Curing Compound VOC Limits by State, Air District and Country

The VOC limit on a curing compound comes from where it is applied, not from the data sheet. Most of North America sits at 350 g/L, one big California district sits at 100, and the federal rule has a separate cure and seal category. Every number below was read from the official rule text, linked in each section.

What is the VOC limit for curing compound where you work?

For most jobs it is 350 g/L, measured as grams of VOC per liter of coating, less water and exempt compounds. South Coast AQMD is the main exception at 100 g/L. Look up your state, district or country below, then check the table.

New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts and DC have their own coatings rules, but they are not in this table because their official text could not be checked. Assume 350 g/L only after you read the current rule or ask the state air agency.

What does the federal EPA rule allow?

The national rule caps concrete curing compounds at 350 g/L (2.9 lb/gal). Table 1 of 40 CFR 59 Subpart D lists “Concrete curing compounds 350 2.9” and, a line later, “Concrete curing and sealing compounds 700 5.8.”

The rule defines a curing compound as “a coating formulated and recommended for application to freshly placed concrete to retard the evaporation of water.” The federal limit applies everywhere in the country. State and district rules can only be stricter, so the federal number is the ceiling, not the answer, in most of the Northeast and California.

What does SCAQMD Rule 1113 allow for curing compounds?

In the South Coast district, the general limit is 100 g/L. The Rule 1113 text lists “Concrete-Curing Compounds” at 100 and “Concrete-Curing Compounds For Roadways and Bridges” at 350.

The 350 g/L roadway category is narrow. Under the rule’s definition, the product has to meet ASTM C309 Class B and lose less than 0.15 kg/m² of water in 24 hours under California Test 534. A footnote excludes “curbs and gutters, sidewalks, islands, driveways and other miscellaneous concrete areas.”

The label has to say so too. Rule 1113 requires the words “FOR ROADWAYS AND BRIDGES ONLY” along with the list of excluded uses. The district’s Table of Standards page gives these limits as of February 5, 2016.

What about the rest of California?

Outside South Coast, California districts use 350 g/L. CARB’s summary of architectural coating rules, revised September 2, 2021, lists 350 g/L for the CARB model rule and for every listed district except South Coast, which shows 100.

The CARB Suggested Control Measure is a model rule, not a law. Each air district adopts its own version, so the district rule is what an inspector enforces. The same summary notes that California districts not in the table fall under the federal EPA rule.

Which OTC states use 350 g/L?

Every Ozone Transport Commission model state checked here lists concrete curing compounds at 350 g/L. None of them has a separate roadway or curing and sealing category. The table below shows where each number was read.

Virginia’s rule does not cover the whole state. 9VAC5-45-520 limits it to the “Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg, and Richmond Volatile Organic Compound Emissions Control Areas.” Elsewhere in Virginia the federal rule applies, which is also 350 g/L for a plain curing compound.

What is the VOC limit in Canada?

Canada caps concrete curing compound at 350 g/L nationwide. Item 9 of the schedule to SOR/2009-264 reads “Concrete curing compound, for application to freshly poured concrete to retard the evaporation of water,” with a 350 g/L limit.

The Canadian schedule has no curing and sealing category and no roadway category. A product that relies on the US 700 g/L cure and seal limit has no matching category in Canada.

Do cure and seal products get a higher limit?

Only under the US federal rule. 40 CFR 59 gives “concrete curing and sealing compounds” 700 g/L, but only for products sold solely to cure and seal concrete that meet the C1315 spec (the rule cites the 1995 edition). None of the state, district or Canadian rules on this page has that category.

So a solvent-based cure and seal at, say, 600 g/L can be legal federally and still not be sold or applied in Pennsylvania, Maryland or South Coast. Rule 1113 and Maine’s rule also apply the most restrictive limit when a label claims more than one category.

If your product is over the limit where you work

Stop and swap it before it goes down. Maine’s rule, for one, covers anyone who sells or applies a noncompliant coating, not just the maker, so the crew is on the hook too. Then work through these steps:

1. Read the VOC on the can or the data sheet in g/L, less water and exempt compounds. That is the figure the rules compare.
2. Check the category the label claims. A roadway or curing and sealing label only helps where the rule has that category.
3. Ask the supplier for a compliant product at or under the limit for your jurisdiction, such as a water-based version.
4. Check the DOT spec on highway work. Road and bridge jobs often name an approved product list; see our DOT curing compound requirements page.
5. Keep the data sheet in the job file with the rule you checked it against and the date.