Indoor Air Quality: Part 1

PC s ( Paints and Chemicals)! can affect your Pets

Introduction:
Simple things! simply invisible things! most of us (veterinarians included) take the indoor air and environment for granted. The air conditioner, the new varnish coat on furniture, the new coat of paint on walls, the carpet cleaner are often ignored. Yet, it may come as a surprise to know that hidden within the many paraphernalia that go in to the makings of a fully furnished office or house lurk several well studied carcinogens and toxins.

Among the list of allergens, toxins and carcinogens many are embedded in to the walls, floors and furniture of the indoor atmosphere. Paints and other finishes (like stains and varnishes) appear to be stand out as some of the strongest causes of deterioration of indoor air quality.

The reason being that a significant percentage of paints available commercially contain many chemicals that have been recognized as known environmental carcinogens, toxins and irritants to the respiratory system. Many paints also contain lead and mercury, insecticides, fungicides in varying percentages. Besides this paints can also cause the sustained release of VOCs (volatile organic compounds).

Formaldehyde and other Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Formaldehyde and VOC can be found in plywood and particleboard, furniture, drapes and carpets, personal care products, perfumes, hair sprays, cleaning agents, paper products which have been treated with UF resins, including grocery bags, waxed papers, facial tissues, paper towels, paints, dry cleaning fluid, lacquers, varnishes, copying and printing machines.

The burning of wood, kerosene and tobacco products can also release VOCs. The awful part about VOCs is that the release of these compounds can be slow and sustained, lasting for many years. Both in animals and humans, VOCs can cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, gastrointestinal and central nervous system abnormalities, skin problems and at higher concentrations, severe respiratory irritation and wheezing.

Low and no VOC paints
Many paint manufacturers still use mercury or lead in the paints that they make. However, there has been a growing trend among quality conscious manufacturers to make paints without any lead, mercury, formaldehyde, insecticides, fungicides and volatile organic compounds. These paints are water soluble and easy to use. Advise your clients to look for labels on paint cans that clearly state No VOC or Low VOC.

Paints made from milk
You can surprise your clients by telling them about some old fashioned paints made from milk. Yes! A company in Massachusetts still makes paints the old fashioned way, from milk protein. This is an all natural product with absolutely no addition of chemicals and would be ideal both for humans and pets who are susceptible to chemical induced allergic reactions. With a wide variety of colours to choose from, the paints should surely be a delight for the health conscious consumer.

Orange peel oil paint
From milk to orange peels! The innovations cause one to marvel about the emerging new trends. Setting a new style in wall painting, organic wall colours with flavour may soon be the rage. A natural oil based paint using orange oil extracted from orange peels is one that adds fragrance to a perfect visual finish. The paints are available in a variety of colours and forms varying from undercoat or primer to wall paints for interior and exterior use.

Recycled Paint
There are some enterprising companies that recycle paint, i.e. they make paint which contains as much as 90 % reclaimed paint. This paint is taken from a waste fill site, from where it is collected, filtered and then mixed with fresh new paint, repackaged and then resold. However, when buying recycled paint, one must make sure to check that the formulation does not include formaldehyde, mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, or oxides of these metals. Advise your clients to select a low-VOC paint as well. (VOC levels should not exceed 380 grams per liter). The paint should not contain any halogenated solvents, either.

Paint Removers
The chemicals used in this group fall under the category of compounds that contain high levels of persistent organochlorine chemicals (POPs) and volatile organic chemicals.

Show your clients how to make a paint peeler at home
There's a simple, wise and old fashioned formula that can come in handy in such situations. Plain washing soda when used on walls can give a similar effect and action as a paint stripping chemical. This is because it is a very good solvent. What needs to be done is to make a very thick paste of washing soda and water while taking care to use gloves to make the paste.

The paste should then be applied on the walls and left overnight. It helps to add water periodically to the walls so that they remain moist and allow the soda to act on the chemicals. Water may be periodically sprayed on the walls using a water spraying can. The walls should be left in this condition overnight. The next day, the old paint may just peel off. Advise your clients to try this out. Once all the paint has been removed the walls need to be rinsed with a vinegar and water wash to neutralize the alkalinity of washing soda.

Asbestos
Asbestos was very popular until a few decades ago, when buildings, floors and insulating materials had an abundance of this material. In earlier times it was used as a fire retardant, as an insulator for hot water pipes and boilers, as sealing between sections of heating duct pipes, and even as ceiling plaster and floor tile compounds. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and in the present times, its use in households is much reduced.

However buildings that are more than 20 years old are likely to have asbestos in the insulation around furnaces ducts or pipes, floor tiles, ceiling etc.However, the removal of old asbestos fibres from a building is much more hazardous than leaving it undisturbed since the asbestos fibers can disseminate in to the air and exert their dangerous carcinogenic to a far greater extent. Therefore advise your clients that if they are living in a building or home that is more than 20 years old to shift or if not if then cover up the fraying insulation. The best results for this can be obtained if a sealing compound is used that can soak into the fibres and bind them together.

continue...