global lead paint elimination by 2020 - ipen

Global lead Paint elimination by 2020:a test of the effectiveness of the strateGic aPProach

to international chemicals manaGement

Jack WeinbergiPen senior Policy advisor

dr. scott clarkiPen Public health advisor for lead Paint

Professor emeritus, environmental health

University of cincinnati

a toxics-free future

list of acronymsANOR CameroonAgencyofStandardandQuality

BLL BloodLeadLevel

CCO ChemicalControlOrder

CDC U.S.CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention

FAO UnitedNationsFoodandAgricultural

Organization

GAELP GlobalAlliancetoEliminateLeadPaint:A

partnershipoftheUnitedNationsEnvironment

ProgramandtheWorldHealthOrganization

ICCM InternationalConferenceon

ChemicalsManagement

IPEN Aglobalnetworkofnon-governmental

organizationsworkingtoestablishandimplement

safechemicalspoliciesandpracticesthatprotect

humanhealthandtheenvironment(formerly

InternationalPOPsEliminationNetwork)

IPPIC InternationalPaintandPrintersInkCouncil

IQ Intelligencequotient

μg/dL Microgramsofleadperdeciliterofblood

mg/kg Milligramsperkilogram(partspermillion)

NGO Non-governmentalorganization

Pb Chemicalsymbolforlead

PCFV PartnershipforCleanFuelsandVehicles

ppm Partspermillion

PTWI Provisionaltolerableweeklyintake

REACH Registration,Evaluation,Authorizationand

RestrictionofChemicalSubstances:The

EuropeanCommunityRegulationonchemicals

andtheirsafeuse

SAICM StrategicApproachtoInternationalChemicals

Management

TPMA ThaiPaintManufacturersAssociation

UNEP UnitedNationsEnvironmentalProgram

WHO WorldHealthOrganization

table of contents

Foreword .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

IntroductIon .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Lead .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

HeaLtH eFFects oF Lead exposure .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Lead paInt and tHe sound ManageMent oF cHeMIcaLs .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

progress .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Lead paInt eLIMInatIon strategIes .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.

concLusIons .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

iPenIPENisaleadingglobalorganizationworkingtoestablishandimplementsafechemicalspoliciesandpracticesthatprotecthumanhealthandtheenvironmentaroundtheworld.IPEN’smissionisatoxics-freefutureforall.

IPENbringstogetherleadingpublicinterestgroupsworkingonenvironmentalandpublichealthissuesindevelopingcountriesandcountriesintransition.Ithelpsbuildthecapacityofitsmemberorganizationstoimplementon-the-groundactivities,learnfromeachother’swork,andworkattheinternationalleveltosetprioritiesandachievenewpolicies.

IPEN’sglobalnetworkiscomprisedofmorethan700public-interestorganizationsin116countries.Workingintheinternationalpolicyarenaandindevelopingcountries,withinternationalofficesintheUSandinSweden,IPENiscoordinatedviaeightIPENRegionalOfficesinAfrica,Asia,Central/EasternEurope,LatinAmerica,andtheMiddleEast.

1 GlobalLeadPaintEliminationby2020

Thisreportongloballeadpainteliminationwaspreparedbytheglobalnon-governmentalorganization(NGO)network,IPEN,fordistributionatthethirdmeetingoftheInternationalConferenceonChemicalsManagement(ICCM3)takingplaceinNairobi,Kenya,September17-21,2012.Itmakesthecasethatleadpaintsarestillwidelymanufactured,soldandusedindevelopingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransitionforapplicationslikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposure,andthattheeliminationofsuchpaintsshouldbeconsideredaglobalpriorityobjectivefortheSoundManagementofChemicals.

Thereportarguesthattheglobaleliminationofallmanufactureandsaleofleaddecorativepaintsincountriesofallregionsby2020isanachievableobjective,andisoneagainstwhichboththeGlobalAlliancetoEliminateLeadPaintandtheStrategicApproachtoInternationalChemicalsManagementcanandshouldbeevaluated.

Thereportwasco-authoredforIPENbyJackWeinberg,IPENSeniorPolicyAdvisor,andDr.ScottClark,IPENPublicHealthAdvisorforLeadPaintandProfessorEmeritus,EnvironmentalHealth,UniversityofCincinnati.ReviewandsuggestionswereprovidedbyPerryGottesfeld,ExecutiveDirector,OccupationalKnowledgeInternationalandValerieDenney,IPENLeadCommunicationsAdvisor.

IPENthanksthenumerousdonorsthatsupportitsworkonleadpaintelimination.TheseincludetheEuropeanUnion’sSWITCH-AsiaProgram,whichgrantedIPEN€1.4milliontosupportNGOleadpainteliminationactivitiesbyIPENpartnerorganizationsinsevenAsiancounties;thegovernmentsofSwedenandSwitzerland;theUnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme;theSwedishSocietyfortheConservationofNature;severalcharitablefoundations;andothers.Thecontentofthisreport,however,reflectstheviewsofthereport’sauthorsandIPENandnotnecessarilythoseofIPEN’sdonors.

August28,2012JackWeinbergDr.ScottClark

foreWord

ATestoftheEffectivenessoftheStrategicApproachtoInternationalChemicalsManagement 2

Beginninginthe1970sand1980s,mosthighlyindustrialcountriesadoptedlawsorregulationstocontrolleadpaints.Mostbannedthemanufacture,sale,anduseofleaddecorativepaints–thepaintsusedontheinteriorsandexteriorsofhomes,schools,andcommercialbuildings.Mosthighlyindustrialcountriesalsoimposedcontrolsonotherleadpaints,especiallypaintsandcoatingsusedintheapplicationsmostlikelytocontributetoleadexposureinchildren.Theseregulatoryactionsweretakenbasedonscientificandmedicalfindingsthatleadpaintisamajorsourceofleadexposureinchildrenandthatleadexposureinchildrencausesseriousharm,especiallytochildren’sdevelopingbrainsandnervoussystems.

Inthoseyears,mostdevelopingcountrieshadveryweakchemicalsmanagementcapabilities.Also,muchlesspaintwasmanufacturedandsoldinthedevelopingworldatthattimecomparedtotoday.Asaresult,fewdevelopingcountriesadoptedtheirownlawsorregulationstocontrolleadpaint.Nevertheless,untilrecently,itwaswidelyassumedthatpaintmanufacturingcompanieshad,ontheirowninitiative,discontinuedaddingleadpigmentsandotherleadcompoundstothehouseholdpaintstheyproduceforsaleinallcountriesoftheworld.

Largepaintcompaniesarecertainlyawarethatleadpaintharmschildren.TransnationalcompaniesthatalsoproducepaintsforsaleinWesternEurope,NorthAmerica,andotherhighlyindustrialcountriesdonotaddleadcompoundstothepaintsthattheysellinthosemarkets.Largernationalcompaniesproducingpaintsonlyforsaleinthedevelopingworldalsohavefullaccesstoalltheinformationthattheywouldneedtorecognizethehazardsassociatedwithleadpaintandtoproducehighqualitynon-leadpaintsthattheycouldsellatcompetitiveprices.Basedonfundamentalprinciplesofbrandstewardship,itwaslogicaltoassumethatthelargerpaintmanufacturingcompanies,atleast,wouldhavediscontinuedaddingleadtothehouseholdpaintsthattheysellinallmarketsiffornootherreasonthantoprotecttheirbrands’reputations.However,ithasnothappenedthatway.

In1999and2003,academicresearchersreportedhighlevelsofleadinmajorbrandsofdecorativepaintsbeingsoldonthemarketinIndiaandsomeothercountriesinAsia.Then,startingin2007,NGOsassociatedwithIPEN–theglobalnetworkoforganizationsworkingtoprotecthumanhealthandtheenvironmentfromharmscausedbytoxicchemicalexposure–begantopurchaseandtesttheleadcontentofpaintsforsaleinthedevelopingworld.Todate,academic

expertsassociatedwithIPENandothershavetestedsamplesofdecorativepaintsbeingsoldinapproximately25developingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransition.Inalmostallcases,thewater-baseddecorativepaints(sometimescalledlatex,acrylic,orplasticpaints)didnotcontainhazardousleadadditives.However,ineverysinglecountrywheretestingwasdoneandwherenonationallaworregulationprohibitedit,themajorityoftheoil-based(enamel)decorativepaintsforsaleonthemarketcontaineddangerouslevelsoflead.Andinvirtuallyallcases,theconsumerhadnowaytotellwhichoftheenamelpaintscontainedaddedleadandwhichdidnot.

BasedontheeffortsofIPENandothers,aresolutionwasintroducedandadoptedatthe2009secondmeetingoftheInternationalConferenceonChemicalsManagement(ICCM2)thatidentifiedleadinpaintasanemergingpolicyissueandinvitedtheUnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme(UNEP)andtheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)toestablishaglobalpartnershiptopromotephasingouttheuseofleadinpaintsandserveasitssecretariat.1UNEPandWHOagreedandjointlyinitiatedthispartnershipunderthenameGlobalAlliancetoEliminateLeadPaint(GAELP).2GAELP’sbroadobjectiveistophaseoutthemanufactureandsaleofpaintscontainingleadandeventuallytoeliminatetherisksfromsuchpaint.3

1 ICCM2omnibusresolutionII/4onemergingpolicyissues,http://www.saicm.org/documents/iccm/ICCM2/emerging%20issues/ICCM2%20Outcomes/Emerging%20issues/Omnibus%20resolution%20II_4.doc

2 GAELPHomepage,http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/LeadCad-mium/PrioritiesforAction/GAELP/tabid/6176/Default.aspx

3 SeeGAELPObjectives,http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Lead-Cadmium/PrioritiesforAction/GAELP/GAELPObjectives/tabid/6331/De-fault.aspx

introdUction

the Global elimination of all manUfactUre

and Use of lead decorative Paints in

coUntries of all reGions by the year 2020

is an achievable obJective aGainst Which

both the Global alliance to eliminate

lead Paint and the strateGic aPProach to

international chemicals manaGement can

and shoUld be evalUated.


GAELPdefinesthetermpainttoalsoincludevarnishes,lacquers,stains,enamels,glazes,primers,andcoatings.GAELP’sdefinitionofthetermlead paintstates:“Leadpaint”ispainttowhichoneormoreleadcompoundshavebeenadded.”4

Thisreportwillprovidebackgroundinformationthatmaybeofusetothosewhowishtoinitiateleadpainteliminationprograms,projects,orcampaignsintheirowncountries.Itwillreviewprogressthathasbeenmadesince2009.Itwillproposestrategiestoachieveglobaleliminationby2020ofleadedhouseholdpaintsandotherleadpaintsusedfortheapplicationsmostlikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposure.Itwillmakethecasethatsuccessorfailuretoachievegloballeadpainteliminationby2020shouldbeoneofthecriteriausedinevaluatingtheeffectivenessoftheStrategicApproachtoInternationalChemicalsManagement(SAICM).

4SeeGAELPOperationalFramework,March2011,http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Portals/9/Lead_Cadmium/docs/GAELP/Final_opera-tional_framework_GAELP.pdf


LeadisametallicelementwhosechemicalsymbolisPbfromtheLatinwordplumbum.Itisaheavymetalthatisbluish-greyincolorwhenfreshlycut.Pureleadissoftandmalleable,butleadisalsooftencombinedwithothermetalstoformalloys.5Manychemicalcompoundscontainleadincludingleadoxides,leadsalts,andorganicleadcompounds.Metalliclead,leadalloys,andleadchemicalcompoundscontinuetobeusedformanypurposes.Leadinallitsformsishighlytoxic,especiallytoyoungchildren.

Lead as an envIronMentaL poLLutant

Leadwasoneofthefirstmetalsthatpeoplesmeltedandused.ArcheologistshavefoundleadobjectsandpigmentsdatingfromtheearlyBronzeAge.ExtensiveevidenceofancientleadminingandsmeltingexistsinbothAsiaandtheMediterraneanregion.6TheGreekphysician,Hippocrates,wholivedinthe4thcenturyBCE,alreadyaccuratelydescribedthesymptomsofleadpoisoning.7DuringGreco-Romantimes,syrupsandalcoholicbeverageswereoftencookedinvesselsthatcontainedlead.ThisresultedinwidespreadleadpoisoningamongtheaffluentandsomesuggestthiswasoneofthecausesofthedownfalloftheRomanEmpire.8Investigationsofhumanskeletalremainsindicatethattheleadbodyburdenofpeopletodayisbetween500and1,000timesgreaterthaninpre-industrialtimes.9Onceleadisintroducedintotheenvironment,itpersists.

Lead In autoMotIve FueLs

Oneofthelargestandmostharmfulhistoricalusesofleadwastheadditionoftetraethylleadtoautomotivefuelstoimproveengineperformance.Thispracticewaswidespreaduntilrecently,buthasnowbeenlargelyeliminated.Itended

5 TheUnifiedNumberingSystem(UNS)designationsforvariouspureleadgradesandlead-basealloys:pureleadsL50000-L50099;lead-silveralloysL50100-L50199;lead-arsenicalloysL50300-L50399;lead-bariumalloysL50500-L50599;lead-calciumalloysL50700-L50899;lead-cadmiumalloysL50900-L50999;lead-copperalloysL51100-L51199;lead-indiumalloysL51500-L51599;lead-lithiumalloysL51700-L51799;lead-antimonyalloysL52500-L53799;lead-tinalloysL54000-L55099;andlead-stron-tiumalloysL55200-L55299.Source:LeadandLeadAlloys,http://www.keytometals.com/Article10.htm

6Lead and Lead Poisoning from Antiquity to Modern Times,MiltonA.Lessler,OhioJ.Sci.88(3):78-84,1988,http://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/han-dle/1811/23252/V088N3-078.pdf?sequence=1

7 Lead and Lead Poisoning from Antiquity to Modern Times,MiltonA.Lessler,OhioJ.Sci.88(3):78-84,1988,http://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/han-

dle/1811/23252/V088N3-078.pdf?sequence=1

8 Lead and Lead Poisoning from Antiquity to Modern Times(citedabove).

9 Childhood Lead Poisoning;WorldHealthOrganization,2010,http://www.who.int/ceh/publications/leadguidance.pdf

inmosthighlyindustrialcountriesbythe1970s,butleadedautomotivefuelsremainedapredominantautomotivefuelinmostdevelopingcountriesuntil2002andbeyond.ThePartnershipforCleanFuelsandVehicles(PCFV)wasestablishedbytheUNEPin2002toeliminateleadedautomotivefuelwithparticipationfromgovernments,industrygroups,internationalorganizations,andcivilsociety.Thisinitiativewasasuccess.ByJanuary2012,leadedautomotivefuelswereeliminatedinallbutsixcountries.Leadedautomotivefuelsremainthepredominantautomotivefuelinonlythreecountries:Afghanistan,Myanmar,andNorthKorea.Itisstillavailableasanautomotivefuelinthreeadditionalcountries:Algeria,Iraq,andYemen.10

Lead uses today

Leadremainsinwidespreadusetoday.Inadditiontoleadpigmentsandotherleadcompoundsusedinpaintsandglazes,othermajorcurrentusesofleadincludeleadstoragebatteries,leadpipes,leadsolder,leadammunition,andleadusedasastabilizerinvinyl(PVC)plastic.

