Indoor Air Quality: Assessment of Dangerous Substances in Incense Products

Indoor air pollution has obtained more attention in a moment where “stay at home” is a maximum repeated for the entire world. It is urgent to know the sources of pollutants indoors, to improve the indoor air quality. This study presents some results obtained for twelve incense products, used indoors, at home, and in temples, but also in spa centers or yoga gymnasiums, where the respiratory intensity is high, and the consequences on health could be more severe. The focus of this study was the gaseous emissions of different types of incense, performing a VOC screening and identifying some specific VOCs different from the usual ones, which are known or suspected to cause severe chronic health effects: carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic. Thirteen compounds were selected: benzene, toluene, styrene, naphthalene, furfural, furan, isoprene, 2-butenal, phenol, 2-furyl methyl ketone, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein. The study also indicated that incense cone type shows a higher probability of being more pollutant than incense stick type, as from the 12 products tested, four were cone type, and three of them were in the group of the four higher polluters. Benzene and formaldehyde presented worrying levels in the major part of the products, above guideline values established by the WHO. Unfortunately, there are no limit values established for indoor air for all the compounds studied, but this fact should not exempt us from taking action to alert the population to the potential dangers of using those products. From this study, acetaldehyde, acrolein, furfural, and furan emerge as compounds with levels to deserve attention.