Warning Out on 3 More Leaded Koby Spray Paints

 

The EcoWaste Coalition advised paint consumers to shun Koby Spray Paint after detecting lead, a chemical banned in paint manufacturing, in three more variants of this imported multi-purpose paint. The watchdog group announced its toxic discovery as the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week on October 22-29 is observed.

Based on the screening it conducted using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, the three Koby Spray Paints obtained from a retail store in Makati City are considered lead paints, or paints with lead content exceeding the legal limit of 90 parts per million (ppm).

The Mars red Koby manufactured on July 23, 2022 contained 30,770 ppm of lead, while the deep red Koby manufactured on April 14, 2022, and the orange red Koby manufactured on June 16, 2023 had 12,620 ppm and 9,135 ppm, respectively (the Philippine ban on lead-containing decorative paints took effect on January 1, 2017 following a three-year phase-out period). Information about the product manufacturer or distributor was not provided on the label.

Described as a multi-purpose aerosol, Koby Spray Paint can be applied on bicycles, toys, helmets, chairs, tables, and refrigerators as illustrated on the paint can.

This is not the first time that the EcoWaste Coalition has called attention to lead-containing Koby Spray Paints.

Past laboratory tests commissioned by the group also found these variants of Koby Spray Paint contaminated with high levels of lead:  Suzuki red (12,800 ppm), fresh green (32,400 ppm),  Canary yellow (54,500 ppm), deep yellow (69,200 ppm), and medium yellow (95,800 ppm).

The Suzuki red and canary yellow variants of Koby Spray Paint were among those included in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory No. 2020-1585 that warned the public against the purchase and use of 37 lead-containing spray paints.

Lead in paint is a major source of childhood lead exposure, which can harm the brain and the central nervous system, among other effects.  “There is no safe level of lead exposure,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has listed lead among the “ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern."

Exposure to lead early in life can result in lower intelligence quotient (IQ), reduced attention span, impaired learning ability and increased risk of behavioral problems.

To recall, the Chemical Control Order issued by the DENR in 2013 established a 90 ppm lead limit for all paints. It also provided for a three-year phase-out period for leaded decorative paints, which ended in December 2016, and a six-year phase-out period for leaded industrial paints, which ended in December 2019.

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https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DAO-2013-24-CCO-Lead.pdf

https://www.fda.gov.ph/fda-advisory-no-2020-1585-public-health-warning-against-the-purchase-and-use-of-spray-paints-containing-significant-levels-of-toxic-heavy-metal-lead-pb/