4 ms·

VOC's aren't all man-made. You'd need to live in a vacuum to avoid them altogether. The nice smell after a rain storm? VOC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volat

VOC's aren't all man-made. You'd need to live in a vacuum to avoid them altogether. The nice smell after a rain storm? VOC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound#Biologically_generated_VOCs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound#Biol...

forgotmypw17 6y ago
What are you saying, that because some VOCs are found in nature, any man-made VOC is OK too, just because it is part of the same chemical compound family?
- bawolff 6y ago
  I think the appropriate conclusion would be your sensitive to something more specific than just the very broad class of VOCs in general.
  - forgotmypw17 6y ago
    So... the ones I am not sensitive to, are they not harmful?
    - URSpider94 6y ago
      I don't know that we know enough to know that. It's certainly true that there are "natural" VOC's that can be harmful, and man-made VOC's that are not known to be harmful. I wouldn't necessarily presume that sensitivity is directly correlated to harm.
    - marcan_42 6y ago
      Just for the record, VOCs are literally "anything organic that boils at less than 250°C" (in the EU). Farts are full of VOCs. No, seriously, every time I fart the TVOC sensor in my air purifier goes nuts, as does the one in my air quality meter. It's almost like the thing is shaming me for it :) I would encourage you to learn more about the different types of VOCs, and at which concentrations they are known to be harmful. You might be having true allergic reactions to some harmless VOCs. You might be having psychosomatic reactions to other VOCs. You might not be having reactions to some harmful VOCs at all. Lumping it all together into "VOCs" is not helpful.
      - randycupertino 6y ago
        Wait a minute, so you're telling me when I was laughing with my husband about how we should fart in front of the new air purifier and see if the sensor went off and he dismissed me, rolled his eyes and called me juvenile THAT I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG?!?!?
      - forgotmypw17 6y ago
        I,m using a more restricted definition of synthetics which we didn,t evolve with.

forgotmypw17 6y ago

What are you saying, that because some VOCs are found in nature, any man-made VOC is OK too, just because it is part of the same chemical compound family?

bawolff 6y ago
I think the appropriate conclusion would be your sensitive to something more specific than just the very broad class of VOCs in general.
- forgotmypw17 6y ago
  So... the ones I am not sensitive to, are they not harmful?
  - URSpider94 6y ago
    I don't know that we know enough to know that. It's certainly true that there are "natural" VOC's that can be harmful, and man-made VOC's that are not known to be harmful. I wouldn't necessarily presume that sensitivity is directly correlated to harm.
  - marcan_42 6y ago
    Just for the record, VOCs are literally "anything organic that boils at less than 250°C" (in the EU). Farts are full of VOCs. No, seriously, every time I fart the TVOC sensor in my air purifier goes nuts, as does the one in my air quality meter. It's almost like the thing is shaming me for it :) I would encourage you to learn more about the different types of VOCs, and at which concentrations they are known to be harmful. You might be having true allergic reactions to some harmless VOCs. You might be having psychosomatic reactions to other VOCs. You might not be having reactions to some harmful VOCs at all. Lumping it all together into "VOCs" is not helpful.
    - randycupertino 6y ago
      Wait a minute, so you're telling me when I was laughing with my husband about how we should fart in front of the new air purifier and see if the sensor went off and he dismissed me, rolled his eyes and called me juvenile THAT I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG?!?!?
    - forgotmypw17 6y ago
      I,m using a more restricted definition of synthetics which we didn,t evolve with.