Latex Paint Is Safer To Use Than Its Oil-Based Cousin
Paint is great stuff. Slap some on your dingy walls, and the shabbiest of houses looks like a million bucks. Brush a glossy coat onto your grungy cabinets and your kitchen looks like Sunset Magazine. And paint's not just another pretty face. It can protect surfaces from water, fungus and insect damage. It also makes them easier to clean.
But what exactly is paint? Hundreds of different chemicals may make up any given can. The major components fall into a few broad categories. The actual film you're left with when the paint dries is made up of resins. They are the so-called active ingredient. Solvents keep the resins wet and spread-
able. Pigments color the paint. And an army of additives such as driers, thickeners, preservatives, defoamers and emulsifiers makes up the rest.
As far as you and I are concerned, there are two kinds of paint: water based and oil based. Water-based, or latex, paint has water as its principal solvent. Oil-based paint, which includes lacquers, varnishes and stains, has as its solvent petroleum distillates.
These petroleum distillates are also known as volatile organic compounds, or hydrocarbons. Do those names ring a faint, ominous bell? Thanks to them, oil-based paint has a couple of unfortunate side effects. Namely, it pollutes the air and it is extremely hazardous to your health.
The danger to your health comes mostly from toxic chemicals in oil-based paints. Most of the toxic chemicals are solvents. Without going into gruesome detail, let's just say that these chemicals can cause an array of medical problems that run the gamut from making your eyes sting to giving you cancer.
The problem is that solvents are volatile - that is, they escape as gas when exposed to the air. They start evaporating the minute you open the can. And a can of oil-based paint contains a lot of solvents - anywhere from 50 to 95 percent of its volume. If you paint indoors with inadequate ventilation, or spray without wearing an appropriate respirator, those solvents will be going right up your nose and into your bloodstream.
Out in the sunshine, the evaporated solvents combine with other gases to form the main component of smog, ground ozone. Ground ozone damages wheat, soybeans,
corn and other crops, causing losses to the tune of almost $3 billion a year. It weakens and kills spruce and pine trees in forests across northern North America and Europe. And it is implicated in persistent respiratory infections in children and the elderly.
How big a contributor to hydrocarbon air pollution is oil-based paint? Pretty big. More than 10 percent of all the hydrocarbons found in our air are escaped solvents from paint and coatings. That's not so surprising considering that Americans brush on 3 million gallons of it every day. In California, where climate and congestion conspire to produce a lot of smog, paint cans are labeled for hydrocarbon content.
Does this mean, you ask yourself, that you're consigned to wallpaper and whitewash if you strive to be environmentally correct? Fortunately not. Good old latex paint rides in to save the day. Though it contains some petroleum distillates and a number of other not-so-nice chemicals, it is a very reasonable alternative to its more malignant cousin.
Excellent latex primers and sealers have recently been developed for indoor use, eliminating the need to ever use oil-based paint in the house. Outside, you may need to resort to oil-based paint for some jobs. If you do, buy just enough paint for the job, and use the precautions listed with this column. Give away leftover paint to a neighbor, school or theater group. And pester your paint store. Manufacturers are developing oil-based paints with fewer solvents to conform to the strict new California emissions standards. These products may be on the shelves soon.
When you're done with your oil-based paint, you'll have to take the can to a household hazardous waste drop-off spot. The same is true of the solvents you'll use to clean your brushes. But you can leave nearly empty cans of latex paint open to dry outdoors out of reach of children and pets. When the paint has hardened, drop the cans in your garbage.
Some communities in the United States have a better suggestion for your unused latex paint: recycle it. Seattle is the latest to try this.
Community Pride, a high-quality recycled paint, is being sold for $5 a gallon at six paint stores around the region as part of a demonstration project that runs through the end of August. The color range is limited, but the price is right.
The stores: Daly's, 3525 Stone Way N., Seattle and 200 105th Ave. N.E., Bellevue; Daniel Boone, 15701 Nelson Place S., Tukwila; Jarvie, 640 Aloha St., Seattle; Parker, 5500 14th St. NW, Ballard; and Preservative, 350 Sunset Blvd. N., Renton.
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Susan McGrath's column runs every other Sunday in the Home/Real Estate section of The Times. Do you have a question about decisions you can make in your everyday life to help keep your household healthy? Have you found solutions? Send questions and comments to The Household Environmentalist, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA, 98111.
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Use solvents paints safely
-- Use only in well-ventilated areas. If you can't do the job outdoors, open windows and use a fan to circulate fresh air.
-- Avoid spray painting.
-- Wear appropriate protective gear such as gloves, masks, goggles or respirators (with correct filter for the specific solvent).
-- Do not use solvents or strippers during pregnancy.
-- Do not wear soft contact lenses while using solvents.
SOURCE: Washington Toxics Coalition