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Environmentally Friendly Paints
Introduction
Making environmentally friendly paints is easy: the hard part is making environmentally friendly paints that have worthwhile decorative and protective properties. The ingredients of traditional whitewash, limewash and distemper type products included water, slaked lime, milk and tallow; none of which has a significant environmental impact. Unfortunately these products have comparatively poor exterior durability and only give a low-gloss finish.
A number of paint raw materials that were used in the past, notably lead pigments and mercury-based biocides are technically very good but no longer environmentally acceptable. Organic solvents are another example of a paint raw material where the industry is seeking to reduce its use wherever possible.
The good news is that the coatings industry has invested heavily in the research needed to produce environmentally friendly high performance coatings and the even better news is that this research has been extremely successful. Examples include non-lead based wood primers that match the performance of the old white/red lead products and blends of mercury-free biocides which can give broad-spectrum anti-microbial activity comparable to that of mercury-based biocides.
One of the most notable achievements has been the development of high performance water based paints. Arguably, car manufacturers set some of the highest standards for paint in terms of appearance and performance and it is to the credit of the paint industry that an increasing number of prestige car makers now use water based coatings.
The work of the Paint Research Association reflects the very high priority that the coatings industry attaches to all matters concerned with health, safety and the environment. This page summarises the research, information and technical services offered by the Association and also provides a number of links to external sources of information.
Environmental Research at PRA
Research projects completed in the last 25 years include the use of recycled plastic as a paint raw material, the microbial susceptibility of modern water borne coatings, air pollution levels in spray booths, replacements for lead and cobalt driers and VOC emissions from interior house paints.
Current and recently completed projects involve the development of high performance water borne finishes, a study of the environmental soiling of paints, the biomimetic route to environmentally friendly coatings and the development of microbial resistant paints.
After many years of research to reduce the environmental impact of paints from negative to neutral, the latest PRA project seeks to move into positive territory. This new project involves the testing and evaluation of hygienic coatings. The high level of interest in such coatings is a consequence of increasing concern relating to matters such as food hygiene and hospital infection. The coatings need to be easily cleanable, resistant to frequent cleaning and sterilisation and, in their advanced form, have effective long term biocidal activity. Those interested in the subject in general should visit our Hygienic Coatings Special Interest Group website
For further details of any of our research activities, please contact Richard Holman, (Head of Research).
PRA Environmental Information Services
We produce publications and organise conferences and training courses concerned with coatings and the environment.
Publications
PRA's publication SHE Alert covers environmental matters:-
SHE Alert (Safety, Health and Environment)
SHE Alert (Safety, Health and Environment) is a monthly publication providing an alerting service on safety, health and environmental issues that are relevant to the coatings industry. It is available in printed format and as a .pdf file. You can also access it on-line in the form of a fully searchable database.
Conferences
Conference Proceedings are often a rapid and cost effective way of getting up to speed with an unfamiliar subject. In November 2001 we held a two-day conference in Brussels titled Coatings, Compliance, Community and Care. A total of 34 papers were presented dealing with a wide range of environmental matters. A bound version of the Proceedings is available which contains copies of the papers presented. Proceedings are also available for the Hygienic Coatings Conferences which were held in Brussels in July 2002 and in Florida in January 2004. Our Conference Administrator, Janet Saraty, will be pleased give you details of the cost and content and they can be ordered on-line.
Training Courses
We can provide training courses dealing with all aspects of paint and the environment. In general these courses are tailored to the requirements of individuals or groups and can be held either at our premises at Hampton, on the outskirts of London, or at the venue of your choice.
If you are interested in courses which are primarily lecture based, you should contact our Training Manager Elisabeth Brown. If however you would like practical training in Occupational Exposure or Stack Emission Monitoring please contact Tim Sullivan. You can visit our Environment Services pages to get an idea of the techniques that we use.
PRA Environmental Technical Services
We offer Ecolabel assessment, paint performance testing, site monitoring services and product safety testing
The European Ecolabelling Scheme
The European Union Ecolabel is a flower symbol which can be used on goods and services which have a lower environmental impact than similar products performing the same function. The EU Ecolabelling Scheme was established in 1992 under Council Regulation No.880/92 to establish a recognisable environmental label across all EU countries.
