Philippines Beats 2020 Phase-Out Deadline for Lead-Containing Paints
The Philippines marks this year’s International Lead Poisoning
Prevention Week (ILPPW) with the historic phase-out of paints containing lead
additives as backdrop.
The ILPPW, which will take place from today until the 31st, is an initiative of
the UN-backed Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint with this year’s
edition focusing on the need to accelerate progress towards the global
phase out of lead paint through regulatory and legal measures.
“The local paint and coating industry, with strong encouragement from the
government and the civil society, had beaten the phase-out deadline for lead
paints as stipulated in the country’s lead paint regulation. This
achievement will hugely help in preventing children’s and workers’ exposure to
lead from paints,” said Thony Dizon, Chemical Safety Campaigner, EcoWaste
Coalition
Under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative
Order 2013-24, or the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds,
lead in architectural, decorative and household paints was phased out on
January 1, 2017, while lead in industrial paints was phased out on January 1,
2020.
The promulgation of the said order had triggered an industry-wide removal of
lead-based raw materials in paint production, which are previously used as
pigment, drying accelerator or as corrosion protector, and their replacement
with sound alternatives.
“The paint and coating industry has acquired competitive advantage by reformulating
whole product lines to get rid of lead inputs in paint formulations. Some
companies have even gone one step further by successfully obtaining third-party Lead
Safe Paint® certification to assure
consumers that their products do not pose lead-based paint hazards,” said
Derrick Tan, President, Philippine Association of Paint Manufacturers (PAPM).
Dr. Gelo Apostol, Assistant Professor at the Ateneo School of Medicine and
Public Health, noted that “phasing out lead paints and addressing all other sources
of lead poisoning in the environment are absolutely needed to protect Filipino
children from the adverse health and economics impacts of lead exposure such as
reduced learning abilities, poor school performance, behavioral problems and
decreased productivity." He added "there is no acceptable blood
level for lead."
As there is no level of exposure to lead that is without harmful effect, the
EcoWaste Coalition urged the government, industry and civil society to sustain
meaningful multi-stakeholders collaboration to build a lead-safe environment
for all children, including babies in the womb.
“Just because our nation has phased out lead paints does not mean we can rest
on our laurels,” the group pointed out. “There is still so much to be
done to ensure that our children are protected against preventable sources of
lead exposure that can irreparably affect their health and future.”
Globally, governments need to quickly adopt lead paint standards and
regulations limiting total lead content to not more than 90 ppm (the limit
recommended under the UN Model Law and Guidance on Regulating Lead paint),
noting that the manufacture of lead paint is still allowed in over
60 percent of countries.
Other countries need to enforce or strengthen their lead paint laws so that
non-compliant paints and consumer products, particularly school supplies, toys
and childcare articles, are not smuggled into the Philippines
The group recalled its recent discovery of 37 imported aerosol or spray paint
products for general use that were found to contain high concentrations of lead
up to 82,100 ppm as per laboratory analyses. The distribution and sale of
these non-compliant products were subsequently banned by health authorities.
Nationally, local governments, real estate developers, home builders and other
major paint consumers need to adopt a lead safe paint procurement policy to
ensure that only compliant paints are purchased and used, the group said.
Also, the national government needs to draw up guidelines on lead paint
abatement to minimize lead dust pollution, especially during renovation
activities at home, school and other places, the group further suggested.
The DENR, PAPM, Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines, Inc. and the EcoWaste
Coalition are partners of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint, a
voluntary partnership led by the United Nations Environment Programme and the
World Health Organization.
Reference:
https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DAO-2013-24-CCO-Lead.pdf
https://intl.denr.gov.ph/un-conventions/article/7-strategic-approach-to-international-chemicals-management-saicm
https://ipen.org/documents/lead-spray-paints-consumer-use-philippines
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/
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