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• How might I be exposed to solvents?
<br />You can be exposed to solvents by breathing them, absorbing them through your skin, or
<br />swallowing them.
<br />At home, you can be exposed to solvents by using cleaning products, personal care products, nail
<br />polish remover, paints, glues, adhesives, and other household products that contain solvents.
<br />When you tall your car with fuel, you breathe in small amounts of solvents. You may also be
<br />exposed if you dry clean your clothes, which will release small amounts of perchloroethylene
<br />into the air, or if you use a laundromat that contains dry cleaning machines.
<br />You also may breathe in solvents that are released from industrial facilities that are located near
<br />your home or workplace. Your exposure will depend on several factors, including the amount of
<br />emissions, how close you are to the facility, and weather conditions, such as wind speed and
<br />direction.
<br />You may also be exposed to solvents at work if your work involves dip cleaning, vapor
<br />degreasing, manufacturing that uses glues and adhesives, paint stripping, fueling, transferring
<br />flammable solvents, painting, offset printing, dry cleaning, installing carpets, and cleaning
<br />electronics, automotive parts, engines, and circuit boards. You may be exposed if you
<br />manufacture soap, printed circuit boards, semiconductors, personal care products,
<br />pharmaceuticals, or textiles. You can be exposed if you work in a hospital, manufacturing
<br />factory, agricultural or food facility, or art restoration facility.
<br />How can solvents affect my health?
<br />Health effects from exposures to solvents depend on several factors, including the specific
<br />chemical, level and length of exposure, how the chemical gets into your body, and your unique
<br />health situation.
<br />Exposure to solvent vapors may cause hoarseness, coughing, lung congestion, chest tightness,
<br />and shortness of breath. Other symptoms may include dizziness, headaches, impaired judgment,
<br />and nausea. These effects are typically temporary and go away when exposures to vapors are
<br />reduced or eliminated. Our bodies quickly get rid of most solvents - - when we exhale or in our
<br />urine - - so these solvents don't stay in our bodies for a long time.
<br />The effects of long-term exposures to low levels of many solvent vapors are not well understood.
<br />"There is some increased risk of cancer from high exposures to some solvents over a lifetime (i.e.,
<br />70 years). However, many commonly used solvents are not linked to cancer.
<br />What about solvents that have a strong odor?
<br />Some solvents are more noticeable than others because people are able to smell them at low
<br />levels in the air. Many solvents have a sweet odor that, at low levels, may be pleasant to some
<br />people, and disagreeable or objectionable to others.
<br />Some people who are exposed to strong odors experience headaches, dizziness, nausea, and other
<br />symptoms. While these symptoms are temporary and go away when the levels go down, they
<br />• can be undesirable and have a significant impact on quality of life.
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