Leadbatteriespresentlyaccountforapproximately80percentoftheleadthatisusedworldwide.Today,mostoftheleadinglobalcommerceisobtainedfromrecyclinglead-acidbatteries.Ninety-sevenpercentofleadbatteriesarereportedtoberecycled,includinginlow-incomecountrieswheretherecyclingtakesplacemostlyininformal,largelyuncontrolledsettings.11Globalconsumptionofleadisincreasingandisexpectedtoexceed10milliontonsperyear.Theprimaryreasonisthatdemandforleadbatteriesisgrowingrapidlyforuseinconventionalvehicles,hybridandelectricvehicles,backuppower,andcellphonetowers.Batteriesareamajorsourceofbothoccupationalandenvironmentalleadexposure,especiallyfrompoorlycontrolledbatteryrecyclingfacilities.12

10UNEPPartnershipforCleanFuelsandVehicles,http://www.unep.org/transport/pcfv/PDF/Maps_Matrices/world/lead/MapWorldLead_Janu-ary2012.pdf

11 Childhood Lead Poisoning,WorldHealthOrganization,2010,http://www.who.int/ceh/publications/leadguidance.pdf

12 Lead Battery Background,OccupationalKnowledgeInternational,http://www.okinternational.org/lead-batteries/Background

lead

lead in all its forms is hiGhly toxic,

esPecially to yoUnG children.


Lead exposure sources

Environmentalleadpollutionofairandsoilscancauseacuteleadexposureincommunitiesnearminingareasandnearinadequatelycontrolledleadsmelting,refining,andrecyclingfacilities,includingbatteryrecyclingfacilities.Leadcontaminationisalsooftenalegacyofhistoricalcontaminationfromformerindustrialsites.Parentsworkinginlead-relatedindustriescanbringleadhomeontheirclothing–andthiscanexposetheirchildren.Forexample,onestudyfoundthatchildrenwhoseparentsareengagedinlead-relatedoccupationshavehigherbloodleadlevelsthantheirschoolmatesofthesameage.13

Leadcanbepresentintoys,cosmetics,andotherproducts.IthasbeenreportedthatinChina,childrenwhohabituallychewonpencilsoftenhavehighbloodleadlevelsbecausethepaintusedinthemanufactureofthepencilscontainedlead.14Leadexposurecanoccurfromeatingfoodscontaminatedwithlead,althoughcircumstancesvarygreatlyfromcountrytocountryandfromregiontoregion.Insomecountries,

13 Lead poisoning in Chinese children: risk factors and preventive measures,Yao-HuaDaiandZhao-YangFan,WorldJournalofPediatrics,May2007,http://www.wjpch.com/UploadFile/001.pdf

14same

popcornmaybeanimportantsourceofchildhoodleadexposurebecausesomepopcornmachinesaremadefromaleadalloythatreleasesleadintothepopcorn.15Foodpreparedinutensilsthatcontainleadcanbeasignificantsourceofleadexposureinmanycountriesandregions.Soisfoodstoredorpreparedincansorutensilsthathavebeensolderedwithleadsolder.Eatingfromdinnerwaremadefrompewter(atinalloythatsometimescontainslead)orfromglazedceramicswhereleadpigmentswereusedcanalsocauseleadexposure.16InsomeAsiancountries,traditionalpreservedeggsaremadeusingleadoxideasafoodadditive.17Leadcanenterthefoodchainthroughcontaminatedsoils,anditalsohasbeenreportedthatleadissometimespresentinherbalandtraditionalmedicinesandfolkremedies.18

Othermajorsourcesofexposuretoleadincludeincinerationoflead-containingwaste,burningpaintedmaterialsinfireplacesorcookstoves,processingelectronicwaste(e-waste),anddrinkingwaterfromwatersystemsthatuseleadpipesorleadsolder.

15same


17 Lead poisoning in Chinese children



Leadpaintisoneofmanyserioussourcesofchildhoodleadexposure.Followingthesuccessesinremovingleadadditivesfromtheautomotivefuelssoldinalmostallcountries,leadpaintshavereplacedleadedfuelsasthesourceofsignificantchildhoodleadexposurethataffectsthelargestnumberoftheworld’schildren.Andwiththerisingmiddleclassandtheveryrapidgrowthofpaintsalesforhomeusesinmostdevelopingcountries,exposurefromleadpaintswillcontinuetogrowunlessmeaningfulcontrolmeasuresaretaken.

Leadpaintanditstoxicityreceivedrecentworldwidenewsmediaattentionin2007whenitwaswidelyreportedthatmanywoodentoysexportedfromAsiatoWesternEurope,NorthAmerica,andotherhighlyindustrialcountrieswerecoatedwithleadpaintandwerethereforehazardoustochildren.Manybrandholdersandvendorsrecalledthesetoys,andthegovernmentsofmanytoyimportingandexportingcountriesputcontrolsinplacetopreventreoccurrence.Muchlessattentionwasgivenatthetimetoleadpaintsmanufacturedfordomesticconsumptioninthedevelopingworld.

NGOsassociatedwiththeIPENnetwork,however,didrespondtothenewsreportsandbegantoinvestigatewhetherdecorative(household)andotherpaintsforsaleontheirnationalmarketscontainedlead.Between2007and2009,theseNGOstestedpaintsonthemarketin11developingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransition.Theresultswerepresentedina2009reportLead in New Decorative Paints,19whichfoundthatinallcountrieswheretestingwascarriedout,manyoftheoil-based(enamel)decorativepaintsonthemarkethadhazardousleadcontent.Another2009publicationrevealedsimilarfindingsinnineadditionalcountriesaswellasinthreeofthecountriescoveredbytheNGOreport.20Basedonthesestudiesandmorerecenttesting,itappearsthatleadedenameldecorativepaintsarewidelyavailableforsaleonthemarketinvirtuallyallcountriesthatdonothaveaneffectivelyenforcednationallaworbindingregulationthatprohibitsthemanufacture,import,sale,anduseofthesepaints.

Thecontinuinguseofleadcompoundsintheformulationofdecorativepaintsprovidesverylittle,ifany,benefittothepaint

19http://www.ipen.org/ipenweb/documents/work%20documents/global_paintstudy.pdf

20Clark,C.S.,Rampal,K.G.,Thuppil,V.,Roda,S.M.,Succop,P.,Menrath,W.,Chen,C.K.,Adebamowo,E.O.,Agbede,O.A.,Sridhar,M.K.C.,Adebamo-wo,C.A.,Zakaria,Y.,El-Safty,A.,Shinde,R.M.,andYu,J.(2009)Leadlev-elsinnewenamelhouseholdpaintsfromAsia,AfricaandSouthAmerica,EnvironmentalResearch109:930-936.Anearlierversionofthisstudywaspublishedin2006.ClarkCS,RampalK,ThuppilV,ChenC,ClarkR,RodaS(2006)TheleadcontentofcurrentlyavailablenewresidentialpaintinseveralAsiancountries,EnvironmentalResearch102:9-12.

manufacturerorconsumer.Non-toxicorlesstoxicsubstitutesforleadpigments,leaddryers,andotherleadcompoundsthatmaybeusedinpaintshavebeenwell-knownforahalf-centuryandlonger.Whenthesesubstitutesareused,thedifferencesinthepaint’scost,color,performance,andqualityaremarginalatbest.Ontheotherhand,theharmstochildrenandtosocietyasawholethatareassociatedwithleadpaint-relatedchildhoodleadexposureisverygreatandhasbeenwell-studiedandwell-documented.Thereis,therefore,novalidjustificationforanypaintcompanytocontinueusingleadcompoundsintheformulationofthedecorativepaintsthattheyproduceandsellanywhereintheworld.

Thechallengesassociatedwithreplacingleadcompoundswithlesshazardoussubstitutesintheformulationofpaintsandcoatingsforuseinanyandallapplicationsaremodestatbest.Becauseoftheseriousandwidespreadharmsassociatedwithleadexposure,allnon-essentialusesoflead–includingallleadpaints—shouldbephasedoutandeliminatedasrapidlyaspractical.

wHat Is Lead paInt?

Thetermpaintisusedtoalsoincludevarnishes,lacquers,stains,enamels,glazes,primers,andcoatings.Paintistypicallyaformulatedmixtureofresins,pigments,fillers,solvents,andotheradditives.Thetermlead paintisdefinedaspainttowhichoneormoreleadcompoundshavebeenadded.21

Leadcompoundsmaybeaddedtopaintforanumberofpurposesincluding:

• Pigments Certainleadcompoundshavelongbeenusedaspigmentstogivepaintstheircolor.Theseincludelead

chromates,leadoxides,leadmolybdates,andleadsulfates.• drying agents and catalysts Certainleadcompounds

aresometimesaddedtooil-based(enamel)paintstomakethepaintdryfasterandmoreevenlyand/ortopromotetheuniformpolymerization ofthedryingoilsandresins.Thesemayincludeleadnaphthenate,leadacetate,andleadoctoate.

21SeeGAELPOperational Framework,March2011,http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Portals/9/Lead_Cadmium/docs/GAELP/Final_op-erational_framework_GAELP.pdf

lead Paint

lead Paints have noW likely rePlaced

leaded fUels as the soUrce of

siGnificant childhood lead exPosUre

that affects the larGest nUmber of

the World’s children.


• corrosion resistance agents Leadoxidesandotherleadcompoundsaresometimesaddedtopaintsthatareusedonmetalsurfacestoinhibitrustorcorrosionandtoincreasedurability.Oneofthemostcommonoftheseisleadtetroxide,whichisalsocalledred leadorminium.

• Unintentional ingredients Tracequantitiesofleadmaysometimesbepresentinthefillersandotherearth-basedingredientsthatareusedinpaintformulation.Theleadcompoundisnotintentionallyaddedtothepaintformulationforafunctionalpurposebutratherentersthepaintasanunwantedcontaminantinoneofitsingredients.

Pigmentsanddryingagentsthatdonotcontainleadareavailableandcanbesubstitutedforthosethatcontainlead.Corrosionresistantpaintsthatdonotcontainaddedleadcompoundsarealsoavailable.

Paintscanbeformulatedtocontainverylowconcentrationsoflead.Ifthemanufactureriscarefulintheselectionoftheirpaintingredients,andifthemanufacturerteststheingredientstoensuretheydonotcontainaddedleadcompoundsorexcessivelevelsofleadcontaminants,theleadcontentofthepaintisgenerallylessthan10partspermillionlead(dryweight).

Whenpaintistestedandisfoundtocontainmorethan90partspermillion(ppm)oflead(measuredasthetotalleadcontentofthedrypaintfilm),itcanbetakenasanindicatorthatoneormoreleadcompoundwasintentionallyusedinthepaint’sformulationforanintentionalandfunctionalpurpose(suchasapigmentordryingagent).

Lead decoratIve paInts

Decorativepaints(alsosometimescalledarchitecturalpaints,homepaints,orresidentialpaints)arepaintsthatareproducedtobeusedontheexteriorsofhomes,schools,commercialbuildings,andsimilarapplicationsandoninteriorsurfacessuchaswalls,ceilings,floors,doors,windowsandtrim.Thesepaintsarealsosometimesusedbytheconsumertorepaintoldfurniture,cribs,toys,andotherhouseholdproductsthatchildrenmaychewon.Leaddecorativepaintsarerecognizedasasignificantsourceofchildhoodleadexposure,andtheyhavebeenprioritizedbyGAELP,IPEN,andothersforelimination(alongwithotherpaintcategorieslikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposure).

Newleaddecorativepaintsaregenerallynotanimportantsourceofleadexposurewhentheyarestillinthecanorwhentheyarebeingapplied.

However,surfacesthathavebeenpaintedwithleadpaintwill,overtime,age,weather,andchip.Asaresult,theleadthatwaspresentinthepaintaccumulatesinindoordustandoutdoorsoils.Childrenplayingindoorsoroutdoorsgetdustandsoilontheirhands,andtheningestitthroughtypicalhand-to-mouthbehavior.Thisisespeciallytrueforchildreninthesixyearsandunderagegroup,thegroupmosteasilyharmedbyexposuretolead.Paintchipscanbeespeciallyharmfulbecausetheirleadcontentcanbemuchhigherthanwhatistypicallyfoundindustandsoils.Insomecases,childrenmaydirectlychewonpaintedobjectsorpaintchips.

Childrenandworkersareespeciallyatriskwhensurfacesthatwerepaintedinthepastwithleadpaintarerepaintedordisturbedbyconstructionorotheractivities.Workmenmaysand,dryscrape,grind,orinotherwaysdisturbtheoldpaintedsurfaceandproducelargequantitiesofdustwithveryhighleadcontent.Painters,carpenters,andconstructionpersonnelshouldwearpropersafetyapparel;avoidsanding,dryscraping,orgrindingoldpaintedsurfacesthatmaycontainleadpaint;andtakecaretocontrolandcontainanydustordebristheymaycreate.Instructionalmaterialsandtrainingprogramshavebeenestablishedtoinstructthesepersonnelonproperwaystopreparesurfacesforrepainting.

Exposuretoleadfrompaintremainsaproblemformanydecadesaftertheleadpaintisappliedtoasurface;oldhomes,schools,andotherlocationsthatwerepaintedwithleadpaintaslongas50to75yearsagoormore,continuetobesourcesofleadexposureinchildren.Andonceasurfaceispaintedwithleadpaint,thecostsassociatedwithleadabatementcanbeveryhigh.Thismakesitallthemoreurgenttostopproducing,selling,andusingnewleadpaints,especiallyincountrieswherethesaleanduseofdecorativepaintsisrapidlygrowing.

Basedonthelimiteddataavailable,thewater-baseddecorativepaints(sometimescalledplasticpaintsorlatexpaints)thatarecurrentlysoldindevelopingcountries,withafewexceptions,donotgenerallyappeartocontainaddedleadcompounds.Ontheotherhand,oil-based(enamel)decorativepaintsfrequentlycontainhighconcentrationsoflead.Forexample,inasampleof232cansofenameldecorativepaintpurchasedin2008and2009in11regionallydiversedevelopingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransition,two-thirdshadleadconcentrationsgreaterthan600ppmoflead.Theaverageleadconcentrationofthesepaintswas23,707ppm.Onepaintsamplehadaleadconcentrationofmorethan500,000ppm.22

22ThefulldatasetcanbefoundinLead in New Decorative Paints,IPEN2009,http://www.ipen.org/ipenweb/documents/work%20documents/global_paintstudy.pdf

exPosUre to lead from Paint remains a

Problem for many decades after the lead

Paint is aPPlied to a sUrface.


Formosttestedpaintofasinglebrandandtype,thewhitepaintoftenhadtheleastlead;thebrightyellows,reds,andgreensoftenhadthehighestleadcontent.Itappearsthatwhiteleadpigmentsarenotnowcommonlyused,butthatleadpigmentsarestillcommonlyusedinthebrightlycoloredenamelpaints.

