State rolls out new paint law to reduce harmful fumes

When Traci Charlet of Schaumburg was in her last month of pregnancy, she and her husband, Neil, decided their recently purchased home needed to be repainted. However, they were concerned about the effect paint fumes would have on Traci, an asthma-sufferer, and their unborn child.

"Previously, when I would be in a freshly painted room, I would feel a tightness in my chest that bothered me," Charlet recalled. "It never caused an asthma attack in me because my asthma is pretty well controlled, but I know that it can in people with more severe asthma."

And her obstetrician strongly warned her about avoiding paint fumes for the sake of her baby, Charlet said. Certain solvents found in paints are suspected of increasing the risk of miscarriage, doctors warn.

So the couple, whose son Jacob Neil arrived safely July 13, hired a painter to do the work and mandated that he use only low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint in their home.

Low VOC paints just have a trace of an odor, experts say, but no-VOC paints are truly odorless.

"I can really tell a difference with this low VOC paint," Charlet said. "There is a lot less smell and while it is a bit more expensive, the increased cost is minimal and to not have those fumes in my house is definitely worth the extra cost to me."

Coincidentally, the timing was perfect. A new Illinois law that took effect July 1 mandates the use of only low VOC paints in the state, outlawing more than half of the previously-acceptable oil-based primers and finishes and affecting 54 different coating categories in all.

"Most of the buying public is not all that picky," said Paul Jados, a partner in Diamond Paint in Des Plaines. "In the past most of the people who bought those products were very sensitive to odors or were very conscious of green issues.

"Today we are seeing more and more people buying the 'green' products as they become more aware of the problems with VOCs and we try to educate people as they come in," Jados said.

Price is still the most important factor for most customers, he admitted. So, in addition to Benjamin Moore, which offers low and no-VOC paints, Diamond sells Muralo products that are about 25 percent cheaper than the big names in an effort to make the new regulations more palatable to the price-conscious shopper.

"It is about time that Illinois caught up on this," Jados said. "They haven't sold oil-based paints or paints with high VOCs in California for more than a decade."

In fact, California's strict regulations forced paint companies to reformulate their coatings back in early 1988. They changed the law as part of California's effort to reduce ozone levels and alleviate smog problems.

Previously, solvents such as formaldehyde, benzene, cadmium, chromium, diethyl phthalate and dibutyl were routinely used in paints to fix pigments and finishes. And they were released into the air as the paint dried and, to a lesser extent, throughout the life of the paint.

Exposure to these compounds was known to cause asthma attacks; create throat, eye and respiratory problems; and even provoke nausea and headaches. Long-term exposure of the type professional painters received was even known to lead to cancer and diseases of the kidney and liver.

That is why the Environmental Protection Agency's Web site (www.epa.gov/iaq/homes/hip-painting.html) recommends that people minimize their exposure to paint's odors and contaminants during indoor painting, scheduling it when no one is home.

But Illinois' new regulations should make those guidelines less important. Low VOC paints are now mandated, with a few exceptions, and all of the large paint companies (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore and Pittsburgh Paints) have opted to also offer paints totally free of VOCs.

"I have been hearing since I was a beginning painter 30 years ago that these regulations were coming," said Jeff Hester, vice president of Skokie-based Hester Painting and Decorating, which employs 85 painters around the Chicago area.

"California set the standard and nine states in the Northeast went for the new regulations three years ago. Now Illinois, Indiana and Michigan have signed on and others are planning on doing it, too," Hester said.

The new regulations mandate that VOC emissions in paint be kept under the 150 mark, but paints totally free of VOCs are taking it even a step further.

"Now you can get these paints in any color and any finish," Hester said. "In the past these low VOC paints weren't really good. They didn't cover well and you could see lots of brush marks. But they have perfected them now."

There are some exceptions, however. Floor paints, industrial paints, primers and aerosol paints are all exempt from the new law because more work is needed to perfect the formulas for those kinds of coatings, Hester explained.

"In addition, paint companies and painters like us can still sell the older paints if they were stocked before the law went into effect. So the old paints will slowly work their way through the system until none of them are being used any more," he said.

Since those loopholes do exist in the law, Hester suggests that anyone with health concerns make sure that the painter they hire knows what they are doing and is only using low or no-VOC paint.

"Painters aren't licensed, so you need to do your homework if you have a specific concern. You can also call any of the big companies - Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore or Pittsburgh Paints - and they can tell you exactly what you need to see on the can to make sure it is low or no-VOC paint," Hester said.

"And I really suggest that you not chintz on paint when you are going to spend six hours of your life painting a room or are going to hire someone to paint for you," Hester said. "Go with paint from one of the big three companies because otherwise, you are cutting off your nose to spite your face."

If you have specific painting questions, Hester Painting and Decorating has a question-and-answer function on its Web site at hesterdecorating.com.