Paint Products Without Methylisothiazolinone

Research: Paint and Painting Products Containing Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Isothiazolinone By Christine Marie Schroeder, July 2014 [UPDATED April 2016] PLEASE NOTE: MANUFACTURERS CHANGE FORMULAS REGULARLY, SO THIS LIST MAY BE OUT OF DATE AT ANY TIME. ALWAYS CHECK WITH THE MANUFACTURER BEFORE PURCHASE AND PAINTING. Introduction and Terminology I have used the term “MCIT” to refer to the group of preservatives in general. The three specific preservative types I asked about were isothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, and chloroisothiazolinone. [Ed note: in 2015, it should be noted that more paint and industrial uses are moving to benzisothiazolinone which is just as reactive as MI/MCI.] I only looked at products that were not oil-based. Since MCIT is most often used in water-based products, it is possible that using oil-based paints could be a strategy to avoid MCIT, but due to the difficulty of clean-up, the strong smell, and the high VOC levels that many oil-based paints have, I didn't find it to be a very viable alternative. I did investigate powdered paints that had to be mixed with water by the consumer (this ends up being one of the most viable alternatives), but I did not look at paints that had to be tinted by the consumer. Most commonly, these paints cost $35 to $55 dollars per gallon, a price that is higher than common big box store brands, but on par with the higher quality products sold by many paint dealers. All are either low- or no-VOC. Due to the less than stellar response I got from the two major manufacturers that I contacted, and also due to the fact that some, like Behr, have numerous products listed in the Household Products database as containing MCIT, I didn't contact many of the larger companies. The two I did contact had products that emphasized environmental or all-natural claims. You can read about the results of these inquiries below. In all cases, if you are interested in a product, I recommend you re-contact the manufacturer about your specific product so that you can be sure no reformulations have taken place since I wrote this and also as an effort to give them props when they are not using MCIT. I included the names of all the companies I looked into, including those that did not respond and those whose products contained MCIT, because I wanted to give people doing their own searches as much information to start with as possible. The companies I listed below were ones that I collected from reviews of environmentally friendly or no-preservative paints. To be sure, being environmentally friendly is no guarantee that a product will be MCIT-free (as many of us have learned the hard way), but I figured it was a good place to start. When “no response” is listed for a company, it means that I sent them at least two requests and got nothing back from them at the time of writing this (everyone had at least two weeks to get back to me). I did this research in July of 2014. [Ed Note: The scientific community in Europe is looking into this, although it seems not to be followed suit in US. From http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cod.12322/abstract “In view of the current

epidemic of contact allergy to methylisothiazolinone (MI), it is important to clarify the extent of use of MI and related isothiazolinones in paints currently available for the consumer and worker in Europe. To elucidate the use and concentrations of MI, methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI) and benzisothiazolinone (BIT) in paints on the European retail market, wall paints (n = 71) were randomly purchased in retail outlets in five European countries. The paints were quantitatively analysed for their contents of MI, MCI and BIT by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. MI was found in 93.0% (n = 66) of the paints, with concentrations ranging from 0.7 to 180.9 ppm, MCI in 23.9% (n = 17), ranging from 0.26 to 11.4 ppm, and BIT in 95.8% (n = 68), ranging from 0.1 to 462.5 ppm. High concentrations of MI were found in paints from all five countries. Paints purchased in Denmark and Sweden contained especially high concentrations of BIT. Conclusion: The use of MI across European countries is extensive. In view of the ongoing epidemic of MI contact allergy, an evaluation of the safety of MI in paints is needed.” /-ed] COMPANIES REVIEWED Summary grid, see below for details and other companies reviewed that didn’t reply: Company/product line AFM Safecoat

Country

Free of MI/MCI/BIT?

USA

Auro Paints

EU

Benjamin Moore Bioni-USA

USA USA/Germa ny USA

No (previously safe, confirmed trace amounts in 2016 No (previously safe, changed formula 2015) No, all lines unsafe No, all lines unsafe

Eco-Wise Ecos Paints Envirosafe Paint Company Green Planet Paints

USA USA

Murco Wall Products

USA

Sherwin Williams The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company The Real Milk Paint Company TyeMawr

Global USA

USA

USA EU

Yes on store brand (may carry other safe options) No Possibly ok (rep but not mfr confrm) Yes, these lines: AgriPaint, AgriStain Wood, AgriStain Concrete, AgriColors, AgriSealer, AgriCraft Paints, AgriArt Paints No, but they do have two MI-free hypoallergenic drywall joint compounds (M100 and HA100) No Yes (on mix-yourself versions) Yes (on mix-yourself versions) Yes (on dry powder