Insomecases,boththewhitepaintandthebrightlycoloredpaintsofaparticularbrandandtypebothwerefoundtocontainsubstantialamountsoflead,butwiththebrightlycoloredpaintshavingamuchhigherleadcontent.Thisisanindicatorthatthesebrandsandtypesofpaintmayuseleaddryingagentsorotheraddedleadcompoundsinadditiontousingleadpigmentsforthebrightcolors.

TheUnitedStatesbannedallleadpaintsforresidentialusein1978andmosthighlyindustrialcountrieshavealsobannedthesaleanduseofleaddecorativepaints.Itappearsthatatleastoneandpossiblymoreofthelargeinternationalpaintmanufacturingcompaniesmaynotaddleadpigmentsandotherleadcompoundstothedecorativepaintstheysellinanymarket.Forexample,nomorethantraceorverylowleadcontenthasbeenfoundinanytesteddecorativepaintsbrandedDuluxorICI,bothsubsidiariesoftheworld’slargestmanufacturerofdecorativepaints,AkzoNobel.

otHer Lead paInts

Decorativepaintsarenottheonlycategoryofleadpaintthatislikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposure.Significantleadexposureislikelytooccurwhenpaintsareusedascoatingsinthemanufactureoftoys,pencils,cribsandplaypens,furniture,andotherhouseholditems,especiallyoneschildrenmaychewon.Specializedrustandcorrosion-resistantpaintsforuseonmetalsurfacesareoftensoldforhomeuseandarealsooftenusedonschoolplaygroundequipmentandsimilarapplications.Theseareallapplicationsforwhichtheuseofleadpaintshouldbecontrolledandeliminated,andtheyshouldbeaddressedspecificallyinnationallaws,regulations,andproceduresadoptedwiththeaimofeliminatingleadpaintsmostlikelytocontributetochildhoodexposure.

Industrialpaintsgenerallyhavenotbeensubjecttostrictcontrolsontheirleadcontenteveninmosthighlyindustrialcountries.Leadindustrialpaintsareoftenusedascoatingsforautomobilesandmanyotherindustrialapplications;paintingbridgesandotherstructuralapplications;paintingyellowlinesonroads;andmanyotherpurposes.Insomecases,theseapplicationsarelesslikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposurethandecorativepaints.Nonetheless,thesepaintsstillrepresentasignificantleadhazardtoworkersand,insomecases,alsotochildren.Bridgesandstructurespaintedwithleadpaintaretypicallyscrapedandsandedbeforerepainting.Productsthatcontainleadedindustrialcoatingscreateleadhazardswhenrecycledor

incinerated.Invirtuallyeveryapplicationinwhichitisused,leadpaintrepresentsapotentialexposurehazardtoworkersandchildren.Substitutesforleadinindustrialpaintsandinpaintsforstructures,bridges,streetmarkingsandotheruseshavebeenavailableandwidelyusedformanyyears.

Inrecentyears,somecountrieshavebegunimposingbansandrestrictionsonleadpigmentsandotherleadcompoundsusedinindustrialpaints–mostprominently,theEuropeanUnionasitprogressivelyimplementsREACH(theEuropeanCommunity’sregulationonchemicalsandtheirsafeuse).Inresponse,somepaintcompanieshavestartedtoeliminatetheuseofleadpigmentsintheirindustrialpaintsandsomepigmentmanufacturersareendingtheirproductionofleadpigments.InFebruary2012,BASF,oneoftheworld’slargestpigmentmakers,announcedthatitwouldstopproducingandsellingleadchromatepigmentsbytheendof2014.23DuPont,theworld’sleadingproducerofautomotivepaints,hasalreadyremovedleadpigmentsfromtheformulationofallthepaintsandcoatingsfornewpassengercars,anditannouncedinJune2012thatithasplanstodiscontinueaddingleadpigmentstoitsotherautomotivecoatings.DuPontstatedthatbytheendof2012,leadpigmentswillhavebeenremovedfromallitsautomotiverefinishpaintproductsandthatitisintheprocessofphasingouttheuseofleadpigmentsinallitscommercialvehiclecoatings.24InternationalPaint,themarinecoatingssubsidiaryofAkzoNobel,announcedinAugust2012thatithasbecome“thefirstproducerintheheavydutycoatingssectortocompletelyphaseoutoftheuseofleadchromates.”25Andevenwhereleadcompoundsinindustrialandpaintsarepermitted,theyarefallingintodisfavorduetocostsassociatedwithoccupationalhealthlawcomplianceandhazardouswasteliabilities.

Globalleadpainteliminationshouldincludephasingoutleadcompoundsfromallcategoriesofpaintsandcoatingsworldwidewithveryfew,ifany,exceptions.Theglobaleliminationofaddedleadcompoundsfromallindustrial,structural,andcertainothercategoriesofleadpaintmaypresentmorechallengesandrequiremoretimethanwilltheglobaleliminationofleaddecorativepaints.Nonetheless,thesechallengesarenotgreat,andthegoalofthetotalglobaleliminationofallleadpaintsisrealisticandcanbeachieved.

23BASFconcentratesonalternativestoleadchromatepigments,http://www.basf.com/group/pressrelease/P-12-160

24PressReleases,DuPontRefinishtodiscontinueleadedpigments,June2012,http://www.dupontrefinish.eu/portal/en?page=GU-1.3.1_Cur-rent_Press_Release&category=PressReleaseCategoryOne&catid=48&catid2=5256

25BeyondCompliance-ImprovingTheSustainabilityOfOurProductOffer,August82012,http://www.international-pc.com/resource-centre/news.aspx,http://www.international-pc.com/resource-centre/news/phasing-out-lead-chromates.aspx


Exposuretoleadcausessignificantandwidespreadinjurytohumanhealth.Leadpoisoningsometimesisalsocalledleadintoxication,plumbism,orpainter’scolic.Of all toxic environmental pollutants, harms from lead exposure are probably better understood and better documented than the effects of any other toxic environmental pollutant.

Lead exposure and Its eFFects

Leadservesnousefulbiologicalfunctioninhumans,26andexposuretoleadcanaffectmanydifferentpartsofthehumanbody.Asinglehighdoseofleadcancauseseveresymptoms,althoughmostpeopleareaffectedfromcumulativeexposureovertime.Highleadexposuremaycausevomiting,staggeringwalk,muscleweakness,seizures,andcoma.Othersymptomsofleadexposurecanincludeabdominalpainandcramping(usuallythefirstsignofahigh,toxicdoseofleadpoisoning);aggressivebehavior;anemia;constipation;difficultysleeping;headaches;irritability,lossofpreviousdevelopmentalskills(inyoungchildren);lowappetiteandenergy;andreducedsensations.27Leadexposureisaparticularlyinsidioushazardsinceithasthepotentialforcausingirreversiblehealtheffectsbeforetheexposureisclinicallyrecognized.Theseeffectsincludehypertension,centralnervoussystemproblems,anemia,anddiminishedhearingacuity.28

Thetwomostcommonroutesofhumanleadexposurearerespiratory(breathingleadfumesorleaddustintothelungs)andgastrointestinal(ingestingleadthroughthemouthintothestomachandintestines).Therespiratoryrouteisthemostcommonrouteforoccupationalexposure;thegastrointestinalrouteisthepredominantrouteofchildhoodexposure.

Metallicleadandinorganicleadcompoundsarenoteasilyabsorbedthroughtheskin.Onceitisinthebody,leadisgenerallyexcretedslowlywithabiologicalhalf-liferangingupto30years.Sinceexcretionisslow,leadaccumulatesinthebody,primarilyinthebones.

Leadinthebodyisdistributedthoughthebloodstreamandreachesitshighestconcentrationsinbone,teeth,liver,lungs,kidneys,brain,andspleen.Leadinbloodhasanestimatedhalf-lifeof35days,insofttissue40daysandinbone20to30years.Mostabsorbedleadendsupinboneandisnotknowntocausedeleteriouseffectontheboneitself.Thelead,however,doesnotnecessarilyremaininthebones,

26http://www.aafp.org/afp/1998/0215/p719.html

27U.S.NationalLibraryofMedicine,fromtheU.S.NationalInstitutesofHealth,http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002473.htm)

28http://www.aafp.org/afp/1998/0215/p719.html(citedabove)

anditcanberemobilizedandcausecontinuedtoxicityafterexposureceases.29Theleadthathasaccumulatedinamother’sbones,whenmobilizedduringpregnancy,cancrosstheplacentaandreachthedevelopingfetus.

Whileacuteleadpoisoningisveryserious,repeatedexposuretosmallquantitiesofleadismorecommonandcancausedetrimentallifelongimpacts.Theeffectsofleadpoisoningbuildupslowlyovertime,andtheindividual’shealthproblemsgetworseasthelevelofleadinthebloodgetshigher.Andevenlowlevelsofleadexposurenoteasilyassociatedwithanyobvioussymptomscanstillharmachild’smentaldevelopment.30

Lead exposure In cHILdren

Untilthe20thcentury,leadpoisoningwasviewedalmostexclusivelyasanoccupationaldiseaseofworkersincertainindustries.Medicalpractitionersworkingwithchildrenfocusedalmostalloftheirattentiononthetreatmentandpreventionofinfectiousdiseases.Withrisingprosperityinhighlyindustrialcountriesintheearly20thcentury,however,muchofthepopulationbegantoreceivebetternutrition,cleanwater,functioningsewagesystems,andaccesstohealthcare.Asaresult,deathsanddisabilitiescausedbyinfectiousagentsstartedtodeclineandhealthworkersbegantoreconsiderthedominantparadigmthatautomaticallyassumedinfectiousagentswerethecauseofallthechildhooddiseasestheyobserved.31

Startingintheearly1900’s,publishedreportslinkedleadpaintexposuretochildhoodleadpoisoning.Bythe1920s,manyarticlesonchildhoodleadpoisoningbegantoappearinthemedicalandpublichealthliterature.Thesearticlesdocumentedthatconvulsions,mentalretardation,andsomeotherdiseasesofinfancyandchildhoodthatpreviouslyhadbeenascribedtoinfectiouscauseswereactuallysymptomsofleadpoisoning.The1926articleLeadPoisoninginChildren,whichappearedintheAmericanJournalofDiseasesofChildren,concludedthatleadpoisoningwasarelativelyfrequentoccurrenceinchildrenandwasusuallyassociatedwiththeingestionofleadpaint.32

29same

30U.S.NationalLibraryofMedicine,fromtheU.S.NationalInstitutesofHealthcitedabove

31 Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution,GeraldMar-kowitzandDavidRosner,UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2003

32 Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution,GeraldMar-kowitzandDavidRosner,UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2003

health effects of lead exPosUre


Leadismuchmoreharmfultochildrenthanadults,andthehealtheffectsaregenerallyirreversibleandcanhavealifelongimpact.Theyoungerthechild,themoreharmfulleadcanbe.Thehumanfetusisthemostvulnerable.

Childrenareoftenatahigherriskforleadexposurethanadults.Whenawomanofchildbearingagehasbeenexposedtolead,herfetuscanbeexposedthroughoutpregnancy.Childreneatmorefood,drinkmorewater,andbreathemoreairperunitofbodyweightthandoadults.Childrenhaveaninnatecuriositytoexploretheirworldandengageindevelopmentallyappropriatehand-to-mouthbehavior.Forexample,atypicalonetosixyearoldchildingestsapproximately100milligramsofhousedustandsoileachday.Whereverhousedustandsoilsarecontaminatedwithlead,childreningestleadalongwiththedustandsoil.Inthosechildrenwhosufferfromnutritionaldeficiencies,ingestedleadisabsorbedatanincreasedrate.33

Somechildrenexhibitaconditioncalledpica,thatis,theyintentionallyeatabnormalquantitiesofpaint,clay,chalk,orothernonfoodmaterials.Causesofpicaarenotwellunderstood,butitisthoughttobecausedbysuchfactorsasculturaltradition,acquiredtaste,oraneurologicalmechanismsuchasanirondeficiencyorchemicalimbalance.AccordingtoonestudyintheUnitedStates,childrenwithpicamayeatasmuchas10gramsofnonfoodmaterialsperday.Whenchildrenwithpicaeatleadcontaminatedsoilsorpaintchips,theyarelikelytosufferhighleadexposure.

Childrenaremorebiologicallysusceptibletoleadthanadults:34

•Achild’sbrainundergoesveryrapidgrowth,developmentanddifferentiationandleadinterfereswiththisprocess.Braindamagecausedbychronic,low-levelexposuretoleadisirreversibleanduntreatable.

•Exposuretoleadearlyinlifecanre-programgenes,whichcanleadtoalteredgeneexpressionandanassociatedincreasedriskofdiseaselaterinlife.

•Gastrointestinalabsorptionofleadisenhancedinchildhood.Upto50percentofingestedleadisabsorbedbychildren,ascomparedwith10percentinadults.(Pregnantwomenmayalsoabsorbmoreingestedleadthanotheradults).

Therecognizedclinicalsymptomsofleadexposureinchildrenincludeabdominalpainandarthralgia(paininthejoints).Clumsinessandstaggeringmayalsobeseen,followedbyheadacheandbehavioralchange.35

33Childhood Lead Poisoning,WorldHealthOrganization,2010

34same

35LeadPoisoning,byHerbertNeedleman,AnnualReviewofMedicine2004,http://www.rachel.org/files/document/Lead_Poisoning.pdf

subcLInIcaL Lead exposure In cHILdren

Clinicallyobservablesymptomsofleadexposureinchildrendonotgenerallyappearuntilahighlevelofleadexposurehasbeenreached:symptomsoftenbegintoappearwhenachild’sbloodleadlevel(BLL)reaches60microgramsperdeciliter(μg/dL).Untilthe1980s,mostmedicalpractitionersdidnotconsiderleadexposureinchildrentobeaproblemuntilandunlessclinicalsymptomswereobserved.

Someresearchers,however,disagreed.Startinginthe1940s,someresearchersbeganfindingsuggestiveevidencethatchildrenwerebeingharmedbyexposuretoleadeventhoughtheyexhibitednoclinicallyobservableleadpoisoningsymptoms.Theseresearchersbegantospeculatethataproportionofschoolfailureandbehavioraldisorderwascausedbyunrecognizedleadtoxicity,andthat,therefore,subclinicalleadexposureinchildrenisalsoaseriousconcern.Thisconjecturewascontroversialatfirstandwasvigorouslychallengedbyleadindustryinterests.

