Eurofins Product Testing - SCAQMD VOC limitations

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on VOC emission testing for ecolabels a video on VOC testing

on the meaning of VOC

on LEED and Green Buildings

For Latest News, see below

SCAQMD rules

SCAQMD is the Californian South Coast Air Quality Management District, based in Diamond Bar and covering Orange County and parts of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernadino counties.

SCAQMD limitation of VOC content in adhesives, sealants, and architectural coatings has gained importance even outside California because it ...

• is referenced by LEED and other sustainable building ranking schemes in the world
• has been kind of model for VOC limitations in other California Districts and in other US States.

Principles

Purpose of this limitation is to protect urban outside air against smog, especially against formation of ground level ozone. California Air Resources Board ARB offers a list with different VOC Limits for Architectural Coating categories that are valid in different California Districts, and a VOC calculator for achieving VOC content in agreement with their rules, on a separate webpage. Another overview of the different regulation in different districts is containing links to the original regulation texts.

Use of that VOC content limitation for evaluating of emissions of VOC into indoor air is not the best idea because there is no direct correlation between VOC content and the emission into indoor air over time. For that reason, LEED for schools and the US Green Building Initiative are specifying limit values for VOC emission into indoor air, mainly based on California Section 01350 specification.

But when US Green Building Council established its LEED rating system, there was no good tool available for evaluating VOC emission from liquid products. And several other ranking systems just copied over those requirements then.

SCAQMD regulations cover a.o.:

• Architectural coatings, see rule 1113
• Adhesives and sealants, see rule 1168

Testing

Testing is different from what Europeans are used to in conjunction with European Decopaint Directive.

While Europeans are measuring VOC content mostly by direct injection into gas chromatograph (ISO 11890-2), SCAQMD testing methods 304 and 303 are based on a different principle:

Total volatiles are determined by monitoring weight loss during 1 hour heating at 110 °C. Reactive products are allowed to stand open for 1 hour after mixing before start of test for allowing first curing to happen.

"VOC minus Water"

Total volatiles will comprise both total volatile organic compounds, but also water. Therefore water fraction is subtracted from the result. VOC content is related only to the non-aqueous fraction of the coating. Products containing large amount of water will show higher VOC content in California than under European Decopaint Directive. As a consequence, modern water-based dispersion coatings and adhesives are treated more stringently than old solvent-based formulations.

"... minus Exempt Compounds"

A number of exempt compounds are subtracted because these are know NOT to contribute to ground level ozone formation. There are different lists with exempt compounds available from different authorities in the USA, but for this purpose only the Californian list of exempt compounds on pages 4 - 6 of SCAQMD rule 102 is accepted. Products containing large amount of exempt compounds will show lower VOC content in California than under European Decopaint Directive.

Technical problems with testing

Test methods as used until today are not optimal, especially not for reactive coatings and for coatings with low VOC content. Results of a CA ARB contracted study on VOC content testing methods were published in early 2009 and suggested modification for better testing of low VOC, high water, and 2 components reactive coatings.

Nevertheless, until recently only the above mentioned testing methods were accepted. But in the meantime SCAQMD started accepting also direct GC injection (SCAQMD method 313) for stopping delivery of non-reliable or even erroneous results for a number of low VOC products. Such testing could easily be combined with a test for European Decopaint Directive.

Testing of products for which test method is not optimal

The specified testing methods still are prone to errors for a number of modern products, such as 2 component reactive coatings and adhesives, and concrete based tile adhesives. Eurofins can offer trying to test such products and do its best, but Eurofins cannot guarantee that it works well.

VOC Limit values

The state-wide agency California Air Resources Board (CARB) released kind of a model for such regulations in California districts. This is known as Suggested Control Measure (SCM). Latest version is dated 2007.

LEED VOC limit values are summarized in tables for adhesives and sealants, and for paints and coatings. Most of these rely on SCAQMD limit values and use SCAQMD rules and test methods.

Any testing request should clearly identify the category to which the tested products belongs.

Latest News

(last revision: March 10, 2011)

Revision of SCAQMD rule 1113 (coatings) has started. As it looks today, main changes will be, among others:

• New categories with VOC limits;
• Lower VOC content limits of some architectural coating categories;
• VOC content limits of previously unregulated colorants used to tint coatings at the point of sale;
• Labeling of VOC content on the cans compulsory from 2014 on.

You can see more information here:

• Overview over revision process
• Draft text with highlighted changes, as of February 2011
• Preliminary report of SCAQMD staff
• Presentation on proposed changes
• Presentation on VOC testing methods

No changes have been proposed for VOC testing method. Aboved discussed weaknesses of present testing methodology will continue to be an unsolved issue if this does not change in final version.

Further Information

For further information please contact our national organizations or our specialists for making use of the experience of Eurofins, the world market leader for VOC emissions chamber testing.

Order forms and testing request forms are available for free download here.

Your direct contacts:

Direct contact to Eurofins Product Testing A/S, the world market leader for VOC emissions chamber testing:

• Sales: Reinhard Oppl, email voc@eurofins.com
• Certification: Dr. Roland Augustin, email ccs@eurofins.com
• Testing laboratory: Thomas Neuhaus, email voc@eurofins.com