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COLOUR
AND CANCER
THE
HAZARDS OF HOUSEPAINT
S.
Dreyfus and Adam Spivkovsky
COLOUR
can be deadly these days. Spreading a new hue about your home
or office isn't as simple and safe as it once appeared. Scientific
and other studies on the effects of synthetic paints alarm
and ultimately depress. The good news is that is that there
are alternatives. This article aims to show you some ways
to brighten your walls without making yourself sick.
First
to traditional synthetic paints. In 1988, Dr Otto Wong and
Robert Morgan, two American environmental health consultants,
concluded in a report to the US National Paint and Coating
Association that 'studies based on painters consistently demonstrated
a significantly increased risk of can cancer of all body sites
combined. The painters were found to experience significant
increases in both lung and bladder cancer
These findings were echoed by the World Health Orgnisation's
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which
is considered to be the pre-eminent authority on the carcinogenic
potential of chemicals. IARC classified painting as a high-risk
occupation due to exposure to toxic chemicals.
Long-term
exposure
Most people who paint their own houses aren't going to be
exposed to the same level of toxins as professional painters,
but they will experience ongoing exposure long after the paint
job is done. Synthetic paints continue to give off chemical
fumes for up to five years after their application. The professional
painters pack up their bags and go home at the end of the
job. The home dweller has to actually live in those painted
rooms.
The
Operative Painters and Decorators Union's Occupational Health
officer, Noni Holmes, uses the term 'Painter's Syndrome' to
describe the effects solvents used in oil-based synthetic
paints can have on the human central nervous system. The solvents
in oil-based paints which are used to dissolve oils also happen
to be fat-soluble. That means they can be absorbed through
the skin and lungs. These solvents are known in the industry
as VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds. They evaporate into
the air as paint dries.
According
to Holmes' The Painters' Hazard Handbook, symptoms from exposure
to VOCs can include dizziness, nausea, headaches, fatigue
and blurred vision. The list of medium term illnesses associated
with excessive exposure to some paints is also bleak. Occupational
asthma, emphysema and both minor and irreversible forms of
dermatitis have all been documented, according to the handbook.
In extreme cases, there can be irreversible detrimental effects
on memory and intellectual abilities. Not surprisingly, some
US states have legislated limits on the VOC content of paints.
Some major synthetic paint manufacturers have also recognised
customers' growing concern with the hazards of housepaint.
For example, Dulux now sells Breathe Easy paints; which do
not release solvents into the air during and after painting.
According to Dulux, there is a trend away from traditional
oil-based paints.
But
how safe are water-based paints? No one knows the complete
answer to that question yet. Dr H. Fischer, speaking at an
environmental conference in Birmingham in 1993, noted that
sometimes the substitutes are just as toxic as the original
chemicals. For example, permethrine and dichlorofluanide,
two chemicals substituted for known dangerous chemicals in
paints, turned out to be so toxic themselves that products
containing the substitutes were recalled in at least one major
European country.
Common
contents of synthetic paints read like a chemistry book. Cadmium
is used in many paints and lacquers. It also happens to be
a potential cause of high blood pressure, bone defects and
kidney dysfunction, among other things. Many synthetic paints
harbour mercury, widely regarded as one of the most toxic
elements on earth. The word formaldehyde may ring a bell if
you have ever dissected preserved frogs in a high school laboratory.
Recall the powerful stench from the fluid in the jar housing
the inert amphibian? Synthetic paints often contain formaldehyde
as well. Phenols, chlorine and sulphur also get a look in.
The Occupational Health and Safety Workers Conference, held
in Brisbane in 1990, declared formaldehyde to be a known carcinogen.
According
to Bio, one of the largest rnanufacturers of non-synthetic
paints, at least 20 agents commonly found in Australian paint
or coating formulations have been found to be potentially
damaging to the unborn foetus. There may well be more, for
which proper, long-term evaluations have not been completed.
A geneticist and chief researcher of the Pregnancy and Lifestyle
Study (PALS), Dr Judy Ford, recruited 585 couples who were
planning families and followed them up after the baby was
born or miscarriage occurred. They found that the partners
of men exposed to oil-based paints were over three times more
likely to miscarry, compared to a control group. These results
were found amongst men exposed to solvents for at least future
hours a week during the previous six months.
