National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Nhanes)

The purpose of the VOC/Perchlorate study is to determine the prevalence of exposures to chemicals called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Perchlorates. Volatile organic compounds are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, 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. Perchlorate is an oxidizer used in rocket fuel, explosives, and road flares, and it also occurs naturally in the atmosphere. Since the 1950s, unused amounts of the chemical have been dumped into unlined pits throughout the United States, where it has seeped into water supplies. The chemical is highly mobile and soluble in water, aiding its dispersion through the environment.