Pennsylvania will require low-pollution paints, varnishes and coatings in January as part of its plan to reduce smog, but a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency review may deny other smoggy states that same option.

The review was prompted by an Oct. 5 letter to EPA Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Holmstead from Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, on behalf of his "constituent," Sherwin-Williams Co. of Cleveland.

Voinovich asked Holmstead to personally attend to a request by Sherwin-Williams to reject the low-pollution paint rule revisions contained in air pollution control plan amendments submitted by Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

The rule to use reduced-fume paints and coatings would remove up to 168 tons of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, from the air on a hot summer day in northeastern states, including 37 tons in Pennsylvania. State environmental agencies say that makes the rule a valuable tool for reducing smog and meeting federally mandated health standards for clean air.

But segments of the paint and coating industry say parts of the low-pollution paint and coatings rule go too far and would compromise paint and varnish quality.

And Thursday's "Inside EPA" newsletter reported that the paint industry is launching a lobbying campaign to amend the federal Clean Air Act so states could no longer impose tougher limits on paint and varnish emissions.

The EPA, which must approve the pollution control plans for states that can't meet Clean Air Act health standards, responded to the Voinovich letter by telling its Region III office in Philadelphia and Region I office in New York City to consider the industry's position before approving any state plans and started an internal review of the rule.

The rule is modeled on a proposal by the Ozone Transport Commission, an organization created by the Clean Air Act to advise the EPA and develop regional solutions to the smog problem in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

"Some suppliers are saying that in colder climates, their low VOC paints don't perform as well, but other suppliers are saying they can do it, that these products are possible, are being produced and are commercially available," said Christopher Recchia, commission executive director.

"These are hundreds of tons of emissions reductions a day that we're talking about, and we need them to meet the health standard. None of the states are willing to lose that benefit."

To comply with a 2002 settlement agreement of a lawsuit brought by the Group Against Smog and Pollution and the Sierra Club, the EPA met a Nov. 1 deadline to approve an amendment to Pennsylvania's smog control plan that will make the low-pollution paint rule effective Jan. 1.

"We had discussions with headquarters about the timing of the review to see if we could harmonize it with the action on the state plan," said Judith Katz, air protection division director in the mid-Atlantic region, "but we had to go ahead because of the deadline imposed by the settlement."

But the EPA's approval included an expression of "concern" about whether the paint rule makes it impossible for manufacturers to produce paints and coatings that meet consumer standards.

Cynthia Berman, EPA press secretary, said no delays are expected for approving pollution control plans for New York, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. But the agency has informed Pennsylvania and other states it intended to "work with the states and manufacturers to explore ways to ensure that the rules achieve the intended VOC emission reductions, and we intend to address this issue in evaluating the amount of VOC emission reduction credit attributable to the rules," she said.

Sherwin-Williams failed to answer requests for a comment. Scott Milburn, a spokesman for Voinovich, who campaigned with President Bush in Ohio, said the senator was satisfied with the EPA's response.

"As far as the senator's concerned, it's resolved," Milburn said.

Jim Sell, senior counsel for the paint industry association that along with Sherwin-Williams filed court challenges to the proposed rule in Delaware and New York, said the lower VOC standard set for some stains and varnishes could increase pollution.

"For interior and flat wall and ceiling paints you can go with low VOC products, but on exteriors, because of the weathering, you need higher VOC content," Sell said. "In some categories you wind up painting more often and that can cause more emissions."

Sell said floor coatings, varnishes and stains also need higher VOC content to adhere to high traffic areas effectively. He said a counterproposal by the industry association would make changes in the coatings standards, but would still capture 70 percent of the paint and coating-emissions reductions claimed by the commission rule.

But not all paint companies are challenging the commission rule. Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries, which produces Pittsburgh Paints at three Ohio factories, has been in the forefront of low-VOC paint development and has taken the position that it will comply with the rule. Its interior Pure Performance paint emits no VOCs.

VOCs and nitrogen oxides in the air react with sunlight to produce ozone, a colorless gas and a major component of smog, which can cause breathing problems, particularly for people who have chronic lung diseases, the elderly and small children -- an at-risk group that numbers 500,000 in the region.

If the EPA review results in a rollback of the low-pollution paint rule, it will affect the ability of Pennsylvania and other states to meet the federal smog standard and could require them to make pollution reductions in other areas, including tougher standards for automobile and truck emissions.

"When northeastern states were looking for ways to demonstrate attainment of ozone standards in metropolitan areas, all the plans they came up with showed a gap," Katz said. "The OTC said, let's come up with model rules to regulate smaller sources and close the gap."

The low-pollution paint rule is one of an array of ozone controls that includes vapor-trapping gasoline cans, solvent cans and gasoline pumps, enhanced vehicle inspections and low-vapor gasoline.

Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties were designated in "moderate nonattainment" of the federal smog standard in 1991. In October 2001, the EPA announced that the region was in attainment of the one-hour standard.

But those counties, along with Mercer, Erie, Clearfield, Franklin and Greene counties, do not meet a new, more stringent, eight-hour ozone standard.