Meghan Rebuli, PhD

Air fresheners are a commonly used product by over 70% of the population of the United States to improve the smell of indoor spaces. Air fresheners are known to contribute to indoor air pollution through release of chemicals into the air, but little is known about what chemicals they contain and whether they may harm lung health. We know little about air freshener ingredients, since manufacturers are not required to disclose this information. Survey studies have shown links between air freshener use and increased airways symptoms, like cough, wheeze, asthma attacks, and runny nose, but no studies have directly evaluated how air fresheners can affect lung health. We will address both issues by identifying the chemical ingredients present in popular air fresheners and testing their potential to harm key airway cells. 

Update: In the past year, we have completed chemical analysis of popular air freshener products and identified over 2,000 chemicals present in approximately 20 products across four well-known brands. We are actively working to evaluate the purpose of each of these chemicals and how our results compare to manufacturer-provided ingredient lists. So far, we have identified potential surfactants, solubilizers, fragrances and preservative or antimicrobial chemicals present. Product chemical profiles seem to be most similar by brand. We also have begun assessing how lung cells respond to varying amounts of the air fresheners when exposed in culture in an effort to establish toxicity dose ranges, starting with the floral scented products that were selected. The team further has developed a daily dose estimate for how much product human lungs are exposed to in alignment with manufacturer-recommended product usage; this will be the data we use to relate our cell culture findings to real-world use scenarios.