Working in an office can damage your health, new study warns

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In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists are reporting that the indoor air in offices is an important source of worker exposure to potentially toxic substances released by carpeting, furniture, paint and other items. Their report, which documents a link between levels of these so-called polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in office air and in the blood of workers, appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.

In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists are reporting that the indoor air in offices is an important source of worker exposure to potentially toxic substances released by carpeting, furniture, paint and other items.

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Their report, which documents a link between levels of these so-called polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in office air and in the blood of workers, appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Michael McClean and colleagues at the Boston University School of Public Health explain that PFCs, used in water-repellent coatings on carpet and furniture, may have adverse effects on human health. The substances are widespread in the environment and in humans around the world.

Scientists know that potential sources of exposure include food, water, indoor air, indoor dust and direct contact with PFC-containing objects. But the link between levels in air and blood had not been explored previously, so McClean's group set out to fill that gap with a study of 31 office workers in Boston.

Following week-long, active air sampling in 31 offices in Boston, they found concentrations of a PFC called fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH) in office air that were 3 to 5 times higher than those reported in previous studies of household air, "suggesting that offices may represent a unique and important exposure environment."

Article continues: http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/research/trends/123052-working-in-an-office-can-damage-your-health%2C-new-study-warns.html

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