Volatile organic compounds in the indoor air of normal and sick houses

Over 200 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified by thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in the indoor air of 26 houses. The most common VOCs were alkylbenzenes, alkanes, terpenes, aliphatic aldehydes, and some chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons. Forty eight compounds were selected for quantitative analysis on the basis of their prevalence, toxicity, carcinogenicity and mutagenicity. The selected compounds were quantified in 50 normal houses and 38 sick houses, in which people complained about the odor or they had symptoms, which resembled the Sick Building Syndrome. The concentrations of the VOCs exceeded normal level more often in the sick than in the normal houses. Aromatic hydrocarbons, terpenes, some alkylcyclohexanes, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and tetrachloroetliene occurred most often with increased concentrations in the sick houses.