Adults breathe in 17,000 litres of air per day and spend 90% of their lives indoor ...

... most general household chemicals are not adequately tested for human health effects ...

... poor indoor air quality is the main cause of asthma in Australia.

EKO Building Biology specialise in creating healthy indoor environments.

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VOC Testing

EKO Building Biology provide VOC testing and sampling to both commercial and residential properties. 

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are emitted from our environment in the form of gases. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, which can have short term or long-term health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs can be up to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors and come in the form of lacquers, paints, cleaning products,  MDF board, new carpets, glues, office equipment such as printers and photocopiers just to name a few.

 

The Health effects of VOCs include eye, nose and throat irritations, headaches, dizziness, nausea, kidney, liver and central nervous system damage. Many VOCs are also known to cause cancer in both animals and humans such as formaldehyde, that is found in many common building materials and indoor treatments; benzene found in petrol and methylene chloride found in paint strippers. (US EPA).

 

 


EKO Building Biology Services

  1. Photo-ionisation Detector, which will provide instantaneous readings on site which can give a good indication in parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb) of the overall exposure levels of total VOCs, however it is limiting in that it cannot differentiate between the differing types of VOCs.

 

  1. Active Sampling, which is used to determine a person’s exposure, levels during their work practices. A pump is attached to the person within their breathing zone that forces air through a sorbent charcoal tube. Active Sampling is accepted by the Australian Standards as being an acceptable method of assessing VOCs and other air contaminants in order to compare them to the Time Weighted Average (TWA). These results will be provided through a NATA accredited Laboratory that uses a spectrometer to analyse the samples.

 

EKO Building Biology will then compare all results against the applicable Australian Exposure Standards as set out by NOHSC (National Occupational Health and Safety Commission). These standards are usually in line with the US exposure standards as set out in the ACGIH (American Conference of Government and Industrial Hygienists) exposure limits.