In1979,awell-designedstudybypediatricianandpsychiatristHerbertNeedlemanresolvedtheissue.Hisstudycollectedchildren’sbabyteethandtestedthemforlead.Needlemanfoundthatthechildrenwithhigherleadcontentintheirteeth,onaverage,performedworseinschool,scoredloweronintelligencequotienttests(lowerIQs),andhadhigherincidentsofbadclassroombehavior.Follow-upstudiesonthesesamechildren12yearslaterfoundthatthosewhohadthehighestleadlevelsintheirteethaschildrencontinuedtohaveschoolproblemsthroughtheirlastyearofhighschool.Otherresearchersreachedsimilarconclusionsandalsofoundcorrelationsbetweenchildhoodleadexposureandhigherratesofattentiondeficit,aggression,delinquency,andcrime.36

Needleman’sfindingsandotherstudiesconvincedboththemedicalcommunityandalsoauthoritiesinmanycountriestorecognizethatchildrensuffersignificantneurologicalharmfromrelativelylow-levelexposuretoleadevenwhentheyexhibitnoclinically-observablesymptoms.Widespreadsubclinicalchildhoodleadexposure,byitself,cametoberecognizedasaveryseriouspublichealthconcern.Asaresult,manyjurisdictionsbeganrevisingdownwardwhattheyconsideredanacceptablethresholdlimitofbloodleadinchildren.37

Bythe1990s,theWHOandtheinternationalmedicalcommunitywereingeneralagreementthatabloodleadlevelinchildrenof10μg/dLwasthethresholdforconcernforpublichealthinterventions.




Basedontheevidenceofreducedintelligencecausedbychildhoodexposuretolead,theWHOhaslisted“lead-causedmentalretardation”asarecognizeddiseaseandclassifiesitasoneoftheworld’smostseriousdiseasescausedinwholeorinpartbyenvironmentalfactors.

A2006WHOreport,Preventing Disease through Healthy Environments: Towards an estimate of the environmental burden of disease,statesthatapproximatelyone-quarteroftheglobaldiseaseburdenandmorethanonethirdoftheburdenamongchildrenisduetomodifiableenvironmentalfactors,anditliststhe24diseasesthathavethelargestenvironmentalcontribution.Theseincludediarrhea,lowerrespiratoryinfections,malaria,roadtrafficinjuries,andchronicobstructivepulmonarydisease.Thereportranksthesediseasesbyaweightedmeasureofdeath,illness,anddisability.Ofthetop24diseasesassociatedwithenvironmentalcausationlistedbyWHO,lead-causedmentalretardationisrankednumber10.38

no saFe LeveL oF Lead exposure In cHILdren

Children’soverallbloodleadlevelsinhighlyindustrialcountriesbegantodropafterleadwasremovedfromautomotivefuelsinthosecountries.Thisallowedresearcherstomoreeasilystudytheeffectsofchildhoodleadexposureatlevelsbelow10ug/dL.Theyfoundthatchildrenwithbloodleadlevelswellbelow10μg/dLwerestillexhibitingmentaldeficitsandbehavioraleffects.Forexample,a2002studybyBruceLanphearfoundthatchildren’smathandreadingscoresshowedreductionsthatcorrelatetobloodleadlevelsaslowas2.5μg/dL.Oneconclusionthathealthresearchershavedrawnfromthisandsimilarstudiesisthatnothresholdlevelforsafeleadexposurehasyetbeendemonstrated.39

Inresponse,aJointExpertCommitteeoftheUnitedNationsFoodandAgriculturalOrganization(FAO)andtheWHOin2010withdrewitspreviousreferencestandardforprovisional

38http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/preventingdis-ease.pdf


tolerableweeklyintake(PTWI)ofleadanddeterminedthatitisnotpossibletoestablishanewPTWIthatishealthprotective.RecentWHOleadguidelinesnowindicatethattheycanestablishnotolerableweeklyintakeforlead.40

In2010,theEuropeanFoodSafetyAuthorityPanelonContaminantsintheFoodChainreviewedtheworkoftheJointFAO/WHOExpertCommitteeandconcludedthattheEU’spreviousprovisionaltolerableweeklyintakeofleadisnolongervalidsince“thereisnoevidenceforathresholdforcriticallead-inducedeffects.”41

In2012,theU.S.CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC)concludedthatthereisnoknownacceptableleadexposurelevelforchildren.Itthereforeeliminatedtheuseofterminologythatidentifiesanybloodlead“levelofconcern.”CDCinsteadadoptedareferencevalueapproachthatcomparesanindividualchild’sbloodleadleveltothatoftheaveragebloodleadleveloftheU.S.populationofchildren.TheCDCalsoadoptedanewpolicyguidancethatemphasizesprimaryprevention:preventingleadexposureratherthanrespondingaftertheexposurehastakenplace.42

Sincechildrenappeartohavenosafelevelofleadexposure,allexposuresshouldbeavoided.

econoMIc and socIaL IMpact oF wIdespread cHILdHood Lead exposure

Leadexposureinchildrenisassociatedwithalifelong,irreversibledecreaseintheirintelligence.Studiesonanimalshavefoundanassociationbetweenleadexposureduringdevelopmentandaggressivebehavior.43Humanhealthstudieshavefoundassociationsbetweenbloodleadconcentrationsinchildrenandarrestsforoffensesinvolvingviolencelaterintheirlives.44Otherneurologicaleffectsofchildhoodleadexposuremayincludeproblemsmaintainingattentioninschoolorhome;hyperactivity;problemswithlearningandrememberingnewinformation;rigid,inflexible

40 Preventing Disease through Healthy Environments, Exposure to Lead: A Major Public Health Concern,WHO2010,http://www.who.int/ipcs/fea-tures/lead.pdf

41ScientificOpiniononLeadinFood,EFSAPanelonContaminantsintheFoodChain(CONTAM),EFSAJournal2010,http://www.efsa.europa.eu/fr/scdocs/doc/1570.pdf

42CDCResponsetoAdvisoryCommitteeonChildhoodLeadPoisoningPre-ventionRecommendationsin“LowLevelLeadExposureHarmsChildren:ARenewedCallofPrimaryPrevention”June2012http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/ACCLPP/CDC_Response_Lead_Exposure_Recs.pdf

43 Exposure to lead during development alters aggressive behavior in golden hamsters,http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10440488

44 Association of Prenatal and Childhood Blood Lead Concentrations with Criminal Arrests in Early Adulthood,http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050101

needleman foUnd that children With

hiGher lead content in their teeth, on

averaGe, Performed Worse in school,

scored loWer on intelliGence qUotient

tests (loWer iqs), and had hiGher incidents

of bad classroom behavior


problem-solvingabilities;problemscontrollingaggressiveorimpulsivebehavior;problemspayingattention;poorworkcompletion;andothers.45

Onthebasisofmultiplestudiesinseveralcountries,itisestimatedthataboutaquartertohalfofanIQpointislostforeachmicrogramperdeciliterincreaseinapreschoolchild’sbloodleadlevel(forchildrenwithbloodleadlevelsintherangeof10to20μg/dL).Forchildrenwithbloodleadlevelslowerthan10μg/dL,thedose/responserelationshipisstronger:anincreaseinachild’sbloodleadlevelfromlessthan1μg/dLto10μg/dLisassociatedwithasixpointdecreaseinIQ.46

Whennationalchildhoodleadexposureissufficientlywidespreadtocauseadecreaseinaverageintelligenceandschoolperformance,thiscanhaveanationwideimpactonthecountryasawhole.Thesementaldeficitscontinuetoadulthoodandaffecttheaverageintelligenceandlearningabilityofthecountry’spopulationasawhole.Widespreadchildhoodleadexposureinacountrycausesashiftinthedistributionofintelligenceandlearningperformanceinacountry’spopulation.Atthelowendoftheintelligencespectrum,thetotalnumberofacountry’scitizensexhibitingsymptomsofmentalretardationissubstantiallyincreased;atthehighend,thenumberwithtrulysuperiorintelligenceissubstantiallydecreased.

Oneresultcanbealargeincreaseinthenumberofchildrenwhodopoorlyinschoolandwhomaynotcontributefullytosocietywhentheybecomeadults.Anotherresultcanbeareductioninacountry’sfutureintellectual,businessandpoliticalleadershippotentialandawideninggapinsocioeconomicattainmentbetweencountrieswithhighandlowlevelsofleadexposureintheirchildren.47

Bloodleadlevelsinchildrenvarywidelyfromcountrytocountryandregiontoregion.Thehighestbloodleadlevelsaregenerallyseeninlow-incomecountries.In2004,16percentofallchildrenworldwidewereestimatedtohavebloodleadlevelsabove10μg/dL.Ninetypercentofthesechildrenwereinlow-incomeregions.48

A2002studybyPhilipLandriganandothersinvestigatedthesocio-economicimpactsofleadexposureinU.S.children.(TheU.S.isacountrywithlowchildhoodleadexposurecomparedtomostdevelopingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransition.)Thestudyestimatedthecumulativereductioninchildhoodintelligenceassociatedwith1997

45 Neuropsychological Effects of Lead Poisoning on Child Development,Mt.WashingtonPediatricHospital,http://www.mwph.org/services/effects_lead_poisoning.htm

46ChildhoodLeadPoisoning;WorldHealthOrganization,2010

47same

48same

levelsofleadexposureinchildren,anditcorrelatedthistoachild’slifetimeearningpotential.ThestudyconcludedthatthedecreasedadultearningpotentialthatresultsfromthischildhoodleadexposurecoststheU.S.economy$43.4billion(thousandmillionormilliard)peryear.49ThisfindinghasbeenusedtojustifygovernmentprogramstoreduceleadexposureinU.S.children,suchasleadabatementinhomesthathadbeenpaintedwithleadpaints35yearsagoandlonger.

Circumstancesindifferentcountries,ofcourse,varywidely.TheLandriganstudy,nonetheless,providesanindicationofthemagnitudeoftheeconomicimpactofwidespreadchildhoodleadexposureinonehighlyindustrialcountry.AndthefullcostsarelikelytobehigherthanthosedocumentedbyLandrigan’sstudysinceitdoesnotattempttocaptureseveralothercoststosocietyassociatedwithleadexposuresuchasincreasesinviolenceandcriminalbehaviororaddedcostburdensonthenationaleducationsystem.

Whileitwouldbedifficulttoaccuratelyquantifythenationalsocio-economicimpactofwidespreadchildhoodleadexposureonanyparticulardevelopingcountryorcountrywithaneconomyintransition,itisreasonabletoassumethat,inrelativeterms,nationalsocio-economiccostsassociatedwithchildhoodleadexposureinthedevelopingworldisgenerallygreaterthanthecostsdocumentedbyLandriganfortheU.S.Inpart,thisisbecauseaveragechildhoodleadexposureintheU.S.,wheresystematiceffortshavebeenmadeforyearstoaddressthisproblem,ismuchlowerthanchildhoodleadexposureinmostdevelopingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransition.Additionally,issuesassociatedwithincreasingnationallaborproductivityandimprovingnationaleducationsystemsareamongthemostimportantchallengesfacingmostdevelopingcountries.Lead-causeddiminishedintelligenceandmentalretardationtogetherwithotherlead-causedneurologicaleffectssuchasincreasedviolentbehavioraremajorbarrierstowardmeetingandovercomingthischallenge.

49PhilipLandriganandothers,EnvironmentalPollutantsandDiseaseinAmericanChildren,http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1240919/pdf/ehp0110-000721.pdf


Atthe1992RioWorldEnvironmentalSummitandatsubsequentWorldEnvironmentalSummitsin2002and2012,governmentspledgedtoworktowardachievementoftheSoundManagementofChemicals.In2002,theWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopmentinJohannesburgsetagoalthatwasreiteratedatthe2012Rio+20Summit:theachievement of the sound management of chemicals throughout their life cycle so that by 2020, chemicals are produced and used in ways that minimize significant adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

Thisgoalisofdirectrelevancetotheleadpaintissue:exposuretoleadcausesseriousadverseimpactsonhumanhealth,especiallychildren’shealth;leadpaintsareawidespreadandsignificantsourceofchildhoodleadexposure;andtheeconomicandsocialcostsassociatedwitheffectivelyprohibitingtheuseofleadadditivesinthosepaintsmostlikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposureareverylow.Ofallthechemicalswhoseproductionandusecausesignificantadverseimpactsonhumanhealth,theuseofleadcompoundsintheformulationofpaintsisamongthosethatcausethegreatestharm,anditisalsoausethatcanbeeliminatedwithamodesteffortandatminimalcost.Thissuggeststhatprogresstowardtheglobaleliminationofleadpaintsby2020,especiallyleaddecorativepaintsandleadpaintsforotherapplicationsmostlikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposure,canbeconsideredoneverygoodindicatorofhowwelltheworld’sgovernmentsareperforminginrelationshiptothesoundchemicalsmanagementgoalsthattheyagreedtothe2002and2012WorldEnvironmentalSummits.

saIcM

In2006,environmentministers,healthministers,andothergovernmentdelegatesfrommorethan100countriesmetinDubaialongwithrepresentativesofUnitedNationsspecializedagencies,NGOs,industrytradeassociations,andothersforthefirstInternationalConferenceonChemicalsManagement(ICCM1).TheICCM1adoptedtheSAICM,apolicyframeworkandprogramofactionwhosegoalistoachievesoundchemicalsmanagementinallcountriesby2020.50

AtthetimethatSAICMwasbeingpreparedandadopted,itappearsthatmostparticipatinggovernmentandNGOexpertswereunawarethatleadpaintsremainwidelyavailableinthedevelopingworld.Forexample,theword“paint”doesnotappearinthe120-pluspagesofSAICM’sfoundingdocuments.Soonafterwards,however,NGOsbegantestingdecorativepaintsonthemarketintheirhomecountries.Ineverycountrywheretestingwasconducted,mostbrands

50SAICM,http://www.saicm.org/index.php?menuid=2&pageid=256

ofoil-baseddecorativepaintstestedhadhazardousleadcontent.IPENandothersconcludedthattheeliminationofleadpaintshouldbeconsideredacriticalSAICMissueandanecessarypartoftheimplementationofsoundchemicalsmanagementinanycountry.

TwoofSAICM’sfoundingprinciples,asexpressedinthehigh-leveldeclarationadoptedbyEnvironmentMinistersandothersatSAICM’sfoundingmeeting,are:

The sound management of chemicals is essential if we are to achieve sustainable development, including the eradication of poverty and disease, the improvement of human health and the environment and the elevation and maintenance of the standard of living in countries at all levels of development;and…

We are determined to protect children and the unborn child from chemical exposures that impair their future lives.51

Theseprinciplesspeakdirectlytothecontinuingwidespreadsaleanduseofleadpaints.Childhoodleadexposuresassociatedwithleadpaintsharmhumanhealth,underminetheeradicationofpovertyanddisease,andcreatebarrierstotheelevationandmaintenanceofstandardsofliving.Leadpainteliminationisnecessarytoprotectchildrenandtheunbornchildfromchemicalexposuresthatimpairtheirfuturelives.

OneoftheagreedpillarsoftheSAICMPolicyandStrategyistheSAICMRiskReductionObjective:

To ensure, by 2020 that chemicals or chemical uses that pose an unreasonable and otherwise unmanageable risk to human health and the environment based on a science-based risk assessment and taking into account the costs and benefits as well as the availability of safer substitutes and their efficacy, are no longer produced or used for such uses.52

ThisSAICMobjectivespeaksveryclearlyandpreciselytothecontinueduseofleadcompoundsintheformulationofpaints.Leadcompoundsusedindecorativeandotherpaintsposeanunreasonableandotherwiseunmanageablerisktohumanhealthandtheenvironment.Theyimposeveryhighcostsonsociety,provideverylittleifanybenefits,andshouldnolongerbeproducedandused.Safersubstitutesfortheleadpigments,leaddryingagents,andotherleadcompoundsusedinthemanufactureofpaintshavelongbeenused,arewidely

51Dubai Declaration on International Chemicals Management,http://www.saicm.org/documents/saicm%20texts/SAICM_publication_ENG.pdf

52 SAICM Overarching Policy Strategy,http://www.saicm.org/documents/saicm%20texts/SAICM_publication_ENG.pdf

lead Paint and the soUnd manaGement of chemicals


available,havewell-demonstratedefficacy,andhaveatmostmarginalimpactonthewholesalepriceofthepaintproduct.

