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Environmentally Friendly Painting & Decorating Professionals |
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Paint Fumes Targeted under New Law Levels of organic solvents in paints are to be strictly curtailed. The move, which is in response to a European paints directive and follows years of campaigning for safer paints, and applies to paints and varnishes used by professionals as well as do-it-yourself decorators, it includes emulsions for walls and gloss paint for wood. Paint used to repair and respray motor vehicles is also covered. The new regulations, which came into force from 1 November 2005, will see limits to the solvents in paints set from 1 January 2007. More stringent limits will be introduced from 1 January 2010. Construction union UCATT highlighted the long-term health effects of exposure to solvent based paints a decade ago, including solvent-related nervous system disorders, brain damage, cancers and breathing problems. Unions including UCATT and Amicus have won substantial compensation payments for workers developing solvent-related health problems. The government says the new lower solvent paints are not risk free “as some volatile organic compounds are genotoxic carcinogens and for these compounds no absolute guarantee of safety can be given no matter how low the level of exposure.” |
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A - Conventional paints can emit an array of noxious gases, including possible carcinogens such as toluene and xylene, and levels of solvents present in the air during application can exceed recommended levels by up to seven times. Other worrisome ingredients include synthetic alkyl phenols, alkyds and acrylics; some alkyl phenols are proven hormone disrupting chemicals, which can accumulate in the human body and have been linked to sex changes in fish. |
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A - Absolutely, most paints contain volatile organic compounds (VOC's). Don’t be fooled by the “O” word, in this case, they contribute to ozone pollution. |
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Q - Is it true that I should be careful choosing paint for my house? |
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Q - What else should I know about conventional paints ? |
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A - Conventional paints produce up to ten times their own weight in waste. So, to produce a one litre tin of paint, 10 litres of toxic waste is created. And the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) found in traditional paints emit low-level atmospheric pollutants, a major contributor to global warming. |
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Q - Are VOC’s harmful? |
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A - VOC's have been linked to sore throats, dizziness and allergic reactions (see WWF’s chemicals and health campaign on wwf.org.uk). Petrochemical paints, such as vinyl emulsions, are the real baddies, thought to pose a problem for asthma sufferers since the plastic-based binding ingredient can become statically charged, attracting dust. But it’s during application that paint fumes are most toxic. Professional painters and decorators face a 40 per cent higher-than-average risk of lung cancer, says the World Health Organization. |
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Q - Are conventional paints harmful to the environment? |
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Q - What are conventional paints made of ? |
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A - Conventional paints are made up of pigments, binders, solvents and driers. They also contain defoamers, stabilisers, preservatives and other chemical additives that give particular properties to the product. So your lovely litre of Forest green may contain arsenic and formaldehyde. All these ingredients are toxic and carry serious health hazards. |
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Q - Is there a safe alternative to conventional paints |
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A - Yes, Garry Potter only uses completely Non-Toxic Organic, Solvent Free, Environmentally friendly paints. |
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Q - Can toxins in paint affect my families health? |
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A - Not only are lingering paint smells in the home unpleasant, but many paints including most matt and silk paints contain solvents which are positively harmful and cause Sick Building Syndrome, Danish Painters Syndrome, asthma, allergies and chemical sensitivities. Vinyl is also a skin irritant and suspected carcinogen.
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