Verification date April 2016 Sept 2015 Sept 2015 July 2014 July 2014 July 2014 July 2014 Oct 2015

July 2014

July2014 July 2014 July 2014 July 2014

Unearthed Valspar YOLO Colorhouse

USA USA USA

versions) Yes (all lines) No, all lines unsafe No, all lines unsafe

July 2014 Oct 2015 July 2014

AFM Safecoat – When contacted, responded that none of their paints had MCIT. Of all the companies, this one offers the most variety in applications – primers, metal paints, exterior, transitional primers for oil to latex, etc. To be honest, the range of products they offer is so wide, that I would definitely contact them regarding the specific product you are interested in before purchasing, but at least it's promising. UPDATED in 2016, they now have “trace amounts” of BIT and/or MI in their products. So, no longer safe. Tell them what you think about their decision: www.afmsafecoat.com Anna Sova – contacted me promptly, but they are not making their paints at this time, although they may again in the future. Auro Paints – this is a German-based company that makes a wide variety of painting and finish products. The paint itself has to be tinted by the consumer, so I didn't look into that very much, but I am still putting the company here because they have a number of related finishing products (wood stains and coatings, floor finishing products, etc.) that are MCIT-free. Even better, their technical data sheets (available on the website) are full disclosure, meaning that every ingredient is listed, which is almost unheard of. Responded to my inquiries promptly. I was very impressed by what I saw – will definitely look into this company when I need products other than paint. www.aurousa.com [UPDATE 9/15/2015: Auro paints now include MI and variants. Do not use!] Benjamin Moore – Benjamin Moore makes a “Natura” line that I thought was worth looking into. The response to my initial request (which simply mentioned “preservatives – it was one of the first I sent out, before I got consistent) said that information about preservatives was proprietary, but if I let them know the specific ones I had questions about, they would let me know whether they were in the paints. I responded listing the three preservatives. I received no further communication. [UPDATE 2015: We wrote and received the following from Benjamin Moore Product Information specialist: “I'm sorry but our products would contain small amounts of these types of chemicals.” so probably best to avoid this entire brand line.] Bioni-USA – this is a German-based company, but they have offices in North America as well. They use a proprietary silver-based preservative that features heavily in their advertising, so I thought they might be worth looking into. They were very responsive and provided me with an incredible amount of documentation. According to the off-gassing analyses (I love the Germans) the paint does contain MIT and CIT. A disappointment, but wow, I have to give this company major props for transparency. Bioshield Paints – No response. C2 Paints – No response. Eco-Wise. This is a very cool green household supply store in Austin, Texas. They were amazing to deal with – extremely responsive and informative, and they clearly take the issue of chemical sensitivity seriously (not just paint, everything – highly recommend checking them out for other things

too). They have a store brand Eco-Wise paint that they stated does not contain MCIT. It only comes in a flat sheen, which means it is better suited to low traffic areas that don't require frequent cleaning. They have their own palettes and can match other brands, which is a very nice plus. Prices range from about $30-$40 per gallon before shipping. www.ecowise.com ECOS Paints – Uses both methylisothiazolinone and chloroisothiazolinone as preservatives in their paints. Bummer, because they were incredibly responsive and informative. Ecotrend Collagen Paints – This name popped up in several of the reviews that I read. I did find some documentation on this paint that explicitly states that it contains no preservatives, biocides, or mildewcides (it is, however, an egg-based product, which I realize may be an issue for some people). I am not sure the company is still in business, however, because most of the links I could find referring to the product didn't work, which is why I haven't listed a website. Envirosafe Paint Company – this paint company was a bit like a unicorn. It is carried by several companies, including Eco-Wise (listed above) and seems to be free of artificial preservatives (I found one website stating that its paints use a grapefruit-derived low-toxic preservative). The Eco-wise representative stated it was MCIT free, but I wanted to confirm with the company directly. However, I couldn't find a working e-mail address or website to contact the company directly for confirmation, so I don't know if it has been taken over or gone out of business or what (it seems to sometimes be listed as “Chem-Safe Paints”). If you can find it and confirm that it is MCIT free, Envirosafe comes in flat, eggshell, satin, and semigloss. The company has its own palette or can match other brands. Green Planet Paints – [UPDATED review 10/2015] From an email exchange with the business owner: “…the original Green Planet Paints® paint line did [contain MI], but we have been reformulating it and are about to be able to remove the biocide that was required by the EPA. We will be using our own technology and are currently waiting on EPA approval. …we addressed this with someone when we had first acquired Patagonia Natural Paints, we let the person know that we had a new product replacement for the biocide but had to wait in EPA approval which we have never received. The new technology has been approved by the EPA and that has been incorporated into all our other product lines such as AgriPaint, AgriStain Wood, AgriStain Concrete, AgriColors, AgriSealer, AgriCraft Paints, AgriArt Paints and so on. So none of those products contain MI or BIT and never have…(O)nly our Agri lines are free of issues due to the unique technologies we have developed over the years. We have not had them time to put them on the web site as we are filling orders faster than we can make and stock the products.” https://greenplanetpaints.com/ MURCO Wall Products – The representative I contacted stated that their paint uses both methylisothiazolinone and chloroisothiazlinone as preservatives. It is very easy to think otherwise from their website, so I was really glad I didn't assume! For those of you who are DIYers, however, there was one bit of good news – they do carry two MCIT-free hypoallergenic drywall joint compounds (M100 and HA100), both of which would probably be of great help to many people with MCS, as they are both free of fungicides, mildewcides, preservatives, VOCs, amines, formaldehydes, and several other ingredients. The representative was extremely nice to deal with and very respectful of the issue of chemical sensitivity, so if you see other products you like that you think might be OK, I'd encourage you to contact them. http://www.murphywallproducts.com/products/joint-compound/. Mythic Paints – no response. SafeCoat Naturals Paint – this is a subsidiary of the AFM company, listed above

