Conventional Paint and VOCs
When you open a can of conventional paint what you'll see is a creamy blend of plasticizers, adhesives, hardeners, pigments, biocides, drying accelerators, solvents and more. The solvents used in conventional paints are Volatile Organic Compounds. VOCs help hold the ingredients in a blended state while the paint is liquid, but they escape to the air when the paint is applied. Outdoors, VOCs combine with other airborne pollutants to create smog. Indoors, VOCs and plasticizers contribute to unhealthy indoor air, and extended exposure to these hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) can lead to respiratory and metabolic illness, headaches and a host of other disorders. Conventional paints may continue emitting trace portions of VOCs, biocides and plasticizers for more than a year after application.
Low-VOC Paints
EPA regulations allow interior water-based house paints, for instance, to contain up to 250 grams of VOCs per liter of paint. Many communities have set the bar lower; in San Francisco, flat wall paint is limited to 50 grams per liter (g/L). Some paint brands feature house paints with 50 g/L VOCs, and paints that are free of VOCs altogether are now common as well. Paint companies often tout these products as an environmentally friendly option, but the eco-reality is a bit more complicated. These products may still contain HAPs, and adding colorants to some low-VOC paints can kick the VOC measurement up as high as 190 g/L.
Conventional Paint and VOCs
When you open a can of conventional paint what you'll see is a creamy blend of plasticizers, adhesives, hardeners, pigments, biocides, drying accelerators, solvents and more. The solvents used in conventional paints are Volatile Organic Compounds. VOCs help hold the ingredients in a blended state while the paint is liquid, but they escape to the air when the paint is applied. Outdoors, VOCs combine with other airborne pollutants to create smog. Indoors, VOCs and plasticizers contribute to unhealthy indoor air, and extended exposure to these hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) can lead to respiratory and metabolic illness, headaches and a host of other disorders. Conventional paints may continue emitting trace portions of VOCs, biocides and plasticizers for more than a year after application.
Low-VOC Paints
EPA regulations allow interior water-based house paints, for instance, to contain up to 250 grams of VOCs per liter of paint. Many communities have set the bar lower; in San Francisco, flat wall paint is limited to 50 grams per liter (g/L). Some paint brands feature house paints with 50 g/L VOCs, and paints that are free of VOCs altogether are now common as well. Paint companies often tout these products as an environmentally friendly option, but the eco-reality is a bit more complicated. These products may still contain HAPs, and adding colorants to some low-VOC paints can kick the VOC measurement up as high as 190 g/L
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