| Title: | Parenting |
| Notice: | READ 1.27 BEFORE WRITING |
| Moderator: | CSC32::DUBOIS |
| Created: | Wed May 30 1990 |
| Last Modified: | Tue May 27 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1364 |
| Total number of notes: | 23848 |
Can anyone give me more information on how Latex paint can be
dangerous to children? I heard a brief news report the other night
and missed all the details.
Thanks,
Linda
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 436.1 | Just a little mercury... | HDLITE::FLEURY | Fri Oct 19 1990 16:23 | 13 | |
Re: .0
The news item concerned older latex type paint that would emit mercury
fumes while drying. Mercury was banned from use in paint a few years
ago, but some paint that was manufactured back then is still around.
The suggestion was to check the date of manufacture as well as the
manufacturer. There is a list available of the brand-names of the
paints involved.
Dan
P.S. IMHO if the directions on the label regarding adequate
ventilation are followed. There should not be a problem.
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| 436.2 | chemical soup | KAOFS::S_BROOK | Originality = Undetected Plagiarism | Fri Oct 19 1990 18:45 | 27 |
Regretably, mercury was NOT fully banned from paints, and some do have a sufficiently high level to cause problems. There are good and bad brands ... check with the manufacturer and chhose only mercury free paints. There are other problems with latex paints too, as there are other chemicals in the paint which can cause problems. There are extenders to help the paint flow, gels to give it body, thixotropic agents to give it body and make it flow when brushed or rolled (and help reduce dripping), curing agents to harden the latex after the water dries, some preservatives (used to be mercury) and finally the pigments (what a chemical cesspool eh !?) Anyway, some of these do cause problems for some people, just like new latex backed carpets. FOrtunately most of the chemicals are given off as gas and dissiapte fairly quickly after drying. So, the best approach is to use good ventilation while painting and until dry ... avoid using the painted room until the smell has disappeared. Just like oil base paints ... Fortunately, fewer people are affected by the latex soup than the oil based solvents. For people with 20th century disease (allergic to everything), they must avoid latex paints like the plague. The bottom line is really, if you notice symptoms after painting, avoid contact ... and try another brand of paint next time. Stuart | |||||
| 436.3 | off-gassing from latex paint | CURIE::DERAMO | Mon Oct 22 1990 16:43 | 8 | |
The report I heard on NPR said that the chemicals in latex paints "off
gas" for much longer periods of time (I think it was a year or more) than
alkyd-based paints. The alkyd-based paints have a relatively short curing
period during which the volatile solvents evaporate.
I don't recall what the report said about the danger of the off-gassing
latex paints.
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| 436.4 | Its mercury | EXPRES::GILMAN | Mon Oct 22 1990 16:51 | 6 | |
The danger is from mercury vapor. The report I said 1/3 of the Latex
paints had excess levels of mercury. It also said the OUTDOOR latex
paints had much higher (but approved) levels of mercury. The point is
don't use outdoor latex paints indoors! Also watch out for paint which
had been in stock for a long time and may have higher levels of EPA
ok'ed (at the time) mercury. Jeff
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