Q: “Can you define for us the toxic substances found in paints currently on the New Zealand market”?

A: Paints in the market place have been found to contain volatile solvents such as the aromatic hydrocarbons, which have, like the similar benzene molecule from petroleum products, been linked to cancers. This is not ‘new’ news by the way, articles about this sort of thing appear from time to time, they’re interesting reading and worth taking time out to thoroughly digest the article and the information therein. I don’t think anyone has died from the smell of paint toxins in the short term but it seems to have been proven that at one time they could keep you feeling off colour for quite a number of years and perhaps be the catalyst for a later illness by those using paints on a regular basis. 

However much has gone on in recent years with the paint manufacturers reducing or eliminating volatile substances and related toxic components from their paints to such a degree that the paints to be found on the shelf these days are so much safer than ever before.  In fact Resene have sunk so much time and money into reducing toxins that they have achieved so much these past ten years to now have their paints very safe even for people with allergies to use, so if you are an asthmatic, like one of our tradesmen is, then you may find you'll have no problem at all using Resene Paints.