eli5… Why are VOCs ( volatile organic compounds) measured in PPMs (parts per million) when it measure 100s of gases with different toxic levels?

Question

eli5… Why are VOCs ( volatile organic compounds) measured in PPMs (parts per million) when it measure 100s of gases with different toxic levels?

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Answer 1

First, I am pretty sure that really dangerous gases would have to be labelled separately from “VOC”.

Second, consumers and managers and safety inspectors all prefer looking at a single number, rather than a long list of different gases.

Finally, detecting individual gases requires a much more expensive and bulky equipment, than measuring all VOC’s.