Non-toxic paints March 26, 2007

It’s springtime and for some, this means painting the inside or outside of the home. If that’s the case, choose non-toxic paints for your task, and bypass the ‘fresh’ paint smell, which is really the smell of toxic chemicals in the paint evaporating and polluting the air and your lungs.

Chemicals found in conventional paints (such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), acetone ammonia, benzene and formaldehyde) ‘off-gas’ or evaporate at room temperature. These chemicals are potential carcinogens and can lead to short and long-term respiratory problems, not to mention that the waste from toxic paint can get into water systems and damage aquatic ecosystems.  So what are your options if you want to stay healthy and not pollute the air or waterways?

1. Natural paints: made from natural raw ingredients such as clays, milk and minerals
2. Zero VOC paint: contains 5 grams per litre of VOCs or less, though this may not include colorants, fungicides, biocides or other additives
3. Low VOC paint: 200g/L or less of VOCs, though most are at about the 50g/L mark; again, this may not include colorants, fungicides, biocides or other additives

Tips:

• Zero and low-VOC paints are better than conventional paints, but you should still ventilate and even wear a respirator (either one fitted with organic-vapor cartridges for brush or roller application, or one suitable for spray painting) if you are sensitive to chemicals.
• Natural paints are the preferred alternative, since the fungicides and biocides in low or no-VOC paints can contaminate the air for up to five years after use.
• Always ventilate after painting, to increase airflow and decrease indoor air pollution.
• If your house was built before 1960, and even as late as 1978, your paint may contain lead, so have it professionally tested; if it does, it may be best to leave it, as removal will release particles containing lead into the air, facilitating inhalation.
• Some great brands of natural paints are BioShield, American Clay, and AFM. Speaking from personal experience with BioShield, the colors are great, and it didn’t give off that toxic smell even when I practically stuck my nose in the paint bucket.
• Look for paints that are certified by Green Seal. This non-profit certifies interior flat paints that contain a maximum of 50 grams of VOCs per liter of paint and interior non-flat paints that contain a maximum 150 grams of VOCs per liter of paint. There are also state-specific and other local voluntary certification schemes, but this is the most widely used at the moment.
  

For more non-toxic paints, check out the EarthEasy site and the Green Building Pages.

Sustainable floors…from cow manure? March 19, 2007

There are many options out there for alternative, sustainable flooring, but this is the first I’ve heard of cow manure as flooring! Researchers at Michigan State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture say that ‘fiber from processed and sterilized cow manure could take the place of sawdust in fiberboard, which is used to make everything from furniture to flooring to store shelves’.

Apparently, in the initial tests, fiberboard made with the manure matched or beat the quality of wood-based products. It’s a modern version of an old construction practice, where manure was used for walls, floors and as roof binder, so it’s nice to think it might come back again, in ‘cleaner’ form.  I’d be willing to give it a try, if it doesn’t smell, and even better if they got rid of the chemical resins as binding agents!

What is the body burden? March 16, 2007

You might have heard this term before and wondered what it means. ‘Body burden’ refers to chemicals that we have collected in our body from various sources throughout our life up to the present moment. Some of these may have been passed on from our mother, and many are from the chemicals in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Pleasant, huh?

According to some studies, we can carry as many as 700 contaminants in our bodies. No wonder there is a rising incidence of cancer, reproductive disorders, and other issues. We bioaccumulate all the gook that’s around us. If you’re curious about your exposure, take this test to see how you fare (keep in mind, however, that this is a big approximation and you would need a lab test to get accurate results).

Of course, the logical question is, how can I stop this, reverse it, and protect myself? Well, the good news is that the body is naturally equipped to deal with many of these toxins and they get taken care of by the liver within 24 hours or so of taking up residence. However, there are some toxins that can linger in your fat cells for years. So, you should also focus on lessening your exposure to chemicals and thereby slowing down the accumulation of new ones in your body.

Any action that you take to make your home healthier and to decrease indoor air pollution will decrease the level of toxins that are stored in your body. Examples, which I’ve discussed before, include:

• Eating organic food
• Getting rid of pesticides and replace with non-toxic alternatives
• Switching to natural household cleaners
• Opening the windows and letting some fresh(er) air in

Check out these other actions you can take as well. Though some people suggest detox diets as an option, evidence is mixed as to whether these are effective, so choose carefully if that is something you are looking into ( i haven’t tried any myself, so I am loathe to recommend any).

No more plastic bags in San Fran? March 8, 2007

There has been some talk recently in San Francisco about banning plastic grocery bags in grocery stores that do more than $2million in business, and to issue a hefty fine on violators. Great start, San Fran! Hope this gets passed and spreads to other parts of the country.

This, of course, is the perfect time to get on my soap box about plastic bags (if you’ve read some of my previous blogs, you might have gotten a taste of that already).The US produces about 10 pounds of plastic bags per year for every person on earth (not just in the US!). Not to mention that plastic bags are one of the items most often found in coastal cleanups and that they kill marine mammals, seabirds and sea turtles that become entangled in them or mistake them for food. So choose a hemp, canvas or jute bag instead, or use a backpack or other method to carry items out of the store. If you do choose to get a plastic bag, make sure you recycle it!

