Are VOC Limits for Paints in Southern California on the Way Down?

LA Testing provides volatile organic compound (VOC) testing services to prevent unnecessary exposure to building occupants.

Garden Grove, CA

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) is the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and the urban regions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The AQMD’s Rule 1113 covers architectural coatings that include paints and varnishes.

Rule 1113 was amended last month with some of the strictest VOC regulations in the country. According to the AQMD, “This rule is applicable to any person who supplies, sells, markets, offers for sale, or manufactures any architectural coating in the District that is intended to be field applied to stationary structures or their appurtenances, and to fields and lawns; as well as any person who applies, stores at a worksite, or solicits the application of any architectural coating within the District. The purpose of this rule is to limit the VOC content of architectural coatings used in the District or to allow the averaging of such coatings, as specified, so their actual emissions do not exceed the allowable emissions if all the averaged coatings had complied with the specified limits.”

Also last month, the AQMD filed a lawsuit against one of the nation’s largest home improvement chains for allegedly displaying and selling paints and coatings that exceed the agency’s VOC limits. The reason for the concern is due to the health effects associated with exposure to VOCs by building occupants.

“According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors, up to ten times higher than outdoors,” reported Ben Sublasky, National Director of Client Services for LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, a leading VOC testing laboratory. “Both short term and long term damage can be done by exposure to various VOCs. Air testing can quickly determine if exposure levels are high.”

To learn more about VOC, indoor air quality (IAQ) or other environmental testing services, please visit www.LATesting.com, email info@LATesting.com or call (800) 755-1794.

About LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc.
LA Testing and EMSL Analytical are providers of environmental testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The companies have an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

Contact Information

Ben Sublasky

National Director of Clients Services/Operations Manager

EMSL Analytical, Inc.

Contact via E-mail