Forthefollowingreasons,nationalleadpainteliminationshouldberelativelyeasytoachieveineverycountryifgovernmentofficialsandstakeholdersworktogether:

•Thesignificantharmsassociatedwithchildhoodleadexposure,includinglow-dosesubclinicalexposure,arenowwell-documentedandnotlikelytobecomeasubjectofseriousnationalcontroversy.

•Thebarriersthatnationalpaintmanufacturersandim-porterswillneedtoovercometoeliminatetheuseofleadpigments,leaddryers,andotherleadcompoundsintheirdecorativeandotherpaintformulationsareminimal,notcostly,andnottechnicallydifficulttoimplement.

•Thedraftingofanappropriatenationallegalinstrumenttoprohibitthemanufacture,import,sale,anduseofleaddecorativepaintsisnotadifficultexercise.

•Modalitiescanbefoundforcompliancemonitoringandenforcementofawell-craftednationalleadpaintcontrolinstrumentthatareneithercostlynortechnicallychalleng-ingtoimplement.

Anycountrywiththewilltodosocanrelativelyeasilyeliminatethemanufacture,import,sale,anduseofleaddecorativepaintsandtheothercategoriesofpaintmostlikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposure.Additionally,thelargelytransnationalcharacteroftheglobalpaintandcoatingsindustryanditssupplychainsuggeststhattheindustryitself,withleadershipfromthelargecompaniesthatdominateit,couldeasilydecidetoeliminatetheseleadpaints.Therefore:

•IfSAICMistobeconsideredtobeameaningfulinternationalinitiative

•IfgovernmentsandstakeholderstakeseriouslytheSAICMgoalsandobjectivestheyadopted

•IfpurelyvoluntaryinternationalagreementssuchasSAICMaretobeviewedashavinganyutility

ThentheglobaleliminationofleaddecorativepaintsshouldbeundertakenasaSAICMtargetobjectivethatcanberealisticallyachievedby2020invirtuallyallcountries.

gLobaL aLLIance to eLIMInate Lead paInt

In2009,asecondmeetingoftheInternationalConferenceonChemicalsManagement(ICCM2)washeldinNairobi.IPENandotherspresentedevidencetotheICCM2thatleadpaintscontinuetobewidelymanufactured,sold,andusedinmanydevelopingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransition.Delegatesfromgovernmentministriesand

stakeholderorganizationsrespondedbyadoptingaresolutionthatidentifiedLeadinPaintsasanemergingSAICMpolicyissueandthatinvitedtheUNEPandtheWHOtoestablishaglobalpartnershiptopromotephasingouttheuseofleadinpaintsandtoserveasitssecretariat.53

UNEPandWHOjointlyinitiatedthispartnershipatanorganizationalmeetingheldinMay2010underthenameGlobal Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint(GAELP).54GAELP’sagreedbroadobjectiveistophaseoutthemanufactureandsaleofpaintscontainingleadandeventuallytoeliminatetherisksfromsuchpaint.55UsingtheICCM2resolutionasitspointofdeparture,GAELPhasdefinedtheterm“paint”toalsoincludevarnishes,lacquers,stains,enamels,glazes,primers,andcoatings.GAELPdefinestheterm“leadpaint”aspainttowhichoneormoreleadcompoundshasbeenadded.56

GAELP’soverallgoalistopreventchildren’sexposuretoleadviapaintscontainingleadandtominimizeoccupationalexposurestoleadinpaint.GAELP’sbroadobjectiveistophaseoutthemanufactureandsaleofpaintscontainingleadand,eventually,toeliminatetherisksfromsuchpaint.57

GAELP’sspecificobjectivesareto:58

(a)Raisetheawarenessofgovernmentauthoritiesandregulators,theprivatesector,manufacturers,consumers,workers,tradeunions,andhealth-careprovidersaboutthetoxicityofleadinpaintsandtheavailabilityoftechnicallysuperiorandsaferalternatives

53ICCM2omnibusresolutionII/4onemergingpolicyissues,http://www.saicm.org/documents/iccm/ICCM2/emerging%20issues/ICCM2%20Out-comes/Emerging%20issues/Omnibus%20resolution%20II_4.doc

54SeeGAELPHomePage,http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Lead-Cadmium/PrioritiesforAction/GAELP/tabid/6176/Default.aspx

55SeeGAELPObjectives,http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/LeadCadmium/PrioritiesforAction/GAELP/GAELPObjectives/tabid/6331/Default.aspx

56SeeGAELPOperational Framework,March2011,http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Portals/9/Lead_Cadmium/docs/GAELP/Final_op-erational_framework_GAELP.pdf

57 Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint: Objectives,http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/LeadCadmium/PrioritiesforAction/GAELP/GAEL-PObjectives/tabid/6331/Default.aspx

58same

any coUntry With the Will to do so

can relatively easily eliminate the

manUfactUre, imPort, sale and Use of lead

decorative Paints and the other cateGories

of Paint most likely to contribUte to

childhood lead exPosUre.


(b)Catalyzethedesignandimplementationofappropriateprevention-basedprogramstoreduceandeliminaterisksfromtheuseofleadinpaintsandproductscoatedwithleadpaints

(c)Helpidentifypaintmanufacturersandformulatorsthatcontinuetoproduceandmarketpaintscontainingleadsoastofosteractionstophaseoutleadfromtheirproducts

(d)Promotetheestablishmentofappropriatenationalregulatoryframeworkstostopthemanufacture,import,export,sale,anduseofleadpaintsandproductscoatedwithleadpaints

(e)Promote,asappropriate,internationalthird-partycertificationofnewpaintproductstohelpconsumerstorecognizepaintandcoatingswithoutaddedlead

(f)Shareguidanceandpromoteassistancetoidentifyandreducepotentialleadexposureinandaroundhousing,childcarefacilities,andschoolsinwhichpaintcontainingleadandpaintdustispresentandinindustrialfacilitiesproducingorusingpaintcontainingleadtoreduceworkers’leadexposure

TheWHOandtheUNEPdevoteresources,stafftime,andtheirorganizationalinfluencetoGAELPandtheachievementofitsobjectives.Severalacademicsinthefieldsofmedicineandpublichealth,andNGOrepresentativesassociatedwithIPEN,OccupationalKnowledgeInternational,andothersareactiveGAELPparticipantsandcontributors.Theleadingpaintindustryinternationaltradeassociation,InternationalPaintandPrintersInkCouncil(IPPIC),hasalsobeenanactiveparticipantinGAELPmeetings.Untilrecently,governmentparticipationinGAELPactivitieswassparse.However,asecondgeneralmeetingofGAELPwasheldinBangkokinJuly2012,hostedbytheThaiGovernment,with22governmentrepresentativesinattendancetogetherwithparticipantsfromUNEP,WHO,NGOs,academics,andtheThaipaintindustrytradeassociation.

FollowingtheICCM2decision,strongresolutionsinsupportofGAELP’sleadpainteliminationobjectiveswereadoptedattheFourth African regional meeting on SAICMinNairobiinApril2011andattheThird Latin American and Caribbean regional meeting on SAICMinPanamaCityinJune2011.59TheSAICMregionalGroupofAsianandPacificcountriesannouncedataglobalSAICMmeetinginBelgrade,inNovember2011,thatitalso“accordedhighprioritytoworkonleadinpaint,urgingtheworldcommunitytophaseouttheuseofleadforthwith.”60

Despitethesestatementsofsupport,onlyasmallhandfulofdevelopingworldgovernmentshavesofaradoptedmeaningfulmeasurestoactuallyprohibitorstrictlycontrolleadpaintmanufacture,import,sale,anduseintheircountries.Additionally,whilepaintindustrytradeassociationrepresentativeshaveindicatedinternationalpaintindustrysupportforGAELPanditsobjectives,thishasnotyettranslatedintomeaningfulindustryengagementinleadpainteliminationeffortsofakindoronascalecomparabletotheinitiativesofpetroleumcompaniesandtheirtradeassociationsduringthesuccessfulglobalcampaigntoeliminateleadedautomotivefuels.NorhavedonorgovernmentsprovidedUNEPandWHOwithsufficientresourcestoemploydedicatedfull-timestafftoGAELPortofundconcertedGAELP-ledinitiatives.

Nonetheless,GAELPprovidesausefulframeworkforleadpainteliminationinitiativesanddialoguewithpaintmanufacturingcompaniesandtheirtradeassociations.ItcanpotentiallyserveasavehiclethroughwhichUNEPcaninfluencenationalenvironmentministriesandWHOcaninfluencenationalhealthministriesinsupportofnationalregulatoryactionstocontrolleadpaints.GAELPcanalsoserveasausefulframeworkforcooperationbetweenhealthprofessionals,academics,NGOs,andotherswhohaveaninterestinlaunchingtheirownnationalorglobalinitiativesinsupportofleadpainteliminationobjectives.

AsaparticipantinGAELP,IPENhashadsomeinitialsuccessesinmobilizingresourcesforNGOleadpainteliminationeffortsfromgovernmental,intergovernmental,andnon-governmentaldonors.Forexample,participationinGAELPhashelpedIPENsecureagrantof€1.4millionfromaEuropeanCommissionDevelopmentandCooperationprogramtosupportNGOinitiatedleadpainteliminationactivitiesinsevenAsiancountries.GAELPhasalsoprovided

59http://www.saicm.org/images/saicm_documents/OEWG/Meeting%20documents/OEWG%201%20INF%2011%20Compilation%20of%20reg%20mtgs.pdf

60ReportoftheworkoftheOpen-endedWorkingGroupoftheInterna-tionalConferenceonChemicalsManagement,http://www.saicm.org/images/saicm_documents/OEWG/Meeting%20documents/OEWG1%2019_OEWG1%20Report%20E.pdf

GaelP’s overall Goal is to Prevent

children’s exPosUre to lead via

Paints containinG lead and to minimize

occUPational exPosUres to lead in Paint.

GaelP’s broad obJective is to Phase oUt the

manUfactUre and sale of Paints containinG

lead and, eventUally, to eliminate the risks

from sUch Paint.


aframeworkfordiscussionsbetweenIPEN,UNEP,andtheGlobalEnvironmentFacilityaboutapossible$1milliongrantforaglobalNGOleadpainteliminationprojectwithfocalactivitiesinfiveregionallydiversecountries.TheseprojectsmaybeusedasmodelsbybothgovernmentalentitiesandotherNGOswhomaywishtoseektheirownfundingfromenvironmentalordevelopmentassistancedonorsforleadpainteliminationprogramsandprojects.

InternatIonaL Lead poIsonIng preventIon day oF actIon

OnedecisionGAELPhastakenistosponsoranInternational Lead Poisoning Prevention Day of ActionthatwilltakeplaceinOctober2013withleadpainteliminationasitstheme.ThisdecisionwasproposedbyagenciesoftheU.S.Government,whichhavesponsorednationalLeadPoisoningPreventionsDaysofActionformanyyearsandhaveofferedGAELPtoprovidetechnicalandin-kindsupportforthisglobalinitiative.AtICCM3(September2012),aresolutiontosupporttheDayofActionwillbeproposed.

OneobjectiveoforganizinganationalLeadPoisoningPreventionDayofActionwithleadpainteliminationasitsthemecanbetosendaclearsignaloftheintenttotakefur-theractionaimedattheeliminationofleadpaintproduction,import,sale,anduse.TheDayofActioncanbeusedtoraisepublicandpoliticalawarenessontheissue.Itcanprovideanopportunityfordirectoutreachtopaintcompaniesandvendorsandtonationalpaintindustrytradeassociations.Itcanalsobeusefulinidentifyingnationalalliesforleadpainteliminationobjectives.ThecostsassociatedwithorganizingaDayofActionshouldbeminimalandwouldmostlybeofanin-kindcharacter.Anddocumentingasuccessfuleffortmightbehelpfulinapproachestopotentialdonorswithrequeststosupportmoresubstantivenationalinitiatives.

UtilizingtheDayofActiontomobilizesupportfornationalleadpainteliminationeffortswillbemosteffectiveifoneormoregovernmentministryoragencysuchashealth,environmentand/orothersprovidesnationalsponsorshipfortheevent.Inbecomingasponsor,theministryoragencytakesameaningfulsteptowardnationalleadpaintelimination,whichwillhelpcreateafoundationuponwhichmoresubstantivefollow-upactivitycanbebuilt.However,wheregovernmentagenciesarenotinapositiontosponsorororganizetheDayofAction,NGOs,healthprofessionalorganizations,and/orothersinacountrymaytaketheinitiativeontheirown.

Oncethedateisfirmlysetandinitialsponsorsororganizershavebeenidentified,aneffortshouldbemadetoidentifyadditionalparticipantsandsupporters.Thesemightinclude

agenciesofstate,provincial,and/ormunicipalgovernmentalentities;nationalorregionalpolitical,intellectual,cultural,orsocialleaders;theWHOnationaloffice;organizationsofmedicalandhealthprofessionals;hospitalsandmedicalschools;paintmanufacturersand/ortheirtradeassociations;NGOsandotherorganizationsofcivilsocietyworkingonissuessuchashealthand/orenvironmentalprotection,consumerrights,andchildren’sadvocacy;andothers.

Additionalactivitiescouldincludeposters,brochures,andsimilarmaterialspromotingleadpoisoningprevention;publicmeetingsandseminarsonthistheme;promotioncoverageinprintandelectronicmedia;etc.Presumably,GAELPwillbeabletoprovideusefulandappropriateposterandbrochuretemplates,informationalmaterials,andotherformsofsupport.

a natIonaL Lead paInt controL InstruMent

OneofGAELP’smostimportantobjectivesistopromotetheestablishmentofappropriatenationalregulatoryframeworkstoeliminateleadpaints.Governmentscandothisbypassinglawsorbyissuingregulations,directives,mandatoryprocedures,orstandards,orbyothermeans.Theinstrumentmayimposedifferentcontrolsand/ordifferenttimelinesforentryintoforcefordifferentpaintcategories.Priorityshouldbegiventothosepaintcategoriesmostlikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposure.Theseincludedecorativepaints;paintsappliedtotoys,pencils,children’sfurniture,andotherarticlesthatchildrenmightchewon;andanti-rustoranti-corrosivepaintsthataresoldontheconsumermarketorusedonplaygroundequipment.Considerationshouldalsobegivenworkers’occupationalexposuretolead.

