Community Engagement Core discusses VOCs with Detroit residents

CLEAR’s Community Engagement Core (CEC) has been busy this year disseminating information about volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to Detroit neighborhoods. Since June, CEC leads Dr. Lyke Thompson and Abbi Coffield have given three presentations to neighborhood residents and local non-profit organizations about the harms VOCs pose. VOCs are chemicals are easily vaporized into the air, and impact both outdoor and indoor air quality. VOCs are often emitted from common everyday products such as fuels, paint, cleaning supplies, and cosmetic products. Brownfield sites, which are common in industrial cities like Detroit, can also be sources of VOC exposure impacting outdoor air and underground soil quality.

Presentations by the CEC include information about common sources of VOCs, health impacts and guidance on how to reduce everyday exposure to VOCs both inside and outside the home. The presentations provide an essential communicative link between CLEAR researchers and the Detroit community. The CEC collects contact information from consenting individuals in order to establish relations that will allow researchers to further understand how VOC exposure impacts everyday life in Detroit.