GreenYour.com

Paint plays an important role in protecting and beautifying our homes. Improving a space, rather than demolishing and building new, is an eco-preferable way to create beautiful rooms in which to live and work, but why not go even further by choosing paints that limit the environmental problems associated with conventional options? To do so, consumers will need to pay attention to two paint-related environmental concerns: paint composition (especially the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)) and paint disposal.

Paint composition

The main environmental issue with paint is that much of it contains VOCs. These largely man-made chemicals found in many household products and in gasoline evaporate easily into the air. VOCs contribute significantly to ground-level ozone (smog) production and add to growing human health problems. Ground-level ozone harms ecosystems and vegetation, accounting for an estimated $500 million in reduced crop production each year in the United States.[1]

The two basic types of paint are oil-based and latex, which is water-based. In the past, oil-based paints were used for most exterior surfaces as well as woodwork, trim plus bathrooms and other rooms where moisture was an issue. That is not the case anymore, as concern over VOC emissions has lead to national and state regulations that increasingly restrict the amount of VOCs. Oil-based paints are also more difficult to apply, take longer to dry, and are harder to clean up and dispose of than latex paints. As a result, latex paint is now the top choice for most painters, occupying 85 percent of the market.[2]

According to a 2002 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study, oil-based paint produces far more VOCs than latex paint, with 32-42 percent VOC content in oil-based paints versus 2 to 5 percent VOC content in latex paints.[3] Even so, emissions from latex paint is a major source of indoor air pollution.[4] The EPA states that 9 percent of the airborne pollutants causing ground level ozone come from the VOCs in paint.[5]

Government regulations continue to mandate decreasing amounts of VOCs in paint and to meet growing consumer demand, some manufacturers produce low- or zero-VOC as well as conventional options. One ton of VOCs will be eliminated for every 1,000 gallons of low-VOC paint used.[6] Further reductions can be achieved with lighter colors and flat finishes, since both contain fewer VOCs than glossy, dark colored paints.

Paint disposal

In 2005, more than 850 million gallons of indoor and outdoor paint was sold for use on residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings.[7] Of all the paint purchased in the US every year, a good deal of it is never used. An EPA study estimates that approximately 65 to 69 million gallons, or about 10 percent of house paint purchased in the US every year, is discarded. Leftover paint is the largest volume material collected by most household hazardous waste collection programs across the country.[8] Managing this paint costs municipalities an average of $8 per gallon.[9] Industry and environmental groups are working toward development of a nationally coordinated approach to manage leftover paint to help defray rising costs that local governments now absorb.

Though proper disposal of paint can be expensive, it’s an environmentally-preferable action. Paint may contain harmful chemicals such as fungicides and organic solvents. Very old paint, kept stored in garages, basements, and sheds for decades, may contain hazardous heavy metals such as mercury and lead, which can seep into surface and groundwater supplies, causing serious wildlife and human harm.

Additionally, chemicals in paint can impair or destroy the bacteria that are crucial to the biological waste water treatment process, which can also contribute to contamination of surface and groundwater when it is flushed down toilets, sinks, or drains. Liquid paint thrown in the trash that ends up in a landfill could likewise impact groundwater there. Paint poured into storm drains carries its pollutants into streams, rivers and oceans in some cases, harming aquatic plants, animals, and fish, along with the wildlife.

Related health issues

VOCs and human health

People can be exposed to very high pollutant levels while they are using products with VOCs and high levels can remain in the air long after the activity has ceased. Studies of VOCs have found that levels of several chemicals average two to five times higher inside than outside. Levels may be 1,000 times background outdoor levels during, and for several hours after, paint stripping.

Health effects from VOCs vary greatly depending upon the amount of chemicals in the air, time exposed, a person’s susceptibility, and existing medical conditions. Immediate symptoms that people have experienced soon after exposure include eye, throat, or lung irritation, headaches, dizziness and vision problems. Some of these chemicals are known to cause cancer in animals and may be carcinogenic in humans. Young children, people with breathing problems and pregnant women should avoid paint vapors.

The ground-level ozone or smog that forms when VOCs react with nitrogen oxide (NOx) gases in the presence of sunlight and hot weather also create health effects. Breathing ozone can cause chest pain, throat irritation, coughing, and congestion as well as worsen asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. Studies have also shown damage to lung tissue from ozone that may take several days after exposure for total recovery.

Additionally, lung tissue may be permanently scarred from repeated exposure. Children and adults who are active outside, people with unusual susceptibility to ozone as well as those with asthma or other respiratory diseases are at risk from ground-level ozone.

Lead paint concerns

Although lead in paint, used as a pigment and drying agent, has been banned since 1978 it is still a concern in older homes when repainting, renovating, or if the paint is deteriorating. Lead-based paint is a major source of lead poisoning in children which can impair mental functioning and cause brain damage. In adults, lead poisoning can lead to reproductive problems, increased blood pressure, poor muscle coordination, and nerve damage.

Glossary

• ground-level ozone: The main component of smog, ground-level ozone is formed when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react chemically with nitrogen oxides (NOx) when it is sunny and hot outside. Many urban areas have high levels of this summertime pollutant but rural areas can have increased ozone levels too as wind can carry ground-level ozone hundreds of miles from where it originates.
• nitrogen oxide (NOx): A group of highly reactive colorless, odorless gases that form when fuel is burned at high temperatures. The most common man-made sources of NOx are motor vehicles, electric utilities, and other industrial, commercial and residential sources that burn fuels.
• volatile organic compounds (VOCs): Organic solvents that easily evaporate into the air. VOCs are emitted by thousands of products including paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings and they may cause immediate and long-term health problems.

External links

• Green Seal Certified Products/Services - Paints and Coatings
• Seattle.gov - Green Home Remodeling Guides: Painting
• US Consumer Product Safety Commission - What You Should Know About Lead Based Paint in Your Home
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Terminology Reference System for VOCs
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Air Quality Guide for Ozone