Healthy

Indoor Painting

Practices

A SAFETY GUIDE FOR

Residents

Property Managers

Painters

What Are the Special Issues for

Apartment Dwellers?

Vapors from paints are a special issue in

apartment buildings because the vapor moves as

“shared air” between units. Painters should be

aware that harmful gases can move through common walls through gaps around pipes and electrical outlets. Apartment managers should consider

giving advance notice to neighbors that a unit is to

be painted. They should consider inspecting

United States Office of Pollution EPA 744-F-00-011

Environmental Prevention and May 2000

Protection Agency Toxics (7406)

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painted units to ensure that ventilation is maintained during painting and, as a rule of thumb, for

at least 2 to 3 days afterwards, and they should

consider loaning box fans to residents who are

painting their apartments.

Problems may be reduced if all apartments being

painted, as well as neighboring apartments, are

vented to the outdoors with box fans.

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Healthy Painting Guidelines

Try to schedule painting for dry periods in the fall

or spring, when windows are more easily left open for

ventilation.

Keep windows wide-open, as

weather permits, for about 2 to 3

days after painting to avoid

unwanted exposure to paint vapors

(and to return to acceptable indoor

air quality).

Use window-mounted box fans

to exhaust vapors from the work

area. Make sure they cannot fall out of the window. If

fans cannot be used, make sure that rooms being

painted have adequate cross-ventilation.

Provide advance notice to neighbors in adjacent

units that painting is to begin.

Take frequent fresh air breaks while painting. Avoid

freshly painted rooms for 2 to 3 days, whenever possible. Keep young children and individuals with breathing problems from freshly painted rooms. Leave

painted areas if you experience eye watering,

headaches, dizziness, or breathing problems.

How Can I Get More Information?

Contact the National Lead Information Center’s

Hotline at 1-800-424-LEAD or thier website www.epa/

gov/lead, prior to painting homes or apartments that

were built before 1978.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s

Indoor Air Quality Information Clearinghouse;

1 (800) 438-4318 or on-line at

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/iaqxline.html

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Washington, D.C. 20207

English/Spanish: 1 (800) 638-2772

Hearing/speech impaired: 1 (800) 638-8270

Consumers can get recall and other safety information on-line at www.cpsc.gov or report product hazards

to info@cpsc.gov.

Illustrations by Tony Fitch
How Do I Select Paint?

First, make sure you select paints that are for indoor use.

Do not use exterior paints indoors. There are two categories of interior paints, water-based and oil-based.

Water-based paints are referred to as “latex” paints. The

oil-based paints are referred to as “alkyd” paints. In general, water-based paints will emit fewer chemicals and

lower levels of chemical vapors. Short-term exposure to

solvents from alkyd paints can be significantly higher

than from latex paints. When selecting paint or contracting for painting services, read the label for information

about the potential health effects of the paints or ask the

contractor or paint supplier.

Are There Specific Safety

Precautions?

Paints contain different chemicals and the potential hazards are different for various products. Each product has

specific safety precautions given on the label. However,

there are some basic safety steps to keep in mind when

using any paint.

Always read and follow all the instructions and

safety precautions on the label. Do not assume

you already know how to use the product. The hazards

may be different from one product to another. Some

ingredients in individual products may also change over

time. The label

tells you what

actions you should

take to reduce

hazards and the

first aid measures

to use if there is a

problem.

There must be

plenty of fresh

air where you

paint. Open all

doors and

windows to the

outside (not to hallways). Curtains and blinds should be

pushed back so that there is nothing blocking the airflow,

to ensure cross-ventilation. Place a box fan securely in

the window blowing out to ensure air movement. Do

not point the fan directly at someone else’s space.

Secure the fan within the window frame so that it cannot fall out of the window or be tipped over by children. If it rains or snows, turn the fan off and remove it

from the window to avoid an electrical shock hazard.

An air conditioning unit should not be substituted for

the use of a fan. In addition, bathroom/kitchen exhaust

fans do not always vent out-of-doors and should not be

relied upon to increase ventilation.

Continue to provide fresh air after painting.

Part of the risk with indoor painting arises from the

idea that dry paints are safe. While some paints may

have only a small quantity of volatile materials that

evaporate quickly, other paints may have a significant

amount of organic solvents or drying oils that take several days to go away. Given this fact, a general “rule

of thumb” for avoiding unwanted exposure to paint

vapors (and to return the air to acceptable quality),

ventilation should be continued for 2 or 3 days.

Follow paint can directions for the safe

cleaning of brushes and other equipment.

Latex paint usually cleans up with soap and water. For

alkyd paints, you will need to purchase specific products as listed on the label. Never use gasoline to

clean paint brushes. Gasoline is extremely flammable. Read the label to find out if the paint cleaner is

flammable. All flammable products should be used

away from ignition sources such as water heaters, furnaces, electric motors, fans, etc.

Buy only what you need, and store or throw

away the unused amount. Since paints are used

only occasionally, buy only as much as you will use

right away. If you have leftover paint, be sure to close

the container tightly. Vapors can leak from improperly

sealed containers. Follow the directions on the can on

how to dispose of the product. Latex paint and its containers can often be thrown out with regular household

trash. In some communities, there are special recycling

programs for paints. To find out about these, you

should contact your local government.

People’s susceptibility to paint chemicals

varies widely. Additionally, the types and

amounts of chemical emitted from paint vary

widely, especially between oil-based and latex

paints. Therefore, residents, property managers,

and painters are strongly urged to follow several

simple steps to reduce possible adverse reactions.

These steps include reading the label to select

products that do not emit harmful vapors, and providing ventilation. Usually it is necessary to keep

windows wide-open and to use exhaust fans. Fans

should be used while painting, and, for some

paints, for 2 to 3 days afterwards. These simple

steps can help reduce potential problems for residents, neighbors and painters.

What Are the Health Concerns?

Most paints contain chemicals that evaporate in

the air. The ability of these chemicals to cause

health effects varies greatly. As with any chemical,

the likelihood of a reaction and the extent and type

of health effect will depend on many factors.

These factors include the amount of chemical in

the indoor air, the length of time a person is

exposed to the chemical, and a person’s age, preexisting medical conditions, and individual susceptibility. Eye and throat or lung irritation,

headaches, dizziness, and vision problems are

among the immediate symptoms that some people

have experienced soon after exposure to some

chemicals. In professional painters who are

exposed to high levels of paint vapors for long

periods of time, some chemicals in paints have

damaged the nervous system, liver and kidneys.

Some chemicals cause cancer or reproductive and

developmental effects in laboratory animals.

Because of these concerns, susceptible people,

such as young children and individuals with

breathing problems, should avoid paint vapors. To

avoid any health risks for themselves and their

unborn babies, pregnant women should avoid

undertaking painting projects and should limit

their time in freshly painted rooms, especially

when oil-based paints are being used.