No, you shouldn’t freak out – because freaking out causes your airways to close up, and so do VOCs. Instead you should calm down, educate yourself about what VOCs are, why they are in some of the products used in your project, and what you can do in order to steer clear of the hazards that they present.
Talking about “VOC”s in our paint products is all the rage lately. “VOC” stands for Volatile Organic Compound – and all that that means is that VOCs are chemicals that easily evaporate into the air at room temperature. Unfortunately, this means that we humans can breathe these chemicals in, and usually they are not the kind of chemicals that are harmless when inhaled or ingested.
VOCs are in many paints, solvents, and other building materials – they are a ubiquitous part of the painting world. However, the detrimental effects of industrial (including the painting industry) air pollution are currently being investigated by the EPA, so there is pressure on the market to come up with low-VOC alternatives to most of the current well-known and well-loved products. Unfortunately, the industry is young and the technology is still developing, so the ideal balance between functional quality and reasonable price doesn’t usually include low-VOC technology. In order to get that, you need to sacrifice either paint quality, or you need to turn out your pockets a little bit and purchase a high-quality, zero VOC product (like Sherwin Williams’ Harmony).
The environmental concerns of VOCs should be taken seriously, and all support should be given to manufacturers for developing lower-VOC alternatives, but in terms of an immediate health risk to your home (or to the workers), a high concentration of VOCs needs to accumulate in a space with inadequate ventilation.
Exteriors nearly always have adequate ventilation. It is within the confined spaces of interiors that VOCs start to become an immediate health concern. To mitigate that concern, your Blue Door Painters crew will come equipped with the technology to create sufficient ventilation in every space. Workers will open windows and run large fans to keep the house interior safe. When a worker needs to enter a more confined space, he will bring a BDP-supplied Respirator, which is (in this case) a portable air filter that fits over the face and nose and takes the VOCs out of the air that the worker is breathing. That area should then be clearly marked off and labeled with a sign that indicates the hazard that was there.
Since VOCs are airborne, the good news (at least as far as immediate health is concerned) is that even in confined spaces, if left undisturbed for long enough, VOCs will filter out. If you smell any strong scents, or feel lightheaded, it might be a sign that the air you are breathing has a higher than recommended concentration of VOCs or other chemical contaminants. Freaking out is the wrong thing to do: instead just call your Blue Door Painters contact, report the VOCs, clearly mark the hazard area, and stay away from it until adequate ventilation can be provided and the place gets a chance to air out.