Updating and revision of the air quality guidelines for Europe : report on a WHO Working Group on Volatile Organic Compounds, Brussels, Belgium, 2-6 October 1995

Abstract

As part of the updating and revision of the WHO air quality guidelines for Europe, the WHO Working Group on Volatile Organic Compounds (‎VOCs)‎ met in Brussels in October 1995. The Group discussed various qualitative and quantitative aspects of the health risks associated with exposure to selected organic air pollutants: benzene, butadiene, dichloromethane, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, styrene, toluene and tri- and tetrachloroethylene. The Group had received draft chapters on these pollutants, prepared by experts, before the meeting. The Group also discussed a brief summary of the work on total VOCs, performed within the framework of the European Collaborative Action "Indoor Air Quality and its Impact on Man", in which WHO is involved. The Group achieved its principal goal of finalizing the health risk evaluations of the pollutants discussed, which included reaching consensus on guideline values or risk estimates