Warning Out on Two More China-made Paints with High Lead Levels

These China-made  spray paints contain violative levels of lead, a potent neurotoxin banned in paints.

14 September 2026, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition urged consumers to stop buying and using two China-made spray paints sold online because these products contain lead at levels that make them unlawful to import, distribute, and sell.

In line with its continuing advocacy to eliminate lead in paint, a widespread source of toxic lead exposure, the EcoWaste Coalition ordered three colors of a multipurpose Liang Ying Aerosol Spray Paint from an online seller for P143 per 450 mL can.

While the red paint screened negative for lead, the green and yellow paints contained 5,422 and 31,100 parts per million (ppm) of lead, according to X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis conducted by the group.

XRF screening shows this yellow paint contains 3.110 percent or 31,100 ppm of lead, way above the legal limit of 90 ppm.

As shown on the label, this multi-purpose paint can be sprayed on appliances, furniture, cleaning equipment, helmets, bikes, and toys—even with its lead content.

DENR A.O. No. 2013-24, or the Chemical Control Order (CCO) for lead and its compounds, prohibits lead in paints and establishes a strict limit of not more than 90 ppm. As clarified through EMB MC No. 10, series of 2016, the use of lead paint in children’s toys and related products, including home furnishings and fixtures, is banned.

Local manufacturers were provided ample time to transition to non-lead paint production: three years for decorative paints (2013-2016) and six years for industrial paints (2013-2019).

The completed phase-out period makes it illegal to manufacture, export, import, distribute, and sell lead-containing paints in the Philippines. The ban covers imported paints, including spray paints, sold in the local market.

Exposure to paint and dust containing lead can have a range of long-term health effects, especially for young children, including damage to the brain and nervous system, lower IQ scores, reading, learning, and speaking disabilities, slowed growth, hearing loss, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, aggression, and other behavioral issues.

While most detrimental to children’s growth and development, lead poisoning also harms adults, causing joint and muscle pain, mood disorders, memory and concentration problems, abnormal and reduced sperm count in men, miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature birth in women, high blood pressure, and hypertension.

A non-threshold toxicant, any amount of lead exposure can contribute to potential damage. As the World Health Organization (WHO) states, "there is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects."

To block illegal lead paint imports, the EcoWaste Coalition demands stricter rules and wants lead chromates, the most common lead-based pigments, added to the Rotterdam Convention's hazardous chemicals list to control their global trade.

If the Rotterdam Convention lists these hazardous chemicals, governments can use the treaty’s Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure to deny consent to imports of lead chromates for use as ingredients in paint production and to finished paint products containing lead chromates.

References:

https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DAO-2013-24-CCO-Lead.pdf
https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MC-2016-010.pdf
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health
https://ipen.org/lead-chromates-pigments-lead-paint-agenda-global-regulation/