, or vaporization effect, under normal atmospheric conditions.
This means that some chemicals are particularly prone to vaporisation even under normal conditions and therefore need to be kept below certain levels, for example, in industrial coatings, including normal house paints, varnishes, etc. Most states in the US now have VOC Regulations that are far more stringent and comprehensive than federal statutes.
Improvements in loading and unloading procedures at pipeline facilities have been needed due to the huge emissions of volatile organic compounds at these sites. Elsewhere, waste sites are being cleaned up, buildings are being re-clad, even gutted, automobile emissions standards are being raised, and manufacturing and chemical industries are being tightly regulated, all in an effort to reduce levels of volatile organic compounds.
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