Primers - really?

USGBC agrees with you.
In their October 1, 2013, Addendum, USGBC adjusted primers “from the GS-11 VOC limits to the SCAQMD Rule 1113 limit for consistency with the original balloted version of LEED 2009. General purpose primers for wall and ceiling paint are widely available at lower VOC concentrations than the specified limit. Content will vary for certain substrates and in high-performance applications.”
See Reference Guide Correction ID#100001815 in the Addenda Database in the LEED Credit Library.
The entire Addenda is available at:
http://www.usgbc.org/sites/default/files/DocumentAddendaRG%20BD+C%2010.0...
, and the revised Table 1 VOC chart is at:
http://www.usgbc.org/resources/ieqc42-table-1-applicable-voc-limits
USGBC has not yet posted this most current version of Table 1 on the IEQ Resources Tab in the LEED Credit Library. (Has anybody else noticed that current Addenda are often nearly impossible to find in the LEED Credit Library and Addenda Database? Improvements to these databases could eliminate much confusion. )
Incidentally, primers had been lumped into GS-11 ever since a 2003 LEEDv2.0 CIR (LI# 5910). Change sometimes happens slowly.

Bless you Jonathan. We have been struggling with this on several projects for the past year or two. And yes, it is incredibly difficult to find Addenda and many other resources on the USGBC website since they "upgraded" it. I have more luck searching through Google to find things than I ever do trying to navigate the site. Very frustrating. Thank you.

Many thanks also to the numerous excellent posts below by LEEDuser contributors.
I had run across those links in previous posts.
It also helps that I had downloaded the entire library of old CIRs several years ago just before a previous USGBC database upgrade.

John, thanks for the feedback, but the correct citation appears to be ID #100001805 (not ID #100001815).

"Prerequisite/Credit: EQc4.2 - Low-emitting materials - paints and coatings
Rating System: LEED BD+C: New Construction, LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors, LEED BD+C: Core and Shell, LEED BD+C: Schools

Rating System Version: v3 - LEED 2009

Description of change: Replace Table 1 with the one in the supplementary document. Primers have been adjusted from the GS-11 VOC limits to the SCAQMD Rule 1113 limit for consistency with the original balloted version of LEED 2009. General purpose primers for wall and ceiling paint are widely available at lower VOC concentrations than the specified limit. Content will vary for certain substrates and in high-performance applications."

John—Oops! Fat fingers!
I caught the typo later, and I corrected it on a recent post: http://www.leeduser.com/comment/redirect/57524.