BCGR - Green Paints
By: Chris Whited, KRBC News
Updated: March 31, 2009
When it comes to improving the environment you might want to start in your own home. Picking the right paint could be step number-one. Ever see the letters -VOC- on a gallon of paint? They stand for volatile organic compounds. Exposure to VOC's can trigger asthma attacks, eye irritation and nausea. Prolonged exposure has been linked to liver and kidney disease as well as cancer. Because of the health risks more and more paint is being made without them."It's step one towards changing to a green lifestyle," according to Willian Rietz with Home Depot. The first thing you'll notice about "no VOC" paint is the lack of smell. It doesn't smell like paint at all. "VOC stands for volatile organic compound. It's off gassing man made products that will release as the paint is drying."
The colors in "No VOC" paints are made from natural elements. Things like plant dyes, minerals and even bee's wax. The end result is cleaner air. Rietz told us "if you have someone in the house with allergies you don't have that in the air, allows your furnace to work better because it's not collecting all these particles. Plus, overall it's good for the environment. " Right now the cost of "No VOC" paint is still relatively high. It'll likely drop as more people begin to use it. Plus, some shoppers say it's hard to put a price on clean air.
Customer Gene Wilson told our crew that "I have a couple kids and that would concern me. especially what you hear about lead paint and what you hear about going green. It's better for the environment. I'd have to look into it but yeah, it'd consider it."
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