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-----Original Message-----
From: Hal Levin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 9:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Environmental Choice - Paints And Surface Coatings
Dear Environmental Choice,
On your web site, at
http://www.environmentalchoice.com/products.cfm?Cat=9
is found the following text from your web site:
**********begin copied text**********
Paints And Surface Coatings
Low VOC Paints and Surface Coatings
Most paints, sealants, and caulking compounds contain varying levels of volatile
organic compounds (VOCs). In many outdoor, and some indoor applications, higher
VOC levels are necessary to promote quick drying. In most indoor applications,
low VOC products are appropriate; they work just as well, but do not impact as
severely on indoor air quality, and contribute much less to the formation of
ground level ozone and photochemical smog.
The environmental criteria for these products specify the maximum allowable
levels of VOCs and the removal of certain harmful substances from the
manufacturing process. Environmental ChoiceM paints are an excellent choice for
both your indoor and outdoor environment.
**********end copied text*************
Your approach to environmentally preferable surface coating products for the
indoors misses some important fundamental points and ignores quite a lot of
research done over the past decade testing emissions from indoor pollutant
sources. It is an attractive approach, but it has the potential to mislead
people into believing that paints labeled as "low-VOC" are inherently better
than those that are not. This is simply not always the case.
Organic compounds that are exempted from the U.S. EPA's Clean Air Act (CAA)
definition of VOCs may still be important pollutants in indoor air. The
reactivity of a compound alone does not indicate its potential direct effect on
human health nor its potential to form irritating or toxic compounds when it is
oxidized. Important indoor air contaminants such as alpha-pinene and d-Limonene
(and other alkenes with unsaturated double bonds) are "exempt" under the VOC
content labeling requirements of the CAA but are still very important, either by
themselves or when they react with ozone or nitrogen dioxide. The result of
these reactions is the formation of formaldehyde and higher molecular weight
aldehydes as well as the formation of acidic aerosols. Some of these reaction
products are very irritating and even highly toxic.
Some of the organic compounds removed from paints have been replaced by smaller
quantities of chemicals that emit more slowly, sometimes far more slowly,
therefore resulting in greater occupant exposure on a chronic basis. Emissions
testing of "low VOC" coatings has demonstrated this consistently in the U.S.,
Germany, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.
Your labeling scheme fails to consider biocides used in paints and surface
coatings. There is now strong evidence that paints can be an important source of
formaldehyde indoors. This is certainly not a desirable result, so paint
selection should include screening for formaldehyde which is now commonly used
as a preservative in paints.
I urge you to reconsider your labeling of paints and surface coatings. The
problem is not an easy one, but it is an important one since interior paint can
be an important source of human exposure to chemicals with potentially harmful
effects.
Hal
***************************************
Hal Levin [log in to unmask]
2548 Empire Grade Santa Cruz CA 95060
tel 831 425 3946 fax 831 426 6522
***************************************
The Ninth International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate (INDOOR AIR
2002) will be held in Monterey, California, June 30 - July 5, 2002. Please visit
the web site at http://www.indoorair2002.org.
***************************************
Hal Levin [log in to unmask]
2548 Empire Grade Santa Cruz CA 95060
tel 831 425 3946 fax 831 426 6522
***************************************
The Ninth International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate (INDOOR AIR
2002) will be held in Monterey, California, June 30 - July 5, 2002. Please see
the web site at http://www.indoorair2002.org.
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