Princewill Pius
It’s the time of year when we generally keep our doors and windows shut and maybe light a few scented candles to brighten up the long dark evenings. But is there a potential danger, asks Saleyha Ahsan.
Lots of people use air fresheners and body sprays – almost all of which contain what the ingredients listing coyly describes as “perfume”.
All in all, it adds up to quite a fragranced atmosphere – and with little airflow in our increasingly-insulated homes, have you ever wondered what happens to all these perfume chemicals? Well, it seems they could be reacting in the air forming a potentially dangerous cocktail.
The levels of perfume chemicals are regulated inside products, but what we then do with those products is entirely up to us. No one measures air quality inside our houses. Prof Alastair Lewis of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of York and the team from Trust Me, I’m a Doctor set out to do just that.
Firstly he measured the levels of a whole range of “volatile organic chemicals” (VOCs) in six similar, modern houses in York over the course of five days.
