Ahhhh. Breathe deeply. Smells good, right? For some people, the smell of a new coat of paint ranks up there with fresh cut grass and gasoline. Maybe cosmetic companies could distill that scent, package it and sell it as perfume. What would they call it? Eau de carcinogen? Parfum de respiratory problems?
VOCs are unstable, carbon-containing compounds that readily vaporize into the air. When they enter the air, they react with other elements to produce ozone, which causes air pollution and a host of health issues including breathing problems, headache, burning, watery eyes and nausea. Some VOCs also have been linked to cancer, as well as kidney and liver damage [source: Chadderdon].
As paint dries, these harmful VOCs are released into the air at high levels. Indoor VOC levels are routinely 10 times higher than outdoor levels, and up to 1,000 times higher immediately after painting [source: Pennock]. Although VOC levels are highest during and soon after painting, they continue seeping out for several years. In fact, only 50 percent of the VOCs may be released in the first year [source: Green Seal "Proposed"].
So perhaps it’s not so hard to believe that paint-related products are one of the worst environmental offenders. They’re the second largest source of VOC emissions into the atmosphere after automobiles, responsible for roughly 11 billion pounds every year [source: Pennock, Grafman]. Painters regularly exposed to paint vapors have an increased incidence of several types of cancers, impaired brain function, renal dysfunction and other health problems [source: International Programme on Chemical Safety].
Armed with this information, consumers have begun to demand safer alternatives. Enter low-VOC and no-VOC paints, which are now widely available and sold by Snowcem Paints.
Tags: gasoline, Green Seal, Low-VOC Paint, No-VOC paints, ozone, paint manufacturers, Smells