COUNTYWIDE : Decison on Banning Paint Postponed

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors has postponed its final decision on banning certain types of oil-based paints, a move that air-pollution authorities say would decrease hazardous emissions in the county by one ton a day.

At Tuesday’s meeting, supervisors delayed the decision until March to allow staff members from the county Air Pollution Control District to respond to allegations by the paint industry that the proposed guidelines for outdoor paints would actually increase air pollution.

Representatives of the paint industry told the supervisors that the standards would increase air pollution by forcing contractors to switch to lower-quality paints, twice as much of which would be required to complete a job.

Richard Baldwin, director of the pollution district, rejected the allegations. He said that although some paint companies have endorsed the proposed standards, others are resisting change.

“The real bottom line is that somebody is going to have to change the way they do business,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin said the proposed standards for wood finishes, quick-drying enamels, industrial maintenance paints and quick-drying primers would require contractors to replace the types of paint they use with those that have lower amounts of organic solvents.

Organic solvents evaporate during the paint’s drying process and generate about 4.6% of the hydrocarbons released into the county’s air.