Trace impurities, especially for well-understood, historically validated processes, can be an afterthought in industrial chemical manufacturing. Although, by their very definition, trace impurities are typically only found at parts per million (ppm) levels or lower, these chemicals can have a significant impact on process economics, product quality and product performance. Additionally, trace impurities can impact real and perceived product safety. Both long- and short-term exposure to hazardous chemical emissions can cause asthma, cancer, birth defects or myriad other complications that can affect the quality of life for customers. Poor indoor air quality is directly associated with Sick Building Syndrome, which is used to describe the situation where occupants of a building or workplace experience a broad array of acute symptoms that are not associated with specific illness or source other than the building itself. Symptoms, illnesses and allergic responses can develop at levels of exposure less than a part per million (< 1 ppm), which is lower than current environmental and health regulations, including those for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To put these numbers in perspective, low-VOC paints have less than 50 grams of VOCs per liter, which equates to 50,000 ppm. Zero-VOC paints have less than 5 grams of VOCs per liter, which equates to 5,000 ppm.
Over the past few years, consumer product safety issues have entered the public spotlight. A recent article by the Deloitte University Press identified health, wellness and responsibility as the new basis of brand loyalty that may impact the consumer product industry. At the time of writing this article, the U.S. national headlines are full of stories such as: the FDA banning the sale of antimicrobial soaps, Samsung recalling 2.5 million cellphones over battery fires and airbag explosions leading to the largest automotive safety recall in history. In today’s social media age, information can travel across the globe in the blink of an eye, and reports about dangerous products spread like wildfire.