Is Your Home or Workplace a Danger Zone?

Concern about painting safety dates back to the 1700s when Bernardino Ramazzini, a doctor
known as the father of occupational medicine correlated workers illnesses with chemical and
physical agents they are exposed to (and inadvertently breath in) on a daily basis. Public
awareness and government regulations focused on minimizing the dangers of VOCs or volatile
organic compounds have pressured paint manufacturers globally to minimize if not totally
eliminate these toxins from their petroleum-based and chemical laden formulations.

Today, we are more discriminating when choosing how we build, protect and maintain our
homes and buildings, but are we truly safe? A study in 1990 based on the New Zealand Cancer
Registry investigated the high incidence of malignancies such as bladder cancer, lung cancer
and multiple myeloma among painters but almost 40 years after, not all paints and thinners are
VOC-free! To date, only potential lead toxicity had been issued complete handling and
management guidelines by the New Zealand Ministry of Health.

VOCs are solvents that get released into the air as the paint dries
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, some VOCs
are suspected carcinogens. ~ Consumer Reports

It is said that the presence of VOC is easily detected because of the distinctive and unpleasant
odor that can cause immediate symptoms such as coughing, difficulty in breathing, tearing,
nausea, fatigue, headaches and dizziness in susceptible individuals, even from a single
exposure. Lets cut to the chase. Not all VOCs can be detected by our sense of smell alone. Our
indoor and outdoor air can still poison us on a chronic basis without our knowing it; definitely,
odor is not a reliable indicator of health risk.
Tests show indoor air to be consistently more contaminated and in New Zealand, formaldehyde
shows the highest levels among the 300 or so identified VOCs with names usually ending in
ene or hyde. Formaldehyde is a preservative used on dead bodies and chloroform, another
common VOC is used as an anesthetic; just imagine what these can do to the health of a living,
breathing being! Formaldehyde is used in manufacturing the ubiquitous particle board and we
add to its toxicity when we coat it with enamels and latex, lacquers or varnishes that are known
causes of asthma, cancer and other immune diseases.

VOC is the Tip of the Iceberg: Beyond Ecolabels

Many paint manufacturers have sought third party certification to have their products labelled
VOC-free, zero VOC, low VOC and low odor in response to market pressure for
environmentally preferable paint. Although there is a concerted effort to classify, confusion
remains and much can be improved. For instance.ammonia is VOC while acetone is not; yet
both are toxic and volatile with strong chemical and pungent odor. Furthermore, some ethical
and environmentally-compliant paint companies producing VOC free paints and finishes such as
Natural Paint have not sought third-party accreditation.

The Australian Paint Approval Scheme (APAS) has the following descriptors for paints sold in
Australia and New Zealand:

Very High >250 gm/L

High 100 249 gm/L
Moderate 50 99 gm/L
Low 5 49 gm/L
Very Low <5 gm/L

Natural Paint has VOC levels at ____ which is even lower than the standard set for Very Low
VOC, making us hands down the clear, green choice!

An Eco paint labelled as VOC free does not mean it is any safer or better
for your health it simply means it has less impact on smog and
pollution.

In New Zealand, the New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust set VOC limits based on product type but
did not consider all the other harmful chemicals that may or may not emit odors. There may
STILL be dangerous chemicals lurking in a can of paint labelled VOC free or zero VOC which can
negatively impact your health and the indoor air quality of your home and working space.

Tinters are classified separately based on the premise that tinting products with high VOC levels
increases the overall VOC content of low VOC, VOC-free and zero VOC base paints - in some
cases even up to 150 g/L! This is Section 5.3.1 on Volatile organic compounds and weve added
Natural Paint values to see how we measure-up:

a. Paint products shall not exceed the following Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) levels,
expressed as g/litre wet paint.

Paint type VOC limit (g/L wet paint)

Low sheen (interior; exterior) 50

Flat (washable interior; ext.) 50

Flat (ceiling) 50

Semi-gloss (interior; exterior) 60

Gloss (interior; exterior) 65

Stains and varnishes 85

Exterior timber primer 50

Interior sealer 50

Latex primer for galvanised iron and 45

zincalume

Latex undercoat (interior; exterior) 50

b The VOC level in tinters shall not exceed 5 g/L.

It does seem that New Zealand has stricter rules since the U.S. Federal Government puts a cap
at 250 grams per liter for flat finishes and 380 grams per liter for other finishes. However,
several states have more stringent limits like 50 g/L for all finishes in California while other
states opted for a more conservative 100 g/L for flat and 150 g/L for other finishes.
Other things to consider when choosing paint for your project is the emission factor since some
paints may be classified as Low VOC even if emitted vapors that pollute the environment are
high. Do bear in mind that repainting or constant touch-ups increases VOC levels so go for the
most durable and most stain and fade resistant finish made from natural materials. What is
sustainable for you should be good for the environment too - and Natural Paint does that
beautifully without compromising color vibrancy, quality and performance.

Resources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1446786/
Am J Public Health. 2001 September; 91(9): 1382.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.91.9.1382

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2008/04/what-are-vocs-in-paint-and-is-more-or-less-
of-them-better/index.htm

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