What Are VOCs And How It Can Impact The Environment?

Industrial Paint

VOCs or Volatile Organic Compounds are generally defined as harmful gases that are emitted by certain processes or products. VOCs include several chemicals which are responsible for negatively affecting the environment and also causing adverse health effects for human beings & animals. 

Contrary to the popular beliefs, the concentration of VOCs is much higher in case of indoors than outdoors.  Furthermore, it has been proved by various researches that the level of organic pollutants is definitely two to five times higher in case of indoors than outdoors - doesn't matter if the home is situated in rural areas or urban areas. In this article, we'll be going through the negative impacts of VOCs and why you should always use VOC-free epoxy floor paint or garage floor paint products. 

How Can VOCs Impact Your Health?

When VOCs are released into the environment, they start reacting with the nitrogen in the air and thereby form ozone at the ground levels of our planet earth. We all know how ozone helps in protecting the earth's surface from the harmful UV rays of the sun, but it should also be known that ground-level ozone can easily prove to be harmful to human beings because it can irritate nose, eyes and throat. It can also lead to aggravation of asthma in some patients and can lead to other types of lung diseases as well.

By exposing the human body to VOCs directly can lead to both short-term as well as long-term effects related to health. Some of the effects are as follows:

• Dizziness and headaches.
• Damage to the kidneys, liver and also the central nervous system.
• Irritation for the eyes, throat and nose.
• Nausea.
• Loss of coordination of the body.

It should also be remembered that VOCs can lead to memory loss and visual impairment as well. Moreover, there are certain VOCs such as formaldehyde and benzene, which are proven to be carcinogenic towards the human body. This is one of the main reason why you must choose your industrial paint manufacturers wisely. 

How Can VOCs Affect The Environment?

The moment when VOCs react with the nitrogen molecules in the air to form ozone molecules, they also tend to form fine particulate matter. It should be noted that both particulate matter as well as ground-level ozone are some of the key pollutants in the generation of smog. Ground-level ozone can also stunt the growth of plants - thereby leaving them vulnerable to diseases and pests. Keeping this in mind, the world nowadays is moving towards VOC-free concrete floor paint products. 

It shouldn't come as a surprise that VOCs are one of the main contributors towards the generation of acid rain. Acid rain is responsible for killing trees, plants and aquatic animals. Acid rain also leads to washing away of essential nutrients from the topsoil, thereby leaving the land barren. Moreover, it also releases high amounts of aluminium, which can easily harm animals and fragile plants.