A scientific research carried out by Centre for Environmental Justice has found that some paints produced in Sri Lanka contain Lead exceeding permitted limits!

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized lead as a prime toxic. It has impacts on over 40 million children worldwide, over 97 percent of who live in developing countries. Lead poisoning statistics show that there are still a high number of people adversely affected by the metal’s harmful effects, but these poisoning statistics may not even be a real indicator of how serious the problem is.

The primary sources of lead exposure among children are lead-based paints and lead-contaminated dust and soil found in and around old, deteriorating buildings.

Centre for Environmental Justice together with the International POPs Elimination Network and Toxics Link, have launched the "Children’s Health First: Eliminate Lead Paints" global campaign, which aims to both eliminatelead paint and promote safer alternatives via the "Global Partnership to Eliminate Lead from Paint under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)".

According to the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, the permitted Lead level for enamel paints is 600 ppm. But the findings reveal that some Sri Lankan paints exceed heavily the desired limits of Lead, in enamel paints.

Lead is a metal with no known biological benefit to humans (WHO). It is also common knowledge that lead is added to paints to speed drying, increase durability, retain a fresh appearance, and resist moisture that causes corrosion.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Healthy Environments for Children Alliance, "There is no known safe blood lead level but it is known that, as lead exposure increases, the range and severity of symptoms and affects also increases." In 2002, WHO’s World Health Report identified lead exposure as one of twenty leading selected risk factors contributing to the global burden of disease.

One of the largest causes of lead exposure is lead-contaminated dust from decaying paint. Children under six are more vulnerable to lead poisoning and lead ingestion and poisoning typically occurs through hand-to-mouth activity.

Europe had banned the use of lead in household paints by 1935, while the United States by 1971. But still developing countries produce lead paints.

To analyze the Lead level in Sri Lankan paints, a global scientific study of "Lead in New Decorative Paints" was carried out by CEJ and Toxics Link in collaboration with International POPs Elimination Network.

Key findings of the research:

All tested paint samples contain lead.

Among tested enamel samples, 69% exceeded the current Sri Lanka lead in paint standard of 600 ppm.

* The highest sample contained 137 325 ppm (14%) lead, 1526 times greater than the US limit of 90 ppm and 228 times the Sri Lankan limit.

* Other tested enamel samples contain high levels such as 133463, 55237, 21116, 20904 ppm etc.

* One emulsion sample contains 45743 ppm (5%) of Lead.

On this issue, CEJ launched a national programme of "Lead in new Decorative Paints" on 10th February 2010 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in the presence of relevant government authorities from Sri Lanka Standards Institution, Consumer Affairs Authority, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Central Environmental Authority, Industrial Technology Institute, National Science Foundation and Health Ministry, University Academics, Medical Doctors, representatives from paint companies and environmental activists.

The outcome and future work of the meeting includes to make the relevant government authorities aware of the issue and force them to enact regulations to ban lead paints and introduce safer alternatives and also carry out continuous monitoring to prevent violation of the current standards and also to make it compulsory to indicate whether the paint contains lead and if so to specify the level.