Crystal clear or chemically laced? Household water analysis and treatment advice March 4, 2007

Crystal clear or chemically laced? Why you might want to treat your water at home, and how to do it.

Concern over the safety of municipal water supplies, whether due to chemical wastes, heavy metal deposits or bacterial content, has led many families to install water filtration or treatment devices in their own home. For others, it’s a matter of wanting the water to taste or smell better. Whatever the reason, the range of treatment options for household water is huge. In this piece, I aim to provide a few pointers for choosing an appropriate water treatment option for your needs, if indeed you require one at all, as well as outline some of the more commonly available choices.

Do you need your water treated?

Apart from aesthetic qualities such as taste and smell, which are highly subjective and will vary from person to person, the only way to know whether your water is safe, and in which ways it might not be, is through testing it. This is obviously already done to a certain extent through your public or municipal water board (the cost of which is included in your water bill!), but often due to time and financial restraints only the minimum standards are met. Getting a more thorough analysis of your household water is easy; you can either use a do-it-yourself kit, or bring in specialists. The advantage of the former method is price and convenience, whereas with the experts you may be given more guidance and reassurance as to the results of the analysis. Home testing kits are available on-line, for example from companies such as Hach or others, and usually cost somewhere between $20 and $100, depending on the number of variables tested and the sensitivity of the result. Professional services are also available online, both from water specialists (such as Aquacheck Labs ) as well as general property inspection firms (such as US Inspect). Prices vary widely with the type of service requested.

Water treatment methods

Filtration

Filtration is one of the best known water treatment method, especially as smaller filtration devices are readily available for instalment directly onto sink faucets or onto pitchers for drinking water. However, you may also want to condition your water household-wide, which can be done with a high-capacity filter at your main water source. Most of these systems use a carbon filter, often coupled with other technologies. These have varying levels of sophistication, with some simply filtering out particulates and sediment, and others with the capacity to also remove bacteria, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), other toxic chemicals, heavy metals and/or odours and tastes.

For example, HomeSpring offers an activated carbon filter to remove odours and tastes, while a patented ultrafiltration device takes out bacteria, viruses, particulates and some, but not all, organic macromolecules. This model also is approved by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), and certified by the Water Quality Association as well as a California Department of Health Services accredited laboratory. Another brand to consider is the Everpure line — the H-1200 model will remove VOCs, lead, chlorine, odours, bacteria, molds and algae, is also NSF certified, and available online for $478.46.

Disinfection

Disinfection of household water is most commonly done using chlorine, though other methods are becoming more readily available. Chlorination is effective against bacterial contamination, other parasites and organisms, and will also oxidise some minerals and compounds, such as hydrogen sulphide. It is most commonly injected directly into household water supplies as liquid bleach. However, disadvantages with chlorine include its taste and odour, as well as the health risks associated with bleach, if encountered in too great a concentration. One solution is to carbon filter water after chlorination, to remove excess chlorine. Residual chlorine kits, such as those used for testing pool water, are available starting at $15.

Other methods of disinfection include ozone disinfection, UV disinfection and solar disinfection. All three are considered environmentally friendly options, as they leave no residue to be released into the water system as waste. All three also primarily are used to destroy biological contaminants such as bacteria and parasites; none of the three, however, will remove chemicals, tastes or odours. As such, their primary functionality may be in conjunction with another treatment system, such as filtration. Solar disinfection, in fact, comes with the requirement that it is only active on clear water, so particles must be filtered out beforehand.

These are services offered by a range of companies, at a variety of prices. You can read more about solar disinfection and the two other forms of disinfection, as well as how to disinfect well water.

Water Softeners

In many locations, the mineral content of the water is so high as to cause scale buildup on pipes and appliances, and to interfere with the action of soaps and detergents. One solution is to apply a water softener, which commonly uses a cation exchange to rid the water of charged mineral ions. The cation used is normally sodium, so water softener devices of this type may not be recommended to those on a low sodium diet. Softeners using potassium as an alternative are beginning to become more readily available on the market. The disadvantage of this form of water treatment is that it is very specific, and won’t remove harmful chemicals, sediments, tastes or odours unless they are caused by a positively charged ion. Thus if overall water quality is a concern, this type of treatment is best used in conjunction with another. Culligan provides a line of household water softeners, information can be found online, while purchase is through listed dealers.

Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis is a system whereby the water to be treated is passed across a membrane so thin that only water molecules are small enough to pass through. It differs from filtration in that the motion of the water across the membrane is caused by the osmotic gradient, i.e. the level of concentrates in the water, and not by external pressure. This method removes all particles larger than water molecules, as well as most, but not all, solutes such as organic molecules and heavy metals. The type of membrane used changes its efficacy for specific target contaminants, so be aware of your water’s requirements before you buy this system.

An example of a reverse osmosis system comes from the manufacturer Premier, at between $200 and $400 depending on sophistication and capacity. They usually contain multiple filters as well (i.e. carbon) for more effective water purification. However, be sure to choose a system that is third-party certified by the NSF or WQA to ensure that the filter actually removes the particulates it claims to remove.

As you can see, there are many options out there. The better, and most effective, may differ on the type of water you have. However, using a water filter that is WQA and NSF certified is always an easy first step.