The recent pandemic (COVID-19) has seen a sweeping and surging use of products intended to clean and disinfect, such as air sprays, hand sanitizers, and surface cleaners, many of which contain fragrance. However, exposure to fragranced cleaning products has been associated with adverse effects on human health. Products can emit a range of volatile chemicals, including some classified as hazardous, but relatively few ingredients are disclosed to the public. Thus, relatively little is known about the specific emissions from these products. This study investigates the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from “pandemic products” that are being used frequently and extensively in society. In addition, among these emissions, this study identifies potentially hazardous compounds, compares so-called green and regular versions of products, and examines whether ingredients are disclosed to the public. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, 26 commonly used pandemic products, including 13 regular and 13 so-called green versions, were analyzed for their volatile emissions. Product types included hand sanitizers, air disinfectants, multipurpose cleaners, and handwashing soap. All products were fragranced. The analyses found the products collectively emitted 399 VOCs with 127 VOCs classified as potentially hazardous. All products emitted potentially hazardous compounds. Comparing regular products and green products, no significant difference was found in the emissions of the most prevalent compounds. Further, among the 399 compounds emitted, only 4% of all VOCs and 11% of potentially hazardous VOCs were disclosed on any product label or safety data sheet. This study reveals that pandemic products can generate volatile emissions that could pose risks to health, that could be unrecognized, and that could be reduced, such as by using fragrance-free versions of products.

中文翻译：

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流行病产品和挥发性化学物质排放

在最近的大流行 (COVID-19) 中，用于清洁和消毒的产品的广泛使用和激增，例如空气喷雾剂、洗手液和表面清洁剂，其中许多都含有香味。然而，接触有香味的清洁产品与对人类健康的不利影响有关。产品会释放出一系列挥发性化学物质，包括一些被归类为危险的化学物质，但向公众披露的成分相对较少。因此，对这些产品的具体排放量知之甚少。本研究调查了社会上经常广泛使用的“流行病产品”排放的挥发性有机化合物 (VOC)。此外，在这些排放物中，本研究确定了潜在的危险化合物，比较了所谓的绿色和常规版本的产品，并检查成分是否向公众披露。使用气相色谱/质谱分析了 26 种常用的流行病产品，包括 13 种常规产品和 13 种所谓的绿色产品，以分析其挥发性排放物。产品类型包括洗手液、空气消毒剂、多功能清洁剂和洗手皂。所有产品都有香味。分析发现，这些产品总共排放了 399 种 VOC，其中 127 种 VOC 被归类为潜在危险。所有产品都散发出潜在的危险化合物。比较普通产品和绿色产品，最普遍的化合物的排放量没有显着差异。此外，在排放的 399 种化合物中，只有 4% 的 VOC 和 11% 的潜在危险 VOC 在任何产品标签或安全数据表中披露。