A
spokesman from the Manufacturers Federation stated that the
contents of synthetic paints are safe if used properly. Michael
Hambrook, from the Federation, pointed out that all ingredients
in paints were examined by the Australian Health Ministers
Advisory Council. Its standards, he said, were amongst the
most rigorous in .the world.
'Natural' versus synthetic paints - some difference
Hambrook was also quick to explain that all paints, even the
plant-based 'natural' alternatives, contain chemicals of some
sort. A valid point. But the question remains: which chemicals?
While
Soft TechnoLogy found no comprehensive studies on the toxicity
of 'natural' paints versus synthetic paints, there were some
good indicators. For example, many of the ingredients in plant-based
paints are either foods or authorised to be used as food additives,
such as linseed oil, soya bean lecithin and casein (made from
cow's milk). This doesn't mean you should drink plant-based
paints. But it does seem more desirable to breathe the aromas
of orange oil instead of the fumes of formaldehyde.
Most
wall paints use synthetic pigments derived from petrochemicals
and heavy metals, such as chromates. Plant-based paints contents
vary but, as one example, the Bio brand uses iron oxides and
raw sienna for colouring. Synthetic paints can use polycarbonate
resins, derived from acrylamide and acrylonitrile, as binders.
US and European tests have shown that acrylamide and acrylonitrile
are carcinogenic substances, and that they take a long time
to degrade. By contrast, plant-based paints use natural oils,
such as orange, linseed, castor and tung oils, and tree resins,
all of which the manufacturers say are safe for humans and
the environment.
While
we are not a bunch of chemical engineers here at Soft Technology,
we thought it would be interesting to see exactly how much
information on the contents of paint could be obtained from
various manufacturers. Bio and a major synthetic paint manufacturer
both offered to provide a partial list of contents. Bio eventually
also agreed to provide a complete list of contents. The synthetic
paint manufacturer refused.
The cost of letting wood breathe
One of the advantages of plant based paints is that it lets
a surface breathe while also being waterproof. Bio asserts
that this quality means a house can automatically regulate
its moisture content. The problem with non-breathing wood
can be summarised in one word: mould. The solution provided
by synthetic paint manufacturers is fungicides. That is one
reason chemicals such as formaldehyde are included in their
paints. Besides being toxic, fungicides become less effective
over time.
Plant-based
paints soak into the wood. The manufacturers state that the
molecular structure of the plant's oils used in their paints
are fine enough to penetrate into a surface. The tree resins
upon which the products are based remain elastic. If applied
correctly, the plant-based paints should therefore not lift
or peel like many synthetic paints. The manufacturers of plant-based
paints say that because of the chemical structure of their
paints, you don't need to strip or sand back the original
coat when a new coat is needed. If the surface is reasonably
clean, just wash it down with water and slap on a new coat.
It
does cost money up front to let your surfaces breathe. Although
you generally need far less plant-based paint than synthetic
paint for the same surface, the price is still higher. In
general, plant-based paints and varnishes are 20 to 80 per
cent more expensive than their synthetic cousins, even after
taking into account their higher coverage. However, the costs
begin to equal out and even become more attractive for plant-based
paints when sanding and stripping costs are factored in. For
example, The Cleanhouse Effect, a Sydney supplier of plant-based
paints, estimates that it is 20 per cent more expensive to
coat a floor with plant-based varnish compared to using a
synthetic alternative. But they are quick to point out that
it is about 80 per cent cheaper overall to use the plant-based
product since no further sanding will be needed. Financial
costs aside, most people would like to avoid the hassle and
mess factor in having to sand and strip a surface again.
Don't
Scrub!
Do
not plan on attacking your wall covered in plant-based paint
with a tough scrubbing brush. These paints are simply not
as scrubbable as synthetic paints. For what it's worth, Bio's
handouts state that their paints are washable to German DIN
standards, which probably means they are entirely adequate
for the average home dweller.
You
can't zoom through your paint job if you choose a plant-based
paint. They generally take longer to dry - up to twice as
long as synthetic paints. The reason is that the plant-based
paints dry by taking in oxygen from the air; while synthetic
paints rely on the evaporation of the dreaded VOCs.