Althoughitisappropriatetodefineleadpaintaspainttowhichoneormoreleadcompoundshavebeenadded,asapracticalmatter,aneffectivenationalcontrolinstrumentneedstoalsoestablishaquantitativestandardthatcanbeeasilytestedforandmeasured.Theproperstandardisalimitonthetotalleadcontentofthenon-volatileportionofthedriedpaintfilm.ThestandardadoptedbytheUnitedStatesimposesanupperlimitof90ppmontotallead(dryweight)fordecorativeandmanyotherpaintcategories.Othercountrieshaveadoptedstandardsintherangeof90to600ppmtotallead(dryweight).NGOsassociatedwithIPENgenerallypromotethe90ppmstandardasonethatisfullyachievableandmaximallyprotective.However,thedifferenceinpracticaleffectbetweena90ppmstandardanda600ppmstandardisnotverygreat.Ifthepaintmanufactureraddsleadcompoundstopainttoserveasapigment,asadryingagent,orforsomeotherintentionalpurpose,theleadcontent


ofthepaintisalmostalwayssubstantiallygreaterthan600ppm;ifnoleadcompoundisintentionallyadded,theleadcontentisgenerallywellbelow90ppm.

Anappropriatenationalleadpaintcontrolinstrumentshouldprohibitproduction,import,export,sale,anduseofanycontrolledpaintproductthatfailstomeetthenationalstandard.Itshoulduseabroaddefinitionofpainttoincludevarnishes,lacquers,stains,enamels,glazes,primers,andcoatings.Itshouldspecifyauniformanalyticalmethodormethodsthatareappropriateformeasuringtotalleadinthenon-volatileportionofthedriedpaintfilm.Theapprovedmethodsshouldspecifyproceduresforsamplecollectionanddrying;samplepreparationanddigestion;andchemicalanalysis.Theinstrumentshouldestablishthedatewhenitentersintoforce,anditshouldaddressrequirementsforpaintsthataresittinginwarehousesoronstoreshelvesatthetimeofentryintoforce.Aneffectiveinstrumentmustalsocontainprovisionsspecifyingenforcementmechanismsincludingmonitoringaswellasfinesorotherconsequences

fornon-compliancethataresufficienttoinducepaintproducers,importers,andvenderstocomply.

Itisalsoadvisableforanationalpaintcontrolinstrumenttoincludeprovisionsaimedatminimizingleadexposurefromleadpaintthatwasappliedtosurfacespriortotheinstru-menttakingeffect.Forexample,itmayrequirelabelsonalldecorativepaintcanswithwarningsthatsandingorscrapingapreviouslypaintedsurfaceinpreparationforrepaintingcanproducehazardousleaddust,anditmayspecifyproceduresforpreparingsurfacesforrepaintingthatminimizethisleaddusthazard.

Ifanationalleadpaintcontrolinstrumentincludesexemptionsordelayedimplementationforthecontrolofcertaincategoriesofleadpaint,itisadvisablethattheinstrumentrequirelabelsontheleadpaintsthatstate:“Hazard:ContainsLead.”

Aleadpaintcontrolinstrumentmayenumerateanon-exclusivelistofleadcompoundswhoseintentionaluseinpaintformulationsisexplicitlyprohibited.Ifthisweretobe

done,thelistshouldinclude,ataminimum,alltheleadpaintadditivesthathavebeenidentifiedbyGAELP:leadmonoxide,leadoctanoate,leadchromate,lead2-ethylhexanoate,leadsulfate,leadoxide,leadmolybdate,leadnitrate,leadsulfochromateyellow,leadnaphthenate,leadchromatemolybdatesulfatered,leadperoxide,leadcarbonate(whitelead),leadchromateoxideandtrileadbis(carbonate)dihydroxide.61

Afewcountrieshaverecentlyadoptedleadpaintcontrolinstrumentswithstandardsfordecorativeandotherpaintsthatarenotbasedonthetotalleadcontentofthepaint.Thesestandards,rather,arebasedonwhathasbeencalled“solublelead”definedastheamountofleadinthedrypaintfilmthatisdissolvedbyadiluteacidsolution.Pigmentvendershaverespondedtosolubleleadstandardsbyofferingpaintmanufacturersyellowandredpigmentsofleadchromateandleadmolybdatethathavebeenengineerednottoeasilydissolveindilutehydrochloricacid.Whensuchengineeredleadpigmentsareusedintheformulationofdecorativeorotherpaints,thepaintswilllikelycomplywiththesolubleleadstandardbutwouldstillbeconsideredtobe“leadpaint”accordingtotheinternationallyagreeddefinitionofleadpaint.Therefore,theadoptionofanationalleadpaintcontrolinstrumentthatusesasolubleleadstandardfordecorativeorotherpaintsisnotadvised.

Aprobablerationalefortheadoptionofsolubleleadstandardsistheassumptionthatwhenachildingestspaintresidues,onlyleadpigmentsorotherleadcompoundsthatareeasilydissolvedbygastricacidinthechild’sstomach(dilutehydrochloricacid)willenterthebloodstreamandcauseharm.Thescientificbasisforsuchanassumption,however,isdubious.Theseengineeredleadcompoundsarelikelytobehaveverydifferentlyuponentryintoachild’sgastrointestinaltractthantheydointhetestlaboratory.Thetestinglaboratorymeasureshowmuchleadinasampleofthenewpaintdissolvesindiluteacid.Paintresiduesthatachildmayingest,ontheotherhand,arenotlikelytocomefromnewpaint.Usuallytheseresiduescomefrompaintsthathavebeenpaintedontosurfaces,aged,weathered,exposedtosunlight,poundedandgrinded,andsoon.Thereisnogoodreasontoexpectthattheseengineeredleadpigmentswillcontinuetoremainnon-soluble.

61GlobalAlliancetoEliminateLeadPaint,OperationalFramework,para-graph7,http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Portals/9/Lead_Cad-mium/docs/GAELP/SecondMeeting/GAELP_operational-framework-full-JM120706_r.pdf

an aPProPriate national lead Paint

control instrUment shoUld Prohibit

ProdUction, imPort, exPort, sale and Use

of any controlled Paint ProdUct that fails

to meet the national standard.


Limitedprogresstowardgloballeadpainteliminationhasbeenmadesince2007.

progress as Measured by paInt saMpLIng and testIng

InsomeofthecountrieswhereIPENandotherstestedpaintsbetween2007and2009,itappearsthatmanyofthepaintbrandswhoseoil-baseddecorativepaintswerefoundtocontainhighquantitiesofleadhavesincereducedorcompletelyeliminatedtheiruseofleadpigments,leaddryingagents,andotherleadcompoundsinthedecorativepaintsthattheyproduceforsaleinthosemarkets.ThisprogressisdifficulttoquantifyandtheinformationisincompletebecauseIPENandothershavehadaccesstoonlyverymodestresourcesforpaintsamplingandtesting.Nonetheless,basedonthelimiteddataavailable,itappearsthatinsomeofthecountriesofSouthAsiaandSoutheastAsia,andalsoinCameroon(andpossiblyothercountrieswhereNGOsandothershavecarriedoutactivepublicinformationcampaignsonleadpaintelimination),anumberofthelargepaintbrandshavestoppedorreducedtheiruseofleadpigmentsandotherleadcompoundsinthedecorativepaintsthattheysellinthosemarkets.

IPENcurrentlyhasknowledgeofpaintsamplingandtestingresultsfromapproximately25developingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransition.Thismeansthatformostcountries,therestillappearstobenopubliclyavailabledataontheleadcontentofpaintsforsaleonthenationalmarket.Asaresult,formostcountries,thereisnotevenbaselineinformationagainstwhichprogresscouldbemeasured.Andthedatathatiscurrentlyavailableisincomplete.Itdoesnotcoverallthebrandsforsaleonanymarketandusuallycoversonlyasmallnumberofthepaintcolorsortexturesofanysinglebrand.Additionally,inmostcases,theavailabledatacomesfromsamplingandtestingundertakenonlyonetime,whichmakesitdifficulttoevaluateprogressovertime.

Thebestmeasureofrealprogresstowardgloballeadpainteliminationwouldbebasedonextensive,periodicpaintsamplingandtestingincountriesofallregions.Thisisbecauseevenafteracountryadoptsanationallaworregulationtoprohibitleaddecorativepaints,thesepaintsmightremainwidelyavailableforsaleonthenationalmarketifcomplianceislax.Hopefully,asagrowingnumberofgovernmentsofdevelopingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransitiontakeaninterestinleadpaintanditselimination,manyarelikelytoinitiatetheirownnational

leadpaintsamplingandtestingactivitiesorprograms.Somemaydosotohelpthemevaluatethescaleofthenationalproblem;somemaydosoaspartofthecomplianceregimeassociatedwithanationalleadpaintcontrolinstrument.Asgovernmentscollectsuchdata,itwouldbeextremelyusefuliftheywouldagreetobetransparentandsharethedatathattheycollectwiththeinternationalcommunity;anditwouldalsobeusefulforGAELPtomaintainaglobalpubliclyavailabledatabaseofpaintsamplingandtestingresults.

Whileextensivepaintsamplingandtestingwouldprovide,inprinciple,thebestmeasureofprogresstowardgloballeadpaintelimination,otherusefulmeasuresinclude:thenumber(andthepaintmarketsize)ofcountriesthathaveadoptedmeaningfulleadpaintcontrolmeasures;andthenumber(andpaintmarketshare)ofthepaintmanufacturersthatdonotaddleadpigments,leaddryingagents,andotherleadcompoundstopaintsthattheyproduceorwhohavemadeameaningfulpubliccommitmenttostopbyaanannounceddate.

Examplesofprogressinclude:

brazIL adopts Lead paInt controL Law

InAugust2008,Braziladoptedanadministrativeleadpaintcontrollawwhichestablishesthemaximumallowablelimitforleadinpaints,varnishes,andsimilarsurfacecoatingproductsforuseonbuildingsandschools.ThelawenteredintoforceinAugust2009.62

TheBrazilianlawprohibitsthemanufacture,sale,distribution,andimportofsurfacecoatingproductsforuseonbuildingsandschoolswithtotalleadcontentgreaterthanorequalto600ppm(0.06%)ofthenon-volatileportionofthedriedpaintasdeterminedbylaboratorytestinginaccordancewithnationalorinternationaltechnicalstandards.Paintcompaniesandvendorsweregivenoneyeartocomplyandremoveleadpaintsfromtheirsupplychains.Followingthelaw’sentryintoforceinAugust2009,itbecameimpermissibletosellleadpaintsevenifstocksremained.

62PresidênciadaRepública,CasaCivil,SubchefiaparaAssuntosJurídicos,LeiNo,11.762,de1ºdeAgostode2008,http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2008/lei/l11762.htm

ProGress

the best measUre of real ProGress toWard

Global lead Paint elimination WoUld be

based on extensive, Periodic Paint samPlinG

and testinG in coUntries of all reGions.


Thelawrequirespaintimporterstoprovidedocumentationoflaboratoryteststhatdemonstratethatimportedpaintscomplywiththestandardbeforebeinggrantedpermissiontoimport.Paintmanufacturersorimportersthatfailtocomplywiththeleadpaintcontroladministrativelawmayreceivepenaltiesincludingnotification,seizureoftheproduct,andafineequaltothevalueofgoodsseized.Thelawdoesnotspecificallyindicateanyothermonitoringorenforcementmechanisms.

ThelistedcategoriesofpaintswhichareexemptedfromtheBrazilianlawarepaintandcoatingmaterialsforuseonagriculturalandindustrialequipment,steelstructures,industrial,agriculturalandcommercialapplications,motorvehicles,aircraft,ships,railwaycarriages,appliances,andmetalfurniture.Thelawadditionallyexemptspaintsusedontrafficsigns,anticorrosivepaints,oranypaint,inkorsimilarmaterialusedexclusivelyingraphicarts.

TheBrazilianNGOEnvironmentalProtectionAssociation,incollaborationwithIPEN,initiallysampledandtestedpaintsonthemarketinBrazilafterthelawwasadoptedbutbeforeithadenteredintoforce.63OfthesixbrandsofenamelpaintsonthemarketinBrazilthatweresampledandtested,paintsfromtwoofthebrandscontainedonlytraceorlowquantitiesoflead.Testedpaintsfromtheotherfourbrands,however,includedsomewithveryhighleadcontent:thehighestcontained170,000ppmofleadandoneormoreofthesamplesofeachofthefourbrandscontained5,000ppmofleadormore.

PaintsonthemarketinBrazilweresampledandtestedagainafterthenewlawenteredintoforce.Theresultswerenotavailablebythetimethisreportwenttopress.However,basedoninformalcommunications,itappearsthatverysignificantprogresshasbeenmade.AlloftheBrazilianenameldecorativepaintsthatweretestedbeforethelawenteredintoforceweretestedagaininDecember2011.Thetestedsamplesfromallsixwerefoundtocontainnoleadatthelevelofdetection.However,twobrandsthatwerenotpreviouslytesteddidcontainsignificantamountsoflead.Onetestedsamplefromeachofthesebrandscontainedmorethan45,000ppmoflead–75timestheallowablelimitunderBrazil’snewlaw.Sincethenewlawhasonlyrecentlyenteredintoforce,complianceshouldcontinuetoimprove.

63http://www.ipen.org/ipenweb/documents/work%20documents/global_paintstudy.pdf

srI Lanka adopts Lead paInt controL dIrectIve

SriLankaisanothercountrywhereprogresstowardleadpainteliminationisbeingmade.In2009,theSriLankanNGOCentreforEnvironmentalJusticereleasedareportpreparedincooperationwithIPENandtheIndianNGOToxicsLinkwhichincludedthefirstdataevermadepubliclyavailableontheleadcontentofdecorativepaintsforsaleontheSriLankanmarket.Allthedecorativepaintstestedfromoneofthebrandsinthenationalmarket(ICIDulux)containedonlytraceamountsoflead.However,paintsfromthethreeotherbrandstestedhadveryhighleadcontent.

ThereleaseoftheseresultssetoffafiercedebatebetweenthepaintcompaniesthemselvesandalsointheSriLankanpressandsociety.TheCentreforEnvironmentalJusticethensuccessfullypetitionedtheSriLankanSupremeCourtrequestingitordertheConsumerAffairsAuthoritytoformulateasuitableleadpaintcontrolregulationtakingintoconsiderationtheserioushealthimpactsthatresultfromaddingleadcompoundstodecorativepaints.

In September2011,theSriLankannationalConsumerAffairsAuthority,usingpowersgrantedtoitbytheConsumerAffairsAuthorityAct,publishedaleadpaintcontroldirectivewhichstates:

“… no Manufacturer, Importer, Packer, Distributor or Trader shall manufacture, import and use or distribute, pack, store or sell or display for sale, expose for sale or offer for sale, wholesale or retail any paints unless such paints shall conform to the corresponding Total Lead Content specified by the Sri Lanka Standard Institution for such paints.”

Thespecifiedpermissiblemaximumtotalleadcontent,asstatedinthedirectiveis600ppm(mg/kg)forenamelpaintsandfloorpaintsand90ppm(mg/kg)foremulsionpaintsbothforexteriorandinterioruse.Thedirectiveadditionallyestablishesapermissiblemaximumsolubleleadcontentfor“PaintsusedonToysandAccessoriesforChildren”of90ppm(mg/kg).Thedirectivedoesnotspecifythetestmethodstobeusedformonitoringcompliancewithitsstandardsnoraspecificleadpaintmonitoringandenforcementregime.However,theenforcementprovisionsandpenaltiesfornon-compliancespecifiedintheConsumerAffairsAuthorityActwillapply.

