health

The Dark Side to Paint Products

How to Avoid Those Toxic Paint Fumes

Renovating or painting your home can be an exciting experience, but have you ever considered the dangers behind simply repainting your living room? Most paints contain Volatile Organic Compounds, also known as VOCs, which evaporate as the paint dries afterwards. VOCs are added to the paint or lacquer typically to act as solvents and can have serious impacts on human health. Oil-based paints are worse than water-based paints, but ordinary water based paints can still bel an issue.

Health implications for VOC exposure depend upon the type of compound, its concentration and your length of exposure to it, and can result in the following:

  • Nose, eye and throat irritation
  • Headaches
  • Loss of coordination
  • Nausea
  • Kidney and liver damage
  • Damage to the central nervous system
  • Immune system damage

Some VOCS are known carcinogens, meaning that inhaling them is likely to increase your risk of cancer.

Whilst there are a range of serious health conditions that can result from exposure to paints (being a painter is a UN recognised hazardous occupation known as ‘Painter’s Syndrome’) , there are several alternative products on the market which are low VOC and provide safe alternatives. For those who wish to further reduce the presence of VOCs and other toxins in paints you purchase refer to Ecospecifier (www.ecospecifier.com.au). Some examples of low VOC paints include:

 

Livos AustraliaLivios Australia

Livos offer a range of low VOC plant-based oils, coatings and treatments for interior and exterior wall, floor and timber applications. Unlike conventional coatings, LIVOS oils impregnate and protect the surface of timber, rather than creating a plastic coating on top. This allows for easy rejuvenation with no sanding required, the rejuvenation process is quick and simple to carry out if or when required.

Dduluxprofessionalulux Professional Enviro2

Dulux provides a low VOC topcoat paint making it a safer product for indoor use in your home. Whilst there is still VOCs present, they are at a very low concentration, <1g/L untinted. This product has been Ecospecifier verified and provides a detailed toxicity analysis on the Ecospecifier website.

 

 

The Dangers of Renovating an Old Home

renopainting

Renovating your home may come with potential health pitfalls, especially if your home was painted before 1970. Walls that were painted prior to this may be toxic due to the presence of lead-based paint. Lead paint, even in the smallest concentration, poses a great risk to human and animal health. While undisturbed well maintained lead painted walls pose minimal risk to human health; however once disturbed the paint scraped from lead painted walls becomes hazardous. This is especially so if flame or high temperature heat guns are used to remove it.

Resulting lead laden flakes and dust can spread throughout the house and garden. Removing the paint through dry sanding or by using power tools can create lead dust that can be inhaled or implanted into fabrics around the home, such as in carpets or furniture. Lead dust deposited around the family home poses future health risks and is extremely difficult to remove. This poses a great risk to young children who frequently put their hands inside their mouths and can absorb and retain higher concentrations of lead in comparison to adults. Lead is especially detrimental to the neurological development of children.

Lead is toxic in both low and high concentrations. Exposure can occur through inhalation or digestion. Effects of lead poisoning from low levels of concentration include:

  • Muscle pains and fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Coma
  • Fatigue
  • Stomach pains
  • Seizures
  • Anaemia
  • Miscarriage
Effects from high levels of lead poisoning may include:
  • Brain damage
  • Severe kidney damage
  • Reduced fertility in males
  • Cardiovascular issues
  • Cognitive damage in young children

If your home was, built before 1970, it is recommended that you arrange to conduct tests to confirm the presence or non-presence of lead so that the proper steps can be taken to minimise exposure if needed .

There are a couple of different ways to test for lead paint:

  • Colour change tests which are available from hardware stores although these are not 100% accurate
  • DIY-Sampling Lab Lead Analysis Kits which can be purchased online from http://www.leadsafeworld.com/solutions/lead-group-diy-sampling-lab-analysis-lead-test-kits/ this kit will provide instructions on how to conduct the test which is then analysed by a registered laboratory
  • Hire a professional who will use a portable X-ray fluorescence machine to determine the presence of lead. This is a non-invasive way to inspect the paint in your home.

