I ran into a neighbor at the local pub over the weekend and mentioned that we had been painting over the weekend. She said she was going to paint soon too and we started talking about it. I mentioned that the low-VOC paints we had used were on sale until the end of the month, to which she responded “low VOC??”
I can’t believe that there are still people out there who have never heard of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). I don’t really expect the average person to have a strong enough chemistry background to understand that a volatile organic compound is anything containing carbon that is under high enough vapor pressure that it vaporizes into the air we breath. But I am surprised that the average consumer is not very educated and that many people are making poor decisions for their health and the environment not because it’s cost effective or easier but rather out of sheer ignorance. So I guess that’s where my blog comes in…
Painting your home seems like such a good idea–for less than $50, you can completely transform a room. But conventional paints can contain thousands of chemicals and in addition to that nice color you like, they can also have benzene, toluene, vinyl chloride, formaldehyde, ethyl, mercury, cadmium, chromium, etc. All of these chemicals vaporize into the air of the room you paint and are therefore VOCs. The EPA lists the following health effects that VOCs cause: eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system, and cancer in animals (some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans). VOCs also produce ozone, which causes air pollution and is linked to a whole host of human health issues like breathing problems and headaches, not to mention the effects on plants and our environment. Some VOCs, such as formaldehyde and benzene, are highly toxic and known carcinogens. Some VOCs in paints are neurotoxins, such as toluene. That’s a lot of risks to take for a little bit of color!
Fortunately, paint manufacturers are now making low VOC paints. While the federal government has limited the VOC content of latex paints to 250 g/L, a green seal certified paint must have less than 50 g/L. Here is a list of paints that are certified by Green Seal. (In general, but not always, most manufacturers claiming their paints are low-VOC will have less than 50 g/L, even if not certified by Green Seal.) There are also many other low-VOC paints not on that list, such as Duration from Sherwin Williams, and even the paint I saw in Restoration Hardware, while not advertised as low-VOC, had less than 50 g/L. There are even no-VOC paints, such as FreshAire sold at Home Depot and Harmony from Sherwin Williams. It is important to read the label for yourself to find out the VOC content though, as store clerks may be misinformed or paint manufacturers may be misleading (we all know that “natural” has a whole hosts of meanings when it comes to food and personal care products. In the same way low-VOC can be more of a marketing term than an actual statement of fact.) It is important for me to note that the VOC-content of paint is the paint itself and not the pigment that is later added. Pigment also contains VOCs, with darker colors containing more. According to Green Seal, some initial data indicate that paint pigment can add anywhere from 8 to 70 grams of VOCs. Clearly this is significant, as a no VOC paint can potentially have 70 g/L after colorant is added.
The most important thing to do when painting, in addition to choosing a low-VOC paint, is to ventilate, ventilate, ventilate. Open all your windows! And keep them open as long as possible, even after the paint has dried. According to Green Seal, paint emissions can continue for quite some time after paint is applied. In fact, one 1999 study found that less than 50% of VOCs in applied latex paint are emitted in the first year. So paint when the weather is warm, keep your windows open as much as possible, and keep doing that for as long as possible. Since paint is not the only source of VOCs in your home, it’s a good idea to open your windows as much as you can year round, now just after you paint.
Sites worth visiting:
- http://www.greenhomeguide.com/index.php/knowhow/entry/750/C224
- http://home.howstuffworks.com/low-voc-paint.htm
