America’s homes and garages are full of toxic and hazardous products. Paints, lacquers, paint thinners, pesticides, lye, acids, and solvents are examples of the products that can be hazardous to your family and simultaneously pollute our environment when they are tossed aside. Many of these chemical contaminants are not even needed. I'd like to share with you safer products and alternatives.
Paint is big business. Manufacturers distribute over one billion gallons of paint annually. While most homeowners have one or more cans of paint in their garage, few of them realize the potential health hazards and environmental toxicity if it is not used, stored and disposed of properly.
Water based paints are considered the safest to use. Paints manufactured before 1990 could however, contain mercury, which even at low levels of exposure, can cause neurological damage without giving you noticeable symptoms. There's also a small percentage of alcohol solvents and glycol ethers found in most water based paints.
Although the EPA banned the use of lead in oil-based paint in 1981, oil-based paints still have toxic emissions, which you could easily inhale, ingest or absorb through your skin and into your bloodstream. Some of the chemicals are known carcinogens, others cause nervous system depression, and the majority have not been tested long enough for their long-term health effects.
Definition of PAINT
Paints are made up of resins (film formers), diluents (solvents), pigments (color), and additives. The paint products category also includes coatings such as varnish, shellac, polyurethane, and stains. Paints are generally classified on the basis of the solvent. The two main categories are oil-based and wate- based (latex) paints. Depending on the type of paint you select for painting, you may need additional paint-related products, such as thinners and brush cleaners may also be needed. Latex and other water-based paint products are the safest to use. They don't require any organic solvents, they dry quickly, and flow evenly.
Definition of SOLVENTS
Solvents are liquids that dissolve other substances and act as carriers for pigments. The useful benfits of solvents in paint products is their ability to dry quickly, their ease of application, even flow and their ability to dissolve paint and grease. Oil-based paint solvents pose several immediate and long-term health and environmental concerns.
If you're into a healthy lifestyle, you've probably heard the term "volatile organic compounds", or VOCs for short. Most likely you know then it's not a good term, but most people don't really know anything else about these contaminants.
VOCs are chemical contaminants that are emitted from solids and liquids. All solids and liquids that include VOCs also include a carbon chain. Any substance containing carbon is called an "organic". While some carbon-containing products are relatively stable, or "inert", as it is printed on the can or jar's label, others are highly volatile, meaning they can break down into different substances and chemicals pretty easily. VOCs also build up in indoor places, therefore concentration levels in indoor air quality can be 2 to 5 times as concentrated as compared to outdoors.
There are over 900 of VOCs, and they're present in products like
1) paints, solvents and aerosol sprays
2) air fresheners
3) household cleaners and disinfectants
4) pesticides
5) nail polish
6) vinyl shower curtains
7) moth repellants
8) fuels and auto products
9) building materials
10) glues and adhesives
11) drycleaning chemicals, and
12) furniture and carpets.
The EPA estimates that the concentrations of indoor VOCs resulting from paint stripping can reach as high as 1,000 times the concentration of the outdoor levels. And that is just one product!
While many VOCs have short-term health effects, others can do serious long-term damage. Some VOCs, such as benzene are well-known carcinogens, while others are "suspected" carcinogens.
In the short-term, common health issues include eye, nose and throat irritation, headache, nausea and temporary loss of coordination. The long-term health effects are somewhat scary. VOCs can damage your liver, kidneys and central nervous system.
Common reported symptoms of VOC exposure also include an allergic skin reaction, shortness of breath, vomiting, nosebleeds and fatigue.
