Not really. There are still other chemicals in paint that can negatively affect the environment and human health. Some of these chemicals are known as volatile organic compounds or VOCs. In Learning activity 1.1, you learned that VOCs play a role in creating ground-level ozone, one of the components of smog.

Paints can either be oil based or latex based. Latex paints contain fewer VOCs than oil-based paints or the solvents used to clean up oil paint, that is, organic (carbon based) solvents like varsol or turpentine. Latex paints, on the other hand, clean up with water. Also latex paints dry faster than oil-based paints.

But there are other concerns with VOCs. Some are toxic to nerve cells, others are carcinogens. Inhaling VOCs in paint fumes can cause dizziness, headaches, and nausea. VOCs can also irritate sensitive mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, and throat. They have also been linked to more serious illnesses such as liver and lung cancer. VOCs can cause allergic reactions. Examples of VOCs found in paint include the solvents vinyl chloride, chlorobenzene, formaldehyde, and toluene.

When paint is drying indoors, measured levels of VOCs are approximately 1000 times greater than levels outdoors. The odours are most noticeable as the paint is drying, but the VOCs continue to enter the air weeks after people are able to smell them. Children, seniors, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic conditions are most susceptible to the vapours of VOCs. As the negative effects of VOCs have become known, people have been looking for other products to use at home and at work, and in public places like schools and hospitals.

The major paint companies are now developing and marketing alternative, “green” paint to meet consumer demands for more environmentally friendly products. Concerned about traditional paints, people are slowly switching to these newer kinds of paint. Low-VOC paint, zero-VOC paint and natural paints are now available. These paints give off little or no odour. At the same time, oil-based paints are gradually being phased out.

Paint is composed of two main parts, the solvent that enables you to apply the paint with a brush, roller, or sprayer, and the pigments, that give the paint its colour. The solvent evaporates into the air and the pigment is left on the painted surface. In order to make a paint that is low VOC or zero VOC, both solvent and pigment must be low or zero VOC. The solvent portion contains most of the VOCs in traditional paint. The darker the colour of the pigment, the more VOCs the paint contains. Paints that are specifically designed for the kitchen and bathroom (and other potentially damp areas) contain mould inhibitors to prevent the growth of mould and mildew. These chemicals are also VOCs. Low-VOC paint can be processed with up to 200 g of VOCs per litre of paint. Even zero-VOC paint still contains some VOCs. Levels vary depending on the colour of the paint.

A safer choice is natural paints. Natural paints use only natural ingredients such as water, linseed and other plant oils, plant dyes, chalk, clay, talcum, milk casein, and beeswax. They contain no petroleum-based products. People are rarely, if ever, allergic to natural paints and they are usually odourless. Some natural oil-based paints may have a citrusy smell.

Low- and zero-VOC paints have been around since the late 1990s. Initially they were not as good as traditional paints, but most recently developed paints have the same covering ability and durability as traditional paints. Their price is comparable to the prices of very high-end traditional paints. So unless you’re used to paying top dollar for paint, you may consider these low- and zero-VOC paints expensive. However, as more people become interested in alternative paints and begin purchasing them on a regular basis, production costs and consumer prices will drop.

Natural paints have a longer drying time and do not cover existing traditional paint very well without a lot of additional preparation. This extra time may cause consumers to stay away from natural paints. Chemicals have been added to some brands of natural paint to make it easier for them to cover surfaces coated with traditional paints. With these additives, though, can these paints still be considered natural? What kind of paint will you choose for your next painting project?

At one time mercury was used in Ontario’s pulp and paper industry to bleach raw wood fibre. Although the process is no longer used in the industry, damage was done to the English and Wabigoon Rivers in northern Ontario, near the communities of Dryden and Kenora.

The Reed Paper Company regularly dumped waste contaminated by mercury chloride into the rivers. Every month, about 10,000 kg was dumped into the water and another 10,000 kg released into the air. Plankton, aquatic micro-organisms, consumed the mercury chloride and converted it into methyl mercury. When fish ate the micro-organisms, methyl mercury entered the food chain.

This went on for over 10 years before people began to notice health issues and started looking around for a cause. Finally in 1970, officials from the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Natural Resources measured the mercury content of fish caught in these rivers. It was discovered to be 15 times higher than in fish caught in other rivers in the region. Mercury was identified as the cause of the health issues among First Nations communities in the area. The Reed Paper Company was forced to change its bleaching process so that waste mercury chloride was no longer produced and dumped.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes Mercury exposure – even small amounts – as a cause for serious health concerns and an especially severe threat to the development of children. It is recognized as one of the top ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern. Mercury can affect the nervous, digestive and immune systems and is known to have toxic effects on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.

The Ojibway people of the Whitedog and Grassy Narrows First Nations suffered greatly. Many had been employed by lodges in the area as hunting and fishing guides. Once the extent of the fish contamination was known, however, tourists stopped visiting the area and many lodges closed, causing massive unemployment. But that was the least of the communities’ worries. Their dietary mainstay had been fish caught in these rivers, and members of the community were starting to show signs of mercury poisoning. In the early 1970s, blood measurements showed mercury in excess of safe levels. It is expected that the rivers and fish living in the rivers will remain contaminated until approximately 2030.

It took more than 20 years for the Whitedog and Grassy Narrows First Nations to receive financial compensation for this health disaster. Some $16.7 million was paid out by the federal and provincial governments, the Reed Paper Company, and Great Lakes Forest Products who had purchased the paper mill from Reed. The compensation money was used for job-retraining programs and to rebuild the communities which had suffered years of neglect. However, the people of Grassy Narrows and Whitedog are still suffering. After almost half a century of poisoning, the federal government has yet to initiate or fund any clean-up efforts. As a result, mercury poisoning rates in these communities have been reported to be as high as 90 to 100 percent. To complicate matters further, neither community has access to adequate health care to meet their needs; and although a long-term care facility was promised to Grassy Narrows in 2017, it has yet to be built in the community.