Healthy Indoor Painting Practices.

Most paints contain solvents--volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, naphthalene, and formaldehyde--which serve as spreadability enhancers, biocides, and fungicides. During and after painting, these VOCs outgas and can cause adverse short-term health effects such as headache, nausea, dizziness, and eye, throat, and lung irritation. Oil-based paints release more VOCs than water-based (latex) paints, but even latex paints still emit vapors that can cause adverse effects.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have worked together to create a brochure titled "Healthy Indoor Painting Practices," which advises residents, property managers, and paint contractors of potential health concerns associated with paint vapors, and recommends simple ways to help minimize exposures. The EPA and the CPSC have also released a Spanish-language version of the brochure.

The new brochure is based on a pamphlet originally developed and issued in 1998 by the Montgomery County, Maryland, Department of Environmental Protection as part of its Healthy Indoor Painting Practices campaign. (This campaign went on to receive a National Association of Counties Achievement Award in 1999.) "We liked what Montgomery County had done, and decided it was important for information that describes healthy indoor painting practices to reach a national audience," says Christina Cinalli, a chemist at the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. "We want citizens to know how to create good ventilation when using paints in their homes in order to safeguard their health and well-being."

Vapors can travel through cracks and gaps around pipes and electrical outlets, and through the ventilation systems of apartment and office buildings with central units, affecting people far from the source of the fumes. The chemicals released cannot be filtered by mechanical air conditioning or heating systems. "Most homes have a closed system that doesn't bring in fresh air; it just keeps recirculating," says Joe Keyser, the director for public education for the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. "These systems do filter particulate matter--dust--but not gaseous material." Currently, there are no federal or state regulations concerning the use of indoor paints.

The brochure stresses the importance of proper ventilation during and after painting. "People didn't realize that even though paint dries within 4-5 hours after application, VOCs can linger 48-72 hours after the paint job is finished," Keyser wrote in the November 1998 issue of MDEnvironment, a monthly publication released by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Even after the smell of new paint has diminished, VOCs may still be outgassed by the fresh coat. The brochure recommends keeping windows open wide during painting and for at least 2-3 days afterward, mounting box fans in windows to draw fumes out of the work area, and planning painting projects for the spring and fall, when it is more feasible to keep windows open. The brochure also recommends using the low-VOC paints that are now available from many manufacturers.

Free copies of "Healthy Indoor Painting Practices" are available in English or Spanish by calling the EPA's Indoor Air Quality Information Clearinghouse at 1-800-438-4318 (1-800-638-8270 for hearing- or speech-impaired callers), or the CPSC at 1-800-638-2772. Downloadable versions of the brochure in both English and Spanish are also available on the EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/exposure/ docs/publication.htm.

Tips for Healthy Indoor Painting

* Schedule painting for dry periods in the fall or spring, when windows are more easily left open for ventilation.

* If you live in or manage an apartment building, provide advance notice to neighbors in adjacent units that painting is to begin.

* Be sure to select paints that are intended for indoor use. Do not use exterior paints indoors.

* Always read and follow all the instructions and safety precautions on the label. Do not assume you already know how to use the product. The hazards may be different from one product to another, and some ingredients in individual products may change over time.

* Keep windows wide open, as weather permits, for about 2-3 days after painting to avoid unwanted exposure to paint vapors and to return to acceptable indoor air quality.

* Use window-mounted box fans to draw vapors from the work area. Make sure the fans cannot fall out of the window. If fans cannot be used, make sure that rooms being painted have adequate cross-ventilation.

* Take frequent fresh air breaks while painting. Avoid freshly painted rooms for 2-3 days whenever possible. Keep young children and people with breathing problems from freshly painted rooms. Leave painted areas if you experience watery eyes, headache, dizziness, or breathing problems.

* Follow directions on the can for the safe cleaning of brushes and other equipment. Never use gasoline to clean paint brushes.

* Buy only as much paint as you will use right away. If you have leftover paint, be sure to close the container tightly. Follow the directions on the can for disposing of the product. In some communities, there are special recycling programs for paints.

Adapted from: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. Healthy Indoor painting practices [brochure]. EPA 744-F-00-011. May 2000.