"The deodorants, perfumes and soaps that keep us smelling good are fouling the air with a harmful type of pollution — at levels as high as emissions from today’s cars and trucks.

That’s the surprising finding of a study published Thursday in the journal Science. Researchers found that petroleum-based chemicals used in perfumes, paints and other consumer products can, taken together, emit as much air pollution in the form of volatile organic compounds, or V.O.C.s, as motor vehicles do.

The V.O.C.s interact with other particles in the air to create the building blocks of smog, namely ozone, which can trigger asthma and permanently scar the lungs, and another type of pollution known as PM2.5, fine particles that are linked to heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer."

Kendra Pierre-Louis and Hiroko Tabuchi report for the New York Times February 16, 2018. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"In a Surprising Study, Scientists Say Everyday Chemicals Now Rival Cars As A Source Of Air Pollution" (Washington Post) [3]