TheSriLankanleadpaintcontroldirectivewillenterforceandbecomeeffectiveonJanuary1,2013.

ManydecorativepaintbrandsthataresoldontheSriLankamarketappeartohavealreadybeguntocomplywiththisdirectiveeventhoughithasnotyetenteredintoforce.Severalmajorbrands,includingAsianPaints,ICIDulux,andMultilac,haveplacedstatementsontheirlabelssaying“noaddedlead.”


tHaILand May soon adopt a new paInt controL InstruMent

In2009theThaiNGOCampaignforAlternativeIndustryNetwork(sincerenamedEcologicalAlertandRecovery–ThailandorEARTH)releasedareportpreparedincooperationwithIPENandtheIndianNGOToxicsLinkthatincludeddataontheleadcontentofdecorativepaintsforsaleontheThaimarket.ThisreportandsubsequentactivitiesbyEARTHandotherThaistakeholdersstimulatedrenewednationalinterestintheissue.

SeveralmajorpaintbrandsontheThaimarkethaveparticipatedforyearsinagreenlabelingprogram,avoluntaryprogramforwater-basedandsolvent-basedpaints.ParticipatingcompaniesmanyyearsagoappeartohavedecidednottouseleadpigmentsandotherleadcompoundsinthedecorativepaintsthattheysellinThailand.Someofthesepaintsweresampledandtestedforthe2009reportandcontainednomorethantraceamountsoflead.Ontheotherhand,paintsfromsomeofthesamebrandsaswellasotherbrandsofoil-basedpaintsontheThaimarketsampledandtestedforthereportwerefoundtocontainextremelyhighlead:ayellowNipponenamelpaintwasfoundtocontainmorethan500,000ppmofleadandaRust-Oleumenamelpaintwasfoundtocontainmorethan300,000ppmoflead.

ThaiGovernmentagencies,paintindustryrepresentatives,NGOs,andothersenteredintoastakeholderdialogueontheissue.In2012,theThaiMinistryofEnvironmentagreedtohostthesecondmeetingoftheGAELPheldonJuly12,2012,inBangkok.

ThePresidentoftheThaiPaintManufacturersAssociation(TPMA),whoisalsotheManagingDirectoryofoneofThailand’slargestpaintmanufacturingcompanies,gaveapresentationtotheGAELPmeeting.Shestatedthatmorethan80percentofallpaintsoldontheThaimarketisproducedbyTPMAmembercompanies.BecauseTPMAunderstoodthattheThaiGovernmentagenciesmightbeconsideringtheadoptionofanationalleadpaintcontrolinstrument,itpolleditsmemberstoaskthemwhetheranyhadanobjectiontotheThaigovernmentinitiatingabanontheuseofleadcompoundsintheformulationofdecorativepaints.Whennoobjectionswerereceived,TPMAforwardedanofficiallettertotheThaiMinistryofIndustrygivingitsconsenttosuchaban.

TheinterestshownbytheThaiGovernmentinitsagreementtohostaGAELPmeetingandtheletterfromTPMAstatingitsconsenttoabanonleadcompoundsindecorativepaintsaregoodreasonsforoptimismthatThailandwillsoonadoptabindingregulationordirectivebanningtheuseofleadcompoundsindecorativepaints.

Lead paInt controL order proposed In tHe pHILIppInes

ThePhilippineNGOEcoWasteCoalitionsampledpaintsonthenationalmarketin2009aspartoftheIPEN/ToxicsLinkGlobalstudyandalsotestedpaintsagainina2010follow-upstudy.Inbothofthestudies,somebutnotalloftheoil-baseddecorativepaintscontainedhighaddedleadcontent.PainttestingresultswerereleasedtothenewsmediainbothManilaandCebuCityandreceivedextensivenewspaperandtelevisioncoverage.ResolutionsinsupportofaprohibitiononleaddecorativepaintswereintroducedintoboththePhilippineSenateandHouseofRepresentatives.ThePhilippineHealthSecretaryissuedastatementinsupportofEcoWaste’sadvocacyfortheimmediatephasingoutofleadinpaintsinthecountry.ThePhilippineEnvironmentSecretarycalledforstrictercontrolsonlead,especiallyinpaints.Inresponse,thePhilippinepaintindustrytradeassociationhasindicateditcouldacceptaphase-outoftheuseofleaddryingagentsoveratwo-yearperiodandaphase-outoftheuseofleadpigmentsoverasix-yearperiod.

ThePhilippineDepartmentofEnvironmentandNaturalResourceshasreleasedadraftChemicalControlOrder(CCO)whichdefinesleadpaintsas“anypaintscontainingtotalleadondrybasisthatisabovethespecificlimitof90partspermillion(ppm).”ThedraftCCOstatesthat,“Allleadcompoundsinpaintsforarchitecturalandindustrialpaints,coatings,pigments,varnishes,lacquers,stains,enamels,glazes,topcoatsandprimersshallbegraduallyreduceduptotheallowablelimitof90ppminconcentrationwithintheperiodofsix(6)yearsfromtheapprovalandsignatureofthisCCO.”ThedraftCCOalsorequiresthatawarninglabelbeplacedonpaintandcoatingscontainersindicatingthatleaddustishazardousanditcanbecreatedwhenpreparingpreviouslypaintedsurfacesforrepainting.

ThisdraftControlOrderisstillunderdiscussionandhasnotyetbeenadopted.NGOsandstakeholders,amongotherissues,arepressingfortheprovisionsoftheControlOrdertobephased-inmorerapidlythanthesix-yearperiodcurrentlycalledforinthedraft.

apparent progress by tHree oF IndIa’s Four Largest paInt brands

FourmajorpaintbrandsdominatetheIndianpaintindustry:AsianPaints,BergerPaints,DuluxICI(India),andGoodlassNerolacPaints.In2007,whentheIndianNGOToxicsLinkfirstsampledandtestedpaintsontheIndianmarket,noneofthesamplesofDuluxICIbrandpaintstestedcontainedmorethantracequantitiesoflead.Samplesofoil-baseddecorativepaintsfromeachoftheotherthreemajorbrandscontainedmorethan600ppmoflead.


ToxicsLinkreleasedtheseresultstothenewsmediaandinitiatedcontactswithseveralpaintcompanies.WhenToxicsLinkagaintestedpaintsontheIndianmarketin2009,neithertheDuluxICInortheNerolacPaintstestedcontainedmorethantracequantitiesoflead.64TheNGOcampaigncontinued,andin2011ToxicsLinkoncemoretestedpaintsontheIndianmarket.Thistimenoneofthetestedpaintsfromthreeofthefourmajorbrandscontainedmorethan90ppmoflead.Ofthemarketleaders,onlyBergerpaintsstillcontainedhighleadcontent:ashighas34,700ppm.65Basedonthesetestingresultsandotherindications,itappearsthatthreeofIndia’sfourlargestpaintmanufacturingcompaniesmayhavetakendecisionstonotuseleadpigments,leaddryingagents,andotherleadcompoundsintheformulationoftheirdecorativepaints.

Thisgoodnews,however,comeswithqualifications.TheIndianpaintindustrycontainsaverylargenumberofsmallandmid-sizepaintcompaniesthatmaycompriseasmuchas40percentoftheIndianpaintmarket.Thereisstilllittleinformationaboutwhatprogress,ifany,thesecompaniesaremakingtowardleadpainteliminationandtheGovernmentofIndiahasnotyetdecidedtoestablishanymandatoryleadpaintstandard.

Additionally,India’sfourlargestbrandsalsocommandlargemarketsharesinneighboringcountriessuchasBangladeshandNepal.Accordingtotestingresultsfrom2011,boththeBergerandAsianPaintsoil-baseddecorativepaintspurchasedinBangladeshandNepalcontainedextremelyhighconcentrationsoflead.ABergeryellowpaintpurchasedinNepalcontained212,700ppmoflead;aBergeryellowpaintpurchasedinBangladeshcontained121,900ppm;anAsianPaintorangepaintpurchasedinNepalcontained64,400ppm;andanAsianPaintyellowpaintpurchasedinBangladeshcontained43,600ppm.66

64LeadinNewDecorativePaints:AGlobalStudy,ToxicsLinkandIPEN,August2009,Dr.AbhayKumar,http://www.ipen.org/ipenweb/documents/work%20documents/global_paintstudy.pdf

65DoubleStandard:InvestigatingLeadContentInLeadingEnamelPaintBrandsInSouthAsia,byToxicsLink,India,EnvironmentandSocialDevelopmentOrganization,Bangladesh,andCenterforPublicHealthandEnvironmentalDevelopment,Nepal,June2011,http://toxicslink.org/docs/Double_Standard_Lead_Paint_29_June_2011.pdf

66Same

caMeroon pLans Lead paInt standard

In2011,theCameroonNGOResearchandEducationCentreforDevelopmentsampledandtestedpaintsonthenationalmarketwithfinancialsupportfromtheSAICMQuickStartProgramTrustFundandUNEPChemicals.CREPDtested60paintsamplesthatwerepurchasedinretailstoresinsevenofthecountry’stenregions.Thirty-nineofthesamples(65percent)containedmorethan600ppmoflead;thehighestcontained500,000ppmoflead.CREPDalsosurveyedpaintsonthemarketandestimatedthat80percentofthepaintproductsavailableonthemarketaremanufacturedinCameroon,althoughthemarketsharesofthedifferentpaintbrandscouldnotbedetermined.

SeveralCameroonMinistriescooperatedwithCREPDinitsworkonleadpaintincludingtheMinistriesofEnvironmentandProtectionofNature;PublicHealth;Mine,IndustryandTechnologicalDevelopment;Trade;andLaborandSocialWelfare.Theresultsofthetestswerepresentedtotwonationalworkshopsandtenregionalworkshopswithparticipationfromministriesandstakeholders.Inresponse,theCameroonAgencyofStandardandQuality(ANOR)announcedplanstomoveforwardwithastandardtoregulatethemanufacture,import,andsaleofleadpaint.ThePrimeMinisterapprovedtakingactiononthisissue.Stakeholdersandcivilsocietyhavebeeninvitedtoparticipateinthedevelopmentofthenationalstandard.


Effectiveleadpainteliminationstrategieswillgenerallyincludetwocomplementarycomponents:1)effortsaimedatachievingbindingnationallaws,regulations,standards,andprocedurestocontrolthemanufacture,import,sale,anduseofleadpaints;and2)market-basedandotherinitiativesaimedatinfluencingpaintmanufacturers,brandholders,andvendorstotaketheirownvoluntaryactionstostopmanufacturingandsellingleadpaints.Thesetwocomponentsarecloselylinked.Neithercanbeeffectivelyinitiatedwithoutalreadyhavingdataontheleadcontentofpaintsbeingsoldonthenationalmarket;andpublicandconsumerawarenessanddemandareoftenimportantdriversforboth.Thetwocomponentsarealsolinkedbecause,ontheonehand,manygovernmentsarelikelytobemorewillingtopromulgatebindingleadpaintcontrolmeasureswhentheyseethatleaderswithintheirnationalpaintindustryhavealreadybegunmovingtowardeliminatingleadfromtheirpaintsorhaveexpressedtheirwillingnesstodoso;andontheotherhand,manypaintcompanieswilllikelybemorewillingtovoluntarilystopmanufacturingleadpaintswhentheyperceivethatbindinglawsorregulationsarecoming.

Whileglobalandregionalinitiativescanmakeimportantcontributionstoachievinggloballeadpaintelimination,theirmainrolewillbetosupportandcomplementcountry-by-countryefforts.Thereisnoprospectthatanyglobalorregionallegally-bindinginstrumenttocontrolleadpaintwillbeconsideredoradoptedanytimeintheforeseeablefuture.Meaningfulnationallawsorregulationstoprohibitorcontrolleadpaintsthereforemustbeindividuallyadoptedbyeachnationalgovernment.Market-basedleadpainteliminationstrategiesmustlargelybecarriedoutonacountry-by-countrybasis,butthetransnationalcharacterofmanylargerpaintcompaniesmeansthatglobalandregionalinitiativescanmakeimportantcontributions.Paintsaremarketednationally,sometimeswithlocalorregionalvariations.Therefore,boththenationally-ownedpaintcompaniesandthenationalsubsidiariesofinternationalcompanieswillberesponsivemainlytoconsumerandpublicpressurescomingfrominsidethecountry.

roLes In gLobaL Lead paInt eLIMInatIon For InternatIonaL actors

Whiletherolesofinternationalandregionalactorsarecomplementarytocountry-by-countryefforts,theynonethelessmakecriticallyimportantcontributionsinachievingleadpaintelimination.

non-Governmental organizations.Verylittleinternationalexpertorinstitutionalattentionwasbeinggiventotheproduction,sale,anduseofleadpaintsinthedevelopingworlduntilIPEN,aninternationalNGOnetwork,firstbroughtthisissuetothe2008meetingoftheIntergovernmentalForumonChemicalSafetyinDakarandthentothesecondmeetingoftheInternationalConferenceonChemicalsManagementinGenevain2009.InternationalNGOnetworkslikeIPENhaveanimportantcontinuingrole.IPENconductsoutreachtoNGOsandorganizationsofcivilsocietyincountriesofallregionstokeepthemupdatedongloballeadpainteliminationeffortsandstimulatesNGOstotakeuptheissueintheirowncountries.IPENprovidesinterestedNGOswithinformation,materials,advice,andassistanceand,asappropriate,helpscoordinateNGOleadpainteliminationeffortsbetweencountries.IPENhelpsNGOssharetheirexperiencesandthelessonslearnedinthedifferentnationalcampaigns.Withinbudgetaryconstraints,IPENalsoprovidesNGOsinallregionswithtechnicalassistanceandworkstomobilizeresourcesthatcanbeusedtosupportnationalNGOcampaignsandprojects.IPENadditionallyparticipatesintheGAELPAdvisoryCommitteeandprovidesassistancetotheGAELPSecretariatincarryingouttheworkofGAELP.

intergovernmental organizations.AftertheleadpainteliminationresolutionwasadoptedatICCM3,UNEPandWHObecamemoreactivelyengagedintheissueandagreedtoestablish,support,andcooperativelymanagetheGAELP.WHOanditsregionalandnationalofficeshavecloseandimportantrelationshipswithministriesofhealthinmostcountries.WHO’sagreementtoco-managetheGAELPSecretariatsendsasignalofitssupportfornationalleadpaintelimination.ThissignalcouldbegreatlyamplifiedthroughdirectoutreachtonationalhealthministriesbyWHOregionalandnationaloffices.Inasimilarmanner,UNEPhasimportantinfluenceovernationalenvironmentministries.WHOandUNEPworkingtogetherthroughGAELPcouldgreatlyinfluencemanynationalgovernmentstostartgivingseriousconsiderationtotheadoptionofa

lead Paint elimination strateGies

While the roles of international and

reGional actors are comPlementary

to coUntry-by-coUntry efforts, they

nonetheless make critically imPortant

contribUtions.


nationalleadpaintcontrolinstrument.StrongstatementsofsupportforleadpainteliminationobjectivesthatSAICMregionalgroupsadoptedfollowingICCM2hasalsohelpedtocreateaclimatethatencouragesrelevantnationalauthoritiesinmanycountriestobegintheirownleadpainteliminationinitiatives.ThechallengefollowingICCM3istocontinueeffortsaimedatencouragingnationalauthoritiestotakeuptheissueofleadpaintelimination,andtomakeavailabletothemtheinformationalmaterialsandotherkindsofsupportandassistancethattheywillneedtogoforward.

