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Air fresheners are prevalent within the indoor, automobile, built environments, such as workplaces, schools, housing, transportation, hotels, hospitals, care facilities, and a range of private and public buildings. They are designed to give an aroma to spaces or to mask odors, with the intent of creating a pleasing indoor experience. However, despite the intent, air fresheners can emit and generate a range of potentially known hazardous air pollutants that impair air quality. Even so-called green and organic air fresheners can emit hazardous air pollutants. Air freshener ingredients are largely unknown and undisclosed, owing to regulatory protections on consumer product ingredients and fragrance formulations. In studies, fewer than ten percent of all volatile ingredients are typically disclosed on air freshener labels or materials safety data sheets.

When considering the potential health risks of using a product like air fresheners, you have to consider the weakest links. In this case, that means people whose lungs are already susceptible (such as asthma sufferers or people with "Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease" COPD) and children.

Caution before Use.

If you do use air fresheners, consider the possibility that these toxic chemicals may be present in the product you’re using:

Volatile organic compounds Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

They are airborne gas byproducts emitted by a wide array of household products, from paints to disinfectants and automotive products, says the Environmental Protection Agency. The most prevalent VOCs classified as toxic or hazardous in fragranced air fresheners are acetone, ethanol, d-limonene, pinene, and acetate, according to a 2015 study authored by Steinemann and published in Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health.

Depending on your exposure and sensitivity, toxic VOCs can produce a range of health effects, including eye, nose, and throat irritation, nausea and headaches, and even damage to liver, kidney and central nervous system, says the environmental protection agency EPA, which offers a complete list of symptoms. “The most common chemicals in fragrance mixtures are terpenes (limonene, pinene, etc), and they have inherent toxicity,” says Steinemann. “When they react with ozone in the air, they generate a range of secondary pollutants, like formaldehyde and ultra fine particles. Ultra fine particles have been linked with heart and lung disease, and respiratory difficulties.” To minimize your exposure to VOCs, the EPA recommends increasing ventilation when using products that emit VOCs, meeting or exceeding any label precautions, and throwing away unused or little-used containers safely. For more VOC safety information, visit EPA.gov.

Sources of VOC's

Household products, including:

• paints, paint strippers and other solvents
• wood preservatives
• aerosol sprays
• cleansers and disinfectants
• moth repellents and air fresheners
• stored fuels and automotive products
• hobby supplies
• dry-cleaned clothing
• pesticide

Other products, including:

• building materials and furnishings
• office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper
• graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers and photographic solutions.

Health Effects

Health effects may include:

• Eye, nose and throat irritation
• Headaches, loss of coordination and nausea
• Damage to liver, kidney and central nervous system
• Some organics can cause cancer in animals, some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.

Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include:

• conjunctival irritation
• nose and throat discomfort
• headache
• allergic skin reaction
• dyspnea
• declines in serum cholinesterase levels
• nausea
• emesis
• epistaxis
• fatigue
• dizziness

As with other pollutants, the extent and nature of the health effect will depend on many factors including level of exposure and length of time exposed. Among the immediate symptoms that some people have experienced soon after exposure to some organics include:

• Eye and respiratory tract irritation
• headaches
• dizziness
• visual disorders and memory impairment

Steps to Reduce Exposure

• Increase ventilation when using products that emit VOCs.
• Meet or exceed any label precautions.
• Do not store opened containers of unused paints and similar materials within the school.
• Formaldehyde, one of the best known VOCs, is one of the few indoor air pollutants that can be readily measured.
• Identify, and if possible, remove the source.
• If not possible to remove, reduce exposure by using a sealant on all exposed surfaces of paneling and other furnishings.

Formaldehyde

The scientific community seriously examined air freshener safety about a decade ago. Studies revealed that an abundance of potentially dangerous chemicals and chemical byproducts—such as formaldehyde—are released with each perfumed puff.