To date, about 20 product groups have been included in the scheme one of which is indoor paints and varnishes. The overall scheme is the responsibility of the EU Environment Directorate-General who provides information about the Scheme in general and paints and varnishes in particular. Each Member State is required to designate a Competent Body which, in the case of the UK, is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). A section of the DEFRA website is devoted to the European Ecolabelling Scheme. DEFRA is in turn responsible for approving organisations to carry out test work in support of the scheme and PRA is one of the organisations approved for testing paints and varnishes.
We can carry out the test work needed in order to obtain the Ecolabel and we can also review your documentation and verify it on behalf of DEFRA. If necessary we can actually produce all the documentation for you.
To date we have a 100% success rate in obtaining the Ecolabel on behalf of our clients and surprisingly not all these clients were UK based. Our policy is that if our involvement is acceptable to the appropriate Competent Body we are pleased to work for clients in any country.
If you would like further information, please contact Peter Collins (Technical Director).
Paint Performance Testing
If you wish us to test environmentally friendly architectural coatings, please visit our Paint Performance Testing page. Here you will find suites of tests for the different classes of coatings used on buildings. Cost and time scale information is included.
The scheme allows you a number of options. We can compare environmentally friendly coatings obtained from different manufactures or we can compare environmentally friendly coatings with their conventional equivalents. You can also choose if you would like us to give our opinion on the performance of the coatings tested.
If you would like further information, please contact Peter Collins (Technical Director).
On-site Pollution Monitoring
We offer Stack Emission and Occupational Exposure Monitoring services. The links will take you to pages where you can obtain full details. We can also carry out analysis of contaminated land and water and advise on appropriate remedial measures. If you would like further information, please contact Tim Sullivan.
Product Safety Testing
We are called upon to test paint raw materials as well as coatings before and after application. The determinations that we carry out include:-
- Combustibility
- Flash Point
- Residual monomer content
- Toxic element content
- VOC content
If you would like further information, please contact Peter Collins (Technical Director).
External Links
Any search of the internet using terms Paint and Environment will reveal thousands of sites. In this section we have listed some of those that we have found especially useful. Any suggestion regarding sites that should be included will be welcome. Please email the appropriate link to Peter Collins (Technical Director).
British Coatings Federation (BCF)
The BCF is the Trade Association of the UK paint and ink industry and has as its main objectives the promotion and protection of the legitimate interests of all its members and the prosperity of the industry. It provides a forum for the UK coatings industry to discuss issues and formulate ideas and it also lobbies the UK government and international authorities with the aim of influencing the course of legislation.
BCF and PRA are entirely separate but complementary organisations that work closely together. The main difference between them is that PRA is an international organisation whereas BCF represents the UK based industry. Another difference is that PRA, unlike BCF has research and technical laboratory facilities.
The importance that BCF attaches to environment matters is evidenced by the prominence given to this subject on the website and the BCF Coatings Care Programme pages detail its work in this area.
The FAQ section provides a wealth of useful information on matters such as dealing with old lead paint, VOCs, selecting environmentally friendly coatings and safe paint disposal.
The BCF also offer modular, on-line training programmes. These distance learning modules complement nicely the lecture/laboratory courses available at PRA. BCF offer SafetyNet, a CD ROM based programme which provides an excellent grounding in health and safety matters for newcomers to the industry as well as more senior staff who would benefit from a refresher.
Although it is not specifically an environmental database, no mention of the BCF site would be complete without reference to their Product Selector. Clicking, for example, on links like animal cage or toy paints gives you full contact details of UK manufacturers. It is an astoundingly useful information source and worth a visit if only to acquaint yourself with the wide range of paints that are now available.
Community Re>Paint
The average UK householder has 17 containers of waste paint stored in sheds and garages and this national stockpile is of the order of 100 million litres. An initiative going back several years and involving, among others, ICI and B & Q resulted in the formation of Community Re>Paint. This is an extremely innovative and practical waste minimisation scheme which involves collecting the waste paint, sorting and storing it and then redistributing it free of charge to local charities, community groups and others in need.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
Although this is a complex website it has a good search facility and keywords such as paint, lead, VOC or solvent will often reveal publications of interest. The site contains a number of advisory documents relating to environmental matters, one example being the Green Claims Code which draws attention to the International Standard on Environmental Claims ISO 14021.
The Green Consumer Guide
This site provides useful information on environmental matters in general. If, for example, you select the link Home Improvement, you will find information about paints and paint strippers. It is in the interest of the coatings industry to be aware of this site since it provides an useful insight into how paints and similar products are viewed by their more environmentally conscious customers.