Determining the exact cause of an adhesive-related complaint is a never-ending struggle. The construction and concrete industries insist that the cause of most bonding and moisture complaints is due to the fact that many adhesives are now water-based as the result of formulation changes made to decrease their content of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The standards for allowable VOC levels in adhesives were established in the 1990 Montreal Protocol.
The real fact of the matter is that these reformulated adhesives, once cured, actually perform better than their solvent–based counterparts of the past. In fact, some of the adhesives that were around prior to 1990 are still used today. And the problems associated with the old adhesives are the same for new adhesives.