Researchers found that electric air fresheners release significant formaldehyde emissions on their own (17% of the Critical Exposure Limit or CEL), and that combined with seven other common household products (such as all-purpose cleaning agents and furniture/floor polish), your exposure to formaldehyde can reach 34% of the CEL in just 30 minutes.

“Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen,” says Dr. Steinemann. “As for symptoms, you may experience eye, nose, and throat irritation, coughing, wheezing, bronchitis, and dizziness.” Reactions and reaction severity depend on your individual sensitivity, she explains.

According to the World Health Organization, other indoor sources of formaldehyde include: resins found in particleboard and plywood, paints, varnishes, household cleaning products, cosmetics, and more.

“When using any chemical mixture with another, there’s the potential of a more adverse reaction” says Dr. Steinemann. “You increase your risk when you combine products with fragrance, such as cleaning products, hand sanitizer, laundry products.”

Worried about formaldehyde exposure in your home?

Formaldehyde air testing kits and monitors are available at numerous retailers. “Formaldehyde is one of the few indoor air pollutants that can be readily measured, says EPA.gov. “Identify, and if possible, remove the source. If not possible to remove, reduce exposure by using a sealant on all exposed surfaces of paneling and other furnishings.”

Phthalates

If your pregnant daughter-in-law or young grandchildren spend a lot of time at your house, you might reconsider your home-deodorizing habit. In a 2007 study of 14 home air fresheners, the NRDC found that 12 of them contained phthalates, including “all-natural” and “unscented” varieties. Phthalates, which are used to dissolve and carry fragrance, are linked to changes in hormone levels, poor semen quality, birth defects and reproductive harm, says the NRDC report. Furthermore, a type of phthalate called Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, which is found in scented products like air freshener, is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen,” according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

1,4 dichlorobenzene

One of the primary ingredients in mothballs, room deodorizer, and urinal cakes, 1,4 dichlorobenzene (1,4 DCB) has been implicated in two serious health concerns: The compound may cause “modest reductions in lung function,” according to the NIH, and lifetime exposure has resulted in liver cancer in mice, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Even a small reduction in lung function may indicate some harm to the lungs,” said NIEHS researcher Stephanie London, M.D., lead investigator on the study, in an NIH News article. “The best way to protect yourself, especially children who may have asthma or other respiratory illnesses, is to reduce the use of products and materials that contain these compounds.”

Who shouldn’t use air fresheners

• For people with seasonal allergies, chronic asthma, COPD, or a common cold, air freshener is a definite no-no, says Janna Tuck, M.D., a practicing allergist in Cape Girardeau, MO, and a spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

• “Plugins, sprays, candles, any fragrance — all contain irritants to the airways,” says Dr. Tuck. “Patients who have asthma, COPD, or allergic rhinitis, they already have inflammation, so irritants can exacerbate the problem.”

• A 2011 news report released by the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology linked the VOCs in air fresheners with a 34% increase in health problems in people with asthma. “The example I use is, if you don’t smoke and you go into place with smoke, do you get stuffy?” says Dr. Tuck. “And if you already have a cold, how much stuffier do you get? If you’re sensitive enough to these VOCs, they can cause permanent damage. As an allergist, I don’t recommend that any of my patients use air fresheners.”

How to get a great-smelling home with natural air fresheners

• If you’re worried about the health effects of VOCs, phthalates, and other toxic chemicals in air fresheners, but you still want your home to smell like something, stick to natural sources, says Dr. Steinemann. “If you really want an aroma, brew mint tea or grind up a fresh orange,” she suggests. “Only natural, pure sources will be free of chemicals. Even essential oils emit similar chemicals to air fresheners.”

• Another way to freshen up your home: Just open the windows. “Why use an air freshener at all? It’s not designed to clean and disinfect the air; it’s a chemical mixture that masks odor,” says Dr. Steinemann. “The best smell is no smell. That means your house really is clean.”

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