If it is found that there is lead present in the paint on your walls it is recommended that:

  • Professionals are hired to safely remove the paint
  • If the paint is in good condition you are able to paint over it if you prefer not to remove it
  • If you choose to remove the paint yourself;
    • Seek professional advice on how to best remove the paint
    • Do not sandblast or dry scrape the walls
    • If removing paint outside do not do so on a wet or windy day
    • Remove children and pregnant women from the area
  • In the future choose paints that have been certified and verified for having low toxicity, such as those found listed with Ecospecifier (www.ecospecifier.com.au)

Explore more about the product ranges that have been eco-certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using The Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global

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VOC’s in Carpet

Carpet is an almost omnipresent feature in many homes and while it has its benefits, many ordinary carpets also have some issues. Health and environmental concerns associated with many carpets include indoor air quality (IAQ), chemical emissions from manufacturing and disposal operations, short lifespan of broadloom carpets particularly in rental properties and solid waste impacts due to their difficulty in recycling and most ending up in landfill at the end of their lives.

As far as IAQ is concerned, a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be emitted from some carpet materials, typically in the backing. Remember that ‘new carpet smell’? That’s them! Although VOC emissions from new carpet seem to fall to low levels within a few weeks after installation when accompanied by good ventilation, this doesn’t mean they are gone, just that you can’t smell them, as they are emitted for quite long periods at progressively lower levels, that can nonetheless keep having an impact on your families health, particularly sensitive children..

Carpet can have a purifying impact on indoor air quality by absorbing and trapping particulates present in indoor air, but then you have to make sure they get removed completely when cleaned, because it can be difficult to get all particulates back out of carpet.

Tretford have a GreenTagCert™ LCARate Silver, GreenRate Level A Certified with low VOC, it is heavy contract cord carpet range with pile made predominantly from goat hair, which is a renewable, durable, low lanolin, inherently anti-static fibre. To achieve a Silver rating the product must not trigger any ‘Red light’ warnings A Silver award indicates a Very Good product in its market category.

Tips for installing new carpet:

  • Buy only carpets that have been certified low VOC by systems like Global GreenTag (all levels and tiers), Cetec, GreenGuard or GreenLabel;
  • The area should be ventilated with fresh air during installation with air-conditioning off to avoid recirculation of air.
  • Vacuum the floor after the old carpet and underlay have been removed
  • Where possible keep ventilating the space for a minimum of 72 hours after installation
  • If carpet adhesives are used, demand a low VOC water-based adhesive
  • If you are sensitive to VOC emissions, leave the premises during and immediately after carpet installation.

 

Explore more about the product ranges that have been eco-certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using the Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global: www.ecospecifier.com.au

Join us in more conversations about green products and sustainability issues on our social media pages:

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Join our Social Media Honour Roll – support the switch to green products

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The Controversial Use of BPA Plastic

“Are endocrine disruptors leaching into your food?”

It is more than likely that you have noticed major retailers advertising “BPA-free products”, particularly on water bottles, baby bottles or plastic food storage containers, but do you know what BPA is and what the potential health effects are?

BPA stands for bisphenol A and is used to make polycarbonate plastics, such as food and drink containers,and epoxy resins, which are used for a range of products including the protective lining for some canned foods and beverages and even some thermal printing papers, such as shop receipts, and epoxy flooring.

One issue is, that BPA has the potential to leach from container linings into the food and drink held within, entering the body when eaten or by skin absorption.

There are mixed reports on the exact side effects of BPA. Overall, most reports indicate that BPA has the potential to negatively impact upon human health. Studies have indicated that BPA can act as an endocrine disruptor, meaning that it mimics the female sex hormone, oestrogen, and can cause fertility and reproduction issues.