Sherwin-Williams – This company's “Harmony” series looked promising, but the initial response was simply to send me the MSDS and say that everything else was proprietary. When I responded and reiterated why I was asking, they offered to refer my question to their regulatory department. No response after that. The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company – This company sells primarily powdered paints, which eliminates the need for any type of preservative. They responded quickly and were very courteous. A couple notes about these types of paint – traditionally milk paint has been used for porous objects made of unfinished wood, such as furniture and toys, but this company does have a “SafePaint” line that is designed for non-porous surfaces such as drywall. Also, milk paints tend to have a more textured and slightly varied effect than traditional latex paint, although the company states that this effect is far less pronounced with the SafePaint line. They only offer 20 base colors, but they also provide an extremely helpful chart that shows the results if you mix most of their base colors with various percentages of their snow white color (the range of the results is pretty impressive). If you have multiple chemical sensitivities, this product is probably one of your best bets, unless the milk-related base is an issue. They were very quick to respond to communication too. Powder to make a gallon of paint is about $45 for the SafePaint line, before shipping. They do offer sample sizes. www.milkpaint.com The Real Milk Paint Company – Like the previous entry, this company ships its paints primarily as powders and they are MCIT free. They have 28 colors and also offer a very helpful chart showing the effects of mixing various colors. Their product can be used on drywall, but they do not have a product specially formulated for drywall. The prices are virtually identical to the other milk paint company. They did take a little longer to get back to me than some of the others, but still within about a week. They sell some other products worth looking into, such as a soybean-based paint remover that I've used numerous times in the past and really like. http://www.realmilkpaint.com. TyeMawr Based in Europe, this company makes “casein powder paint” that can be mixed with water to create wall colors that are MI free: http://www.lime.org.uk/products/wall-paints/ Unearthed. This company makes three types of paint that are shipped as an MCIT-free powder. One is clay based, the second is a clay plaster, and the third is a vegetable-derived version of old fashioned milk paint (however, the third product was listed as sold out for all colors when I looked at the website, so I am not sure what the story is on future availability). They do sell one pre-mixed variety, which is also MCIT free, as it has a higher PH (limestone based) and does not need a preservative as a result. This last paint is one of the few MCIT-free products I ran across that claims to be good for humid and high traffic areas. They have their own palette and do not offer color matching. Prices range from about $50 - $60 per gallon. They do offer sample sizes. www.unearthedpaints.com Valspar – contains MI and variants, confirmed by company 10/2015. YOLO Colorhouse – Uses isothiazolinone as a mildewcide. Good communication and quick response, though. My takeaway is that I will probably use the Unearthed limestone paint for my bathrooms, as it is one of the few that seems to be able to deal with rooms that have recurring high humidity. The rest of my rooms I will probably do in milk paint, as I do have an older home, so the look will fit. If you are going for a more modern look, then something like Eco-Wise or Envirosafe is probably your best bet. The

main thing I learned during this process (other than the fact that there are some really nice companies out there that more than make up for the occasional crackpot) is that you should assume nothing when it comes to paints. You cannot go by the MSDS. MCIT does not have to be listed on the MSDS because of the nature of the product and the very low (from a regulatory standpoint) concentration of MCIT in such products. I hope this is helpful!