The
plant based paint manufacturers say they are not monopolising
pricing. They state their raw materials are expensive, since
they must be grown and harvested, not simply processed through
a petrol-chemical plant. Economies of scale are another problem.
They believe that if more people used 'natural' paints, the
average price of each litre would come down. There are only
three major manufacturers of these paints and varnishes on
the Australian market, all of who are based in Germany: Bio,
Livos and Auro. Bio spokesman, Dieter Groening, said that
if the demand for the plant-based paints was equalled to the
demand for synthetic paints, prices would drop to about the
current level of premium synthetic paints.
The
use of plant-based paints is poor in Australia, but it is
rising. These paints account for less than one per cent of
total paint sales. By contrast, non-toxic paint sales in Germany
comprise eight to ten per cent of the total. But more Australians
are getting the message. Bio estimates that sales are increasing
by 25 per cent per year. Robbie Spagnolo of Real Smart Floor
Finishes, a flooring finishing service company using natural
varnishes, saw his business grow 80 per cent last year.
Though
the initial price for natural paints is high, there are subtle,
financial savings to be found using plant-based paints. Most
people can't or won't live in a freshly painted room because
of the fumes. That goes for offices too. People don't like
what is termed in the industry as 'outgassing', when the painted
surface emits molecules, which can smell bad and make you
feel worse. The more energy-efficient the building, the worse
the problem can be. According to a 1987 German Ministry of
the Environment report, a tightly insulated building full
of walls and ceilings coated in various synthetic finishes
designed to stop them from breathing can have indoor air pollution
levels of up to ten times that of the outside pollution level.
Most
people using plant-based paints don't have any trouble moving
into the freshly painted room immediately. That could save
a few nights in a motel room, or a week of productivity in
an office. In fact, the smell of the plant-based can be a
very alluring, as Dorinda Hancock found when she used plant-based
paints in her house. She had to shut all the doors and windows
to her freshly painted rooms because bees were attracted indoors
to the paint's orange-blossom scent.
Dorinda
became interested in plant-based paints when pregnant because
of the perceived risk to her baby. She was surprised, however,
to find that some professional painters don't like working
with the plant-based paints, particularly on woodwork. She
determined that the lack of fillers and smoothers means more
care is needed in the application of the paint. This takes
a little extra time, something professional painters may not
want to spend unless they are paid more. On the flip side,
if a surface is clean and light coloured, it may only need
one coat of natural paint as opposed to two synthetic ones
Either way, plant-based paints may be money well spent.
What's
in paint anyway?
Plant
chemistry based paints are not new. Traditionally, all paints
were derived from plant oils, minerals, plant pigments and
other natural minerals. Synthetic paints are actually a relatively
recent development, arising as a by-product of the petrol
refining process.
'Natural'
paints still contain chemicals, but the manufactures state
these chemicals are far safer than synthetic alternatives
if used properly. Synthetic paints are manufactured from over
2000 ingredients, according to BIO. A natural paint, such
as Auro emulsion wall paint, is made from a selection of approximately
150 raw ingredients of plant and mineral origin. At least
that narrows the field somewhat.
Due
to space considerations, we can not print the entire list
of contents of all the natural paints. However, the following
is a list of key ingredients in BIO Paints:
quartz,
raw sienna, sunflower oil, seedlac, spinel oxide, soya lecithin,
umber, wood oil, zirconium octoate, zinc phosphate, cellulose,
chalk, alkanna root, castor oil, aluminium silicate, ammonia,
beeswax, burnt sienna, carnation oil.
The
hidden savings of 'natural' paints - health, transport and
manufacturing
The
hidden savings of 'natural' paints - health, transport and
manufacturing
The
cost of paint isn't always apparent from the tag on the tin.
Society spends millions of dollars researching cures for cancer,
asthma, allergies and other health problems related to chemical
pollution. This hidden cost needs to be factored into the
purchase of every product which contributes to this sort of
pollution. Often prevention is cheaper than cure. Certainly
prevention is a lot less painful.
Plant-based
paints produce no hazardous waste products during the manufacturing
process, according to BIO. The company says that the proof
in this is that the clean up job from painting with their
products can safely be tipped into the garden. They argue
that some twenty percent of all hydrocarbon air pollution
comes from the manufacture and use of synthetic petrochemical
paints. Only motor transport is a higher contributor.
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