The health issues of most concern include impacts on physical, neurological and behavioural development of young and unborn children. The main arguments surrounding BPA is at what levels these health issues occur and recent data has shown novel ultra-low level impact. This means that BPA can have an effect at very low levels and this is of particular concern in infants and children.

In response to these concerns, manufacturers have started providing consumers with BPA-free products, particularly with a wide range of BPA-free baby products.

The Australian Government introduced a voluntary phase-out procedure of polycarbonate plastic baby bottles containing BPA from major retailers.

As for other BPA products, the Australian Government currently does not feel that there is an issue with product safety.

Make Informed Choices – Seek Healthier Product Alternatives

For those who are concerned, particularly mothers or expecting mothers, it is possible to purchase BPA-free products. These can be found in your local major retailer store or located on the Ecospecifier Global website ( www.ecospecifier.com.au ). All products listed by Ecospecifier are certified and can be sourced via the site’s Product Search Engine.

In our next article, we shall be taking a closer look at the range of endocrine disruptors that can appear in products and their health impacts.

Explore more about the product ranges that have been certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using the Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global

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The Dangers in Everyday Items That You Might Not Know About

Have you ever contemplated the potential dangers in your house from items you buy or use? Or more specifically have you considered the possible dangers posed to you or your family by commonly used items such as your favourite leather lounge or a nice soft natural fibre blanket? Are you aware that common everyday furniture items such as day beds, lounges, office chairs or even your favourite jeans may contain toxic dye chemicals that can cause cancer?

Everyday products can be associated with a range of issues and associated health impacts, many of which the general public are largely unaware of. These include formaldehydes, volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, endocrine disruptors and a wide range of toxins.  Azo dyes are an example of a chemical that may be present in everyday items, yet has toxic properties.

Azo dyes are commonly used within the textiles industry and can be found within textiles used in furniture and clothing. Certain types of azo dyes contain chemicals known as aromatic amines that are hazardous to human health many of these have been banned, but others have not and recently the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was notified that some of the banned azo dyes were being imported in finished goods.  Out of the 300 listed azo dyes, 20 of these dyes, that are not banned, contain a chemical called benzidine, which is a probable carcinogen and is potentially lethal to humans. If released into the environment benzidine may have significant long term effects on aquatic ecosystems and has been classified as very toxic to aquatic organisms.

The European Union has strict laws and regulations in terms of restricting the use of azo dyes in the textiles and leather industry. These laws prevent products containing azo dyes that release aromatic amines from being imported due to the high risk of cancer when in contact with human skin. The azo dyes that do not release one of the 22 aromatic amines are allowed to be used within products manufactured or imported. Currently the ACCC lacks strict regulations in regards to items imported into Australia, including items such as lounges, day beds, blankets & sheets and chairs.

These types of items hold potential for long term harm to consumers as azo dyes can penetrate through skin contact such as when you sit, or lie on, or in such products. In order to avoid the potential long term health hazards from prolonged contact associated with these dyes it is important to purchase products that have been certified healthy and have been subjected to thorough independent toxicity assessment.

All products certified by Global GreenTagCertTM and many other certified products listed on the Ecospecifier database do not contain carcinogenic azo dyes and can be considered  safe alternatives to other products currently on the market.

For example, Pelle Leathers is a Global GreenTagCertTMcertified company that supplies azo dye-free leather and Woven Image supplies Global GreenTagCertTM certified upholstery textiles suitable for both commercial and residential use. Choosing similar certified products from a reputable and recognised database, such as Ecospecifier, ensures that any health risks to you or your family are minimised.

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Explore more about the product ranges that have been certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using the Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global: www.ecospecifier.com.au

Join us in more conversations about green products and sustainability issues on our social media pages:

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Join our Social Media Honour Roll – support the switch to green products

Like, Comment and Share our blogs and posts on your social media pages … and we will send your name out to more than 15,000 subscribers via our monthly Ecospecifier Global Newsletter.

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Drop us a line at the office, we look forward to hearing from you …