Avoid toxic or harmful substances

The term “hazardous chemicals” refers to various substances or mixtures that may pose harm to human health and to the environment. Some of the substances falling under this category are used in the paint manufacturing process.

The traditional paint ingredients, which are toxic or harmful, are currently addressed by the EU ECHA legislation, GPP and the ecolabel criteria.

The biggest concern regarding these chemicals is related to their emissions and associated impacts during the use of paint products as well as their release in the air, rather than to the paint product production process. Nevertheless, these criteria should be kept in mind, while choosing the raw materials as well. Namely proactive action is necessary to assess their compliance with the restrictions posed by the legislation. By requiring evidence of the use of substances from raw material suppliers it is possible to acquire the necessary confidence for the development of sustainable paint and coating formulations.

How do the ecolabels in Europe and the practice of Green Public Procurement (GPP) limit the use of hazardous chemicals in paint and coating products?

This analysis is designed to provide a simple overview of the ecolabels in Europe and Green Public Procurement (GPP) requirements towards the use of hazardous chemicals. Producers of paint and coating products can choose to apply for the ecolabels in Europe in order to use it for a specific product group or qualify for the participation in the GPP, when certain requirements are met. The most important groups of identified chemicals of concern and their permitted levels are briefly described in the table below. It should be noted that the GPP criteria are indicative. The EU member states have the rights to apply and adjust them individually.

Updated on the 9th August, 2021

	EU Green public procurement criteria (2018)¹	EU EcoLabel (2018)²	Nordic Swan (2021)³	Blue Angel (2019)⁴
Isothiazolinone compounds (indoor)	500 ppm	500 ppm BIT ≤ 500 ppm, MIT < 15 ppm, OIT < 15 ppm, CIT/MIT (3:1) < 15 ppm	600 ppm	BIT ≤ 10 ppm, MIT < 1.5 ppm, CIT < 0.5 ppm, All other isothiazolinones < 2 ppm
Isothiazolinone compounds (outdoor)	500 ppm	500ppm	1500 ppm	BIT < 400 ppm, CIT and Combination CIT/ MIT (3:1) Total < 15 ppm
Volatile organic solvents (VOCs) (matt)	100 000 ppm	10 000 ppm	10 000 ppm	700 ppm
Volatile organic solvents (VOCs) (glossy)	100 000 ppm	40 000 ppm	40 000 ppm	700 ppm
Volatile aromatic hydrocarbons (VAHs)	-	100 ppm	100 ppm	-
Antimony	-	100 ppm	100 ppm	-
Selenium	100 ppm	100 ppm	100 ppm	-
Barium	-	100 ppm	100 ppm	-
Arsenic	100 ppm	100 ppm	100 ppm	-
Chromium VI	100 ppm	100 ppm	100 ppm	-
Mercury	100 ppm	100 ppm	100 ppm	-
Lead	100 ppm	100 ppm	100 ppm	200 ppm
Phthalates	100 ppm	100 ppm	-	-
Cadmium	100 ppm	100 ppm	100 ppm	-
Heavy metals	-	-	-	-
Halogenated organic solvents	-	-	-	-
Formaldehyde	10 ppm	10 ppm	10 ppm	10 ppm
Perfluorinated alkyl sulfonates (PFAS)	-	not used/only used in paint that is resistant or repellent to water and have a spreading rate of more than 8 m²/l	-	-
Alkylphenolethoxylates (APEOs)	-	-	-	-
Silicon resin emulsion	-	20 000 ppm	-	-
Solvents H304 (R65)	-	20 000 ppm	-	-
Unreacted monomer	-	500 ppm	100 ppm	500 ppm
Respirable Crystalline silica/ quartz	-	-	10 000 ppm	-
Binders and crosslinking agents: Adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH)	-	10 000 ppm	-	-

Paints For Life do not take any responsibility for the accuracy of the information collected and represented in the table. To make sure the information is correct, please visit data sources indicated below.