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Volatile Organic Compounds: The Concealed Depreciator of Indoor Air Quality

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Environmental Concerns and Remediation

Abstract

Since the average time spent by the people at home and at work has increased significantly over the last few decades, the quality of the indoor environment is critical to their health. Indoor air contaminants come in many forms, with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) being one of the most common. These VOCs have been found to be present in higher amounts in the indoor environment than in open spaces. Indoor air quality is influenced by a number of elements, the most important of which are ventilation and anthropogenic activities. This chapter highlights the various prevalent sources of volatile organic compounds, their impact on human health and the controls that have been implemented to reduce exposure. Furthermore, VOCs are linked to indoor air quality and possible strategies for their improvements. This is accompanied by a brief description of the monitoring system used to detect VOC levels in indoor environments.

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  1. Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences, Maharaja Agrasen University, Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, India

    Nidhi Srivastava & Sushma Negi

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  1. Nidhi Srivastava
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  2. Sushma Negi
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  1. Civil Engineering Department, Maharaja Agrasen University, Baddi, India

    Deepankar Kumar Ashish

  2. Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Jorge de Brito

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Srivastava, N., Negi, S. (2022). Volatile Organic Compounds: The Concealed Depreciator of Indoor Air Quality. In: Ashish, D.K., de Brito, J. (eds) Environmental Concerns and Remediation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05984-1_16

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