What Is Low VOC Paint?

VOCs In Paint

• Paints that have an oil base use VOCs as solvents. Some latex paints also contain VOCs as part of their chemical makeup, even though they use water as a solvent. The risk from VOCs is the highest while you are applying the paint and immediately after you apply the paint. However, although it is lower, the risk doesn’t completely go away after that.

Health Issues

• When VOCs evaporate, they could create health problems for people in the vicinity. They could make you feel nauseous, irritate your eyes and impact your respiratory system. They could even cause cancer or liver damage. Some people are more at risk from VOC exposure than others. For instance, those with asthma, young children and older people are more susceptible to these VOC-related problems.

Low-VOC Paints

• Some manufacturers have developed low-VOC paints that contain lower levels of VOCs. They sell these alongside their regular VOC-content paints. However, the term low-VOC doesn’t have a standard interpretation. There is a lower threshold for paints to qualify as low-VOC for Environmental Protection Agency purposes, in which case the concern is environmental rather than health related. Meeting the low-VOC threshold for human health concerns requires paints to meet higher standards.

VOC Levels

• Green Seal, a non-profit organization, has come up with some guidelines to gauge low-VOC levels. According to the organization, a flat topcoat paint should not contain more than 50 grams per liter of VOCs. Paints such as primers and floor paints should contain no more than 100 grams per liter of VOCs to merit the low-VOC label. In the case of paint used as a coating against corrosion, the product could have a VOC count as high as 250 grams per liter and still qualify as a low-VOC paint.