Hi Hal,
I do believe that there is some misunderstood. I am not working for the
Environmental Choice. I am not responsible of the criteria for the
Environmental choice ecolabeling. I just try to help Antonio Ruis who is
looking for information about ecolabeling.
Anyway your remarks are pertinant and underlined the difficulty to avoid
pollution transfert and to have a global approach of the enviromental and
health concerns.
Moustapha BIHYA
Ecodesign Engineer.
ARIST - Chambre Regionale de Commerce et d'indutrie du
Limousin-Poitou-Charentes.
Visit our website on ecodesign : http://www.durabilis.com
8 rue St Vincent de Paul BP40969
86038 Poitiers Cedex France
Tel (+33) 549.60.97.72
Fax (+33) 549.60.97.70
> -----Message d'origine-----
> De: Hal Levin [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Date: vendredi 6 octobre 2000 18:54
> À: [log in to unmask]
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Objet: FW: Environmental Choice - Paints And Surface Coatings
>
> fyi
>
> -----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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