GAELPandotherinternationalactorshavebeenslow,sofar,inpreparinganddisseminatinginformationalandawareness-raisingmaterialsandtemplatesforuseoradaptionbythoseengagedinnationalleadpainteliminationefforts.Guidancematerialsontheelementsofeffectivenationalleadpainteliminationlawsorregulationsshouldhavealreadybeenmadeavailabletogovernmentofficialsandothersconsideringpossibleadoptionofanationalleadpaintcontrolinstrument.Somesmallandmid-sizepaintmanufacturersapparentlylackthetechnicalandsupplychaininformationthattheywouldneedtocost-effectivelyreformulatetheirleadpaints—informationthatshouldberelativelyeasytocompileanddisseminate.Instructionalinformationwouldbeusefulforgovernmentagencies,NGOs,andothersonhowtosamplepaintsonthenationalmarket,preparethemfortesting,selectanappropriatetestinglaboratory,andinterpretanddisseminateresults.

Progressalsoneedstobemadetoestablishaninternationallyagreedframeworkforthird-partypaintcertificationofpaintbrandsthathavevoluntarilyagreedtoremoveleadcompoundsfromtheirpaintformulations.Suchaframeworkcouldmakeitrelativelyeasytocreatenationalpaintcertificationandlabelingprogramsincountrieswheresome,butnotall,ofthepaintbrandsonthenationalmarketcontainaddedleadcompounds,andconsumersarenotabletoidentifywithconfidencewhichpaintbrandscontainaddedleadandwhichdonot.Third-partypaintcertification,basedonaninternationallyagreedframework,mightalsobeusefullyincorporatedasacomponentofanationalleadpaintcontrolregime,especiallyincountriesthatmightotherwisehavedifficultiesestablishingeffectivemonitoringandenforcementmeasures.

trade associations.Internationalandregionalpaintindustrytradeassociationshavethepotentialtobecomeveryimportantandconstructivecontributorstowardachievinggloballeadpaintelimination.TheInternationalPaintandPrintersInkCouncil(IPPIC)formallyadoptedaresolutionin2008thatsupportstherestrictionsontheuseofleadinpaintsthatarealreadyinplaceandthatrecommendstheirwidespreadadoptionbyauthoritiesincountriesnotcurrentlyregulatingtheuseofleadinpaint.IPPIChasparticipatedintheGAELPInterimAdvisoryCommitteeand

hasalsoapparentlyengagedindiscussionswithregionalpaintindustryassociationsonissuesrelatedtoleadpaint.IPPIChasadditionallyexpressedapossibleinterestincooperatingwithotherGAELPparticipantsinthecreationofaframeworkforthird-partypaintcertificationandlabeling,andinthepreparationanddisseminationoftechnicalandsupplychaininformationforsmallandmid-sizepaintcompanies.However,therehassofarbeenlittle,ifany,forwardmotiononthesematters.

Themostusefulroleinternationalandregionalpaintindustrytradeassociationsmightplayistoinformnationalpaintindustrytradeassociationsthattheywillnotbeabletoignoregrowinginternationalandnationalpressuresontheirmembercompaniestodiscontinuetheuseofleadpigments,leaddryingagents,andotheraddedleadcompoundsinpaintsthattheyproduceandsell.Sincethesepressuresareexpectedtocontinueandarenotlikelytostop,nationalassociationsmightbeadvisedtotakeanumberofactionsincludingproactivelydiscussingthisissueamongtheirmembers;encouragingmemberstodiscontinueusingleadcompoundsintheirpaintformulations;providingrelevanttechnicalandsupplychaininformationtothosemembercompanieswhomayneedit;and,eventually,beingabletoinformtheirnationalgovernmentsthattheirmembershavenoobjectiontotheadoptionofanationalleadpaintcontrolinstrument.Nationalpaintindustrytradeassociationsinatleasttwocountries,ThailandandthePhilippines,havealreadyindicatedtotheirnationalgovernmentthattheysupport,oratleastdonotoppose,theadoptionofanationalleadpaintcontrolinstrument.

health Professionals.Internationalassociationsofhealthprofessionals(e.g.,InternationalPediatricAssociation,theWorldFederationofPublicHealthAssociations)canplayimportantrolesbyhelpingtomobilizeinterestandengagementbyhealthprofessionalsinnationalleadpainteliminationinitiatives.Charitablefoundationsandlargeinternationalserviceorganizationsmightalsoconsidermobilizingsupportforgloballeadpaintelimination.Ofallsignificantinternationalinterventionstoreducetheglobalburdenofdisease,theachievementoftheglobaleliminationofthemanufactureanduseofleadpaintsisprobablytheeasiesttofullyachieve;anditprobablyhasahigherratioofpotentialhealthbenefittocostthanotherglobalpublichealthinterventions.

donors.Governmentalandintergovernmentaldonorscanalsomakeimportantcontributions.TheEuropeanUnion’sSWITCHAsiaProgramhasalreadyawardeda€1.4milliongranttoIPENinsupportofNGOleadpainteliminationactivitiesinsevenAsiancountriesTheSAICMQuickStartProgramTrustFundhasgivensupporttotwonationalNGOleadpainteliminationprojects.TheSwedishGovernment,theSwedishSocietyforNatureConservation,andtheSwiss


GovernmenthavefundedNGOleadpainteliminationefforts.TheGlobalEnvironmentFacilityhassignaledaninterestinprovidingatleastone$1milliongrantinsupportofaleadpaint-relatedproject.Inaddition,theU.S.andafewothergovernmentshaveprovidedfundstoGAELP.Thisfunding,takentogether,isagoodstart.However,GAELPisstillwoefullyunderfunded.Itdoesnotemployevenonefull-timededicatedstaffpersonandhasvirtuallynobudgetfordirectinterventions.FundingmadeavailableforcountryinterventionsbyNGOsand/orgovernmentshasbeensufficienttosupportongoingworkinlessthanadozencountries.Hopefully,contributionsinsupportofthegoalofgloballeadpaintinitiativewillincreaseinthenearfuture.

awareness raIsIng

Inmanycountries,publicawareness-raisingeffortsareakeycomponentofanynationalleadpainteliminationstrategy.This,however,neednotbethecaseinallcountries.Relevantgovernmentofficialsand/orpoliticalleadersinacountrymightseetheneedtotakeactiontoprotecttheirpublic’shealthandtheenvironmentfromleadinpaintpriortothepublicdemandingit.Insuchcases,aneffectiveleadpaintcontrollaworregulationmightbeadoptedandenforcedwithoutmuchofthepublicevenbeingawarethatleadpainteverwasanationalissueorconcern.

Inmostcountries,however,atleastsomepublicawareness-raisingeffortswillbeneeded.Thegovernmentofficialsinhealthandenvironmentministrieswhobestunderstandwhyitisimportanttoeliminateleadfrompaintoftendonothavethehigh-levelpoliticalorinstitutionalsupportthattheyneedtoadoptandenforceaneffective,legally-bindingnationalleadcontrolinstrument.Andinmanycountries,politicalleadersandhigher-levelofficialsmaybemorewillingtosupportadoptionofanationalleadpaintcontrolinstrumentiftheyperceivethatsectorsofthepublicandkeystakeholdergroupsinsocietyareconcernedabouttheissueandareexpectingthegovernmenttoact.Awareness-raisingeffortsmayadditionallyservetoconvinceconsumerstoavoidthepurchaseofleadpaintsandmayconvincepaintmanufacturersandvendorsthatcontinuingtoproduceandsellleadpaintsmaybeharmfultobrandreputationanddecreasebrandequity.

Fortunately,publicawareness-raisingonissuesrelatingtoleadexposureandleadpaintisrelativelyeasy.Inmostcountries,manypeoplearealreadybroadlyawarethatleadexposureisbad,especiallywhenchildrenareexposed.Additionally,theevidenceofharmfromleadexposureissostrongandwell-documentedthatindustryrepresentativeshavegenerallybeenunwillingtotrytopubliclyarguethecasethatthereisnogoodreasonforthepublictobeconcernedaboutleadhousepaintsandotherleadpaintsforchildren-relatedapplications.Itappearsthatleaddecorativepaints

canonlyprosperinthemarketplacewhenthepubliciskeptunawareofthem.Oncethepublicbecomesinformedaboutthem,leaddecorativepaintsbecomeanembarrassmenttotheirproducers,theirvendors,andtheirbrandholders.

Experiencesofarhasshownthatleadpaintisanissuethatofteneasilyattractstheinterestofthepress:boththeprintandtheelectronicmedia.Thereiscurrentlynodataavailableinmostcountriesontheleadcontentofdecorativepaintsforsaleonthenationalmarket.Whennewdataisgeneratedbysamplingandtesting,andwhentheresultsshowthatsomeormanyofthepaintbrandsonsalecontainhazardousquantitiesoflead,thepressisoftenwillingtoprominentlyreportonthestory.Whendoingso,itisgenerallyalsowillingtoreportontheharmsassociatedwithleadexposureinchildren,onthecontributionofleadpainttochildhoodleadexposure,andsoon.Andfinally,afterthenationalnewsmediahasalreadyoncewidelyreportedontheissueofleadpaints,itisoftenrelativelyopentopossiblefollow-upstories.

Newsmedianeednotbetheonlytargetforawareness-raisingefforts.Posterswarningaboutdangersassociatedwithleadpaintsthatarepostedinhealthclinicsandhospitalscan,insomecountries,beausefulawarenesstoolascanbrochuresdistributedbydoctorsandhospitalstotheirpatients.Otherstrategiescouldincludepublicmeetingsontheissueandpetitionorsign-oncampaigns.Thesizeandambitionofanationalleadpaintawarenesscampaignsufficienttoachievethedesiredresultwillvarygreatlyfromcountrytocountry.Inmanycases,however,evenrelativelymodesteffortswillgettheattentionofpaintcompanies,paintvendors,politicalleaders,andrelevantnationalauthorities.

eLeMents oF a natIonaL Lead paInt eLIMInatIon strategy

Asalreadyindicated,thestartingpointforanynationalleadpainteliminationstrategyisthecollectionanddisseminationofdataontheleadcontentofpaintsforsaleonthenationalmarket.Inalmostallcountries,anotherkeyelementofthestrategyisanambitiousandongoingawareness-raisingcam-paigntoinformconsumersandthepublicaboutthepresenceofleadpaintonthenationalmarket,thecontributionofleadpainttochildhoodleadexposure,andthesignificanthealthandsocietalharmsthiscauses.

in many coUntries, PUblic

aWareness-raisinG efforts are a

key comPonent of any national

lead Paint elimination strateGy


Elementsofanationalleadpainteliminationstrategymightinclude:

1) OrganizingaNationalAlliancetoEliminateLeadPaint

2) Identifyingthemajorleadpaintbrandsforsaleonthenationalmarketandthemajornationalvendorsofleadpaintbrands

3) Encouragingconsumerstoavoidthosebrandsandvendors

4) Encouragingbulkpaintpurchasessuchashousingdevelopers,housingagencies,schoolsystems,largecompaniesandotherstospecifyinallpaintpurchaseordersthattheywillonlyacceptpaintsthatareverifiedtocontainnoaddedleadcompounds

5) Conductingdirectoutreachseekingdiscussionsanddialoguewithpaintmanufacturers,majorpaintvendorsandnationalpaintindustrytradeassociations

6) Identifyingbarrierstoleadpainteliminationthatsmallormid-sizepaintcompaniesmaybefacingandhelpingthesecompaniesgetaccesstotheinformationandadvicetheymayneedtoovercomethosebarriers

7) Promotingtheestablishmentofanationalvoluntarythird-partypaintcertificationandlabelingprogramandencouragingpaintcompaniestoparticipateinit

8) Holdingpolicydialoguesaimedatidentifyingandsecuringagreementsontheelementsofaneffectivenationalleadpaintcontrolinstrumentwithparticipationfromrelevantgovernmentofficials,politicalleaders,paintcompaniesandtheirtradeassociations,relevantNGOsandrepresentativesofcivilsociety,andothers

an approacH to Large InternatIonaL paInt ManuFacturers

TheglobalpaintandcoatingsindustryhadtotalsalesofapproximatelyUSD$90billion(thousandmillionormilliard)in2011.DecorativepaintswerethelargestsinglecomponentwithsalesofmorethanUSD$40billion.67

Thetop10globalcompaniescontrolmorethan50percentoftheglobalmarket.Certainnationalandregionalcompanies,however,oftenout-competetheseglobalbrandsintheirowncountriesandregions.Inthefiscalyear2010,therewere22paintandcoatingcompanieswithmorethanUSD$1billioninsalesand59companieswithsalesof$200millionormore.68Whilewecurrentlylackinformationonwhatfractionofpaintsalesinthedevelopingworldarecontrolledbythesetop59companies,onecanreasonablyassumethattheycommandasignificantshareofthetotal.

All59oftheselargestpaintcompaniescertainlyalreadyhaveallinformationnecessarytoquicklyandcost-effectivelydiscontinuetheuseofleadpigments,leaddryingagents,andotherleadcompoundsinallthedecorativepaintsthattheyandtheirsubsidiariesmanufactureandsell.Someappeartohavealreadydoneso.Forexample,theworld’slargestpaintcompany,AkzoNobel,whosedecorativepaintbrandsincludeDuluxandICIpaints,appearstohavehadinplaceaglobalpolicyofnotaddingleadtothedecorativepaintsthattheysellinanymarket.Otherlargepaintcompaniesmayhavesimilarpolicies;andallcompaniesthatselldecorativepaintsinmarketsofthehighlyindustrialworldarealreadyproducingnon-leaddecorativepaintsforthosemarkets.

Areasonableinternationaldemandwouldbetocallupontheworld’s59largestpaintindustrycompanies–thosewithannualsalesofmorethanUSD$200millionperyear–tocompletelyeliminate,before2015,theuseofleadpigments,leaddryingagents,andotheraddedleadcompoundsinalldecorativepaintsthattheyortheirsubsidiariesmanufactureforsaleanywhereintheworld.

ICCM4isscheduledfor2015.IfthelargestpaintcompaniesintheworldcanbeinducedtodiscontinuemanufacturingandsellingdecorativeleadpaintsinallmarketsbyICCM4,thiswouldbeamajorsteptowardachievingtheglobalgoalofeliminatingthemanufactureandsaleofallleaddecorativepaintsby2020.

67 Architectural Coatings Market,CoatingsWorld,January2012,http://www.coatingsworld.com/issues/2012