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Department of Chemical Engineering, Kuwait University, P. O. Box 5969, 13060 Safat, Kuwait.

ABSTRACT

Interest in indoor air-quality is steadily increasing. Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is associated with health hazards on diverse childhood respiratory problems, lung cancer and cardiovascular disorders. In an effort to assess the impacts oif diverse plausible sources such as i) open oil lakes, ii) chemical and petrochemical industries and iii) indoor pollution from household items on the air quality indoors, we have measured a range of aliphatic VOCs from n-hexane to n-hexadecane, and aromatics such as benzene, toluene, xylene, ethyl benzene, methanol and 6-dichlorubenzeiie in indoor and outdoor air Samples from 7 cities in Kuwait, using gas chromatograph. The data did not show a relative rise in airborne VOCs during the months March to May 1993. Although, the cumulative effects of certain VOCs that entered the human body and water sources cannot be ruled out.