What is the relevance of VOC?
VOC refers to “volatile organic compound”; some examples are paint thinner, mineral spirits, alcohol, gasoline, ethylene glycol, acetone and xylol. Most architectural paints contain some VOCs. With oil-based products, the paint thinner is VOC. With shellac, the alcohol is VOC. With water-based, or latex, paints, the water is not a VOC, but some additives are, typically several per cent are VOC. Some latex paints on the market now are very low in VOC content. It is some of the VOCs that give latex paint the odor that it has, so these low-VOC paints are generally characterized is “low odor.” The EPA is limiting the level of VOCs in paints, because when they evaporate into the air when the paint dries, they can contribute to low-level smog generation. Still, the amount of VOCs coming from coatings is extremely small as compared to that coming from auto and electric power emissions, and from pine trees. There is some sacrifice of paint properties when going to no-VOC formulations, but the
