We have been operating a professional paint application business for 32 years. During that time we have completed projects from one storey to seventeen, from letter boxes to industrial buildings, from dental surgeries to high schools, from pensioner flats to million dollar plus homes.  During the first 20 years or so we used conventional oil base and acrylic base paints regardless at times if windows were open or not. We operated (like most painters I guess), in been quite oblivious to the dangers inherent in breathing toxic paint fumes (whether it was oil based or acrylic), until just over 10 years ago when information about the toxins in paint, solvents, etc was officially coming through from government sources and health authorities strong enough to make an impact on paint manufacturers to reduce toxin levels.  I think the information has always been there for 20 years or more - just not as in your face as it has become in recent years.  

We always as a rule opened windows for the heavy duty paints like solvent base/two-pack products and the heavier pigmented sealers but that didn’t amount to much as far as health is concerned apparently as it’s no different than been in a room with a smoker, the windows/doors may be open but the smoke constantly hangs around in the air to be breathed in - and even after the smoker has stopped smoking, a residue of smoke/poison is left on surfaces and in the atmosphere to be continually breathed in hours/days later.

Needless to say, like most people associated with anything to do with the paint industry I had become very conscious about the solvents and poisonous substances found in some types of paints one could buy off the shelf at most paint shops. The industry itself has taken notice of the publicity surrounding environmental issues and related information coming through about the harmful substances that can be found in paints and steps have been taken radically by paint manufacturers to remove toxins (or if not able to remove totally, at the very least to reduce drastically the potency of toxins and related chemical agents found in commercial and domestic paints).

As time has moved on, paint manufacturers have been able to remove toxic substances such as lead (which was a slow silent killer for generations and old history now) and improved the production of paints to be as less harmful in the final product as best as they can without having to change the entire manufacturing process of making paint – but harmful substances, of some description are still a component of the make up of a tin of acrylic paint but so much less than there is for any need to worry about at this time, you probably should worry more about the plastic that is suffocating our environment at this moment!