Within a few years, high-solvent paints and other coatings may be a thing of the past, according to several sources within both government and industry. Strict rules are already in place in several California counties, limiting volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a key ingredient in oil-based paints and finishes. Similar stringent restrictions are scheduled to go into effect within the next year in the new York City metropolitan area, New Jersey, and the Dallas-Fort Worth region of Texas. The trend is expected to continue because metropolitan areas throughout the country are struggling to meet the ozone pollution standard established by the Federal Clean Air Act in the early 1970s. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not prescribe ways to meet the standard, but it is exerting
