What Is the VOC Content of Oak Wood?

Emissions by Everyday Objects

• Everything carbon-based gives off VOCs to a greater or lesser degree: furniture, construction materials like insulation panels, even the printed circuit boards in electronics such as stereos, microwaves and communications devices. The process of emission, properly known as “off-gassing” or “out-gassing,” can go on for many months after manufacture, giving most homes and offices a measurable background level of VOCs.

  New carpet produced from man-made fibers and backed with foam, for instance, emits formaldehyde. Most entirely natural materials give off VOCs to a greater or lesser extent, also; the pleasant aroma of an orange is a VOC, as is the irritating smell of an onion. In fact, human sensitivity to smells is a good indicator of VOC strength: the stronger something smells, the more it is off-gassing VOCs.

Reactions and Sources

• Most people do not react badly to the VOCs off-gassed by an orange, although almost everyone is irritated by cutting an onion. That said, because VOCs are irritants they affect some people more than others. Rhinitis and asthma attacks can be triggered by VOCs. People with allergies can suffer weeping eyes, coughing that does not respond to treatment and uncontrollable sneezing in a room where other people are entirely unaffected. People with any such predisposition should stay away from new carpet, fresh paint -- particularly oil-based glosses -- and anything assembled with glue. Cleaning fluids, pesticides and mothballs, any aerosols and air fresheners, clothes that have been recently dry cleaned and printer toner cartridges are all everyday examples of heavy VOC-emitting materials. Reactions can include irritation of the skin as well as mucus membranes, along with headaches, dizziness and even nausea.

Emissions From Wood

• The binding agents used in producing composite boards, and the stains and treatments used on cheaper natural lumbers emit VOCs. Some composite shelving and flooring can off-gas for many years, and the solvents in preservatives can be transferred by touch as well as by smell. Because the variables in wood production are so great, it is impossible to provide an accurate measurement; material treated with a solvent-based preservative will have a much higher VOC measurement than wood -- even from the same tree -- that has been treated with water-based preservative.

Emissions from Oak

• Solid timber, particularly hard timber such as oak, more often relies upon natural preservatives than does particle board and soft wood. Goods manufactured from solid oak are likely to produce far less VOC emission than flat-pack furniture made with composite board. Products treated with green preservatives and finishes, such as those manufactured from pure soybean oil, are hypoallergenic in that they emit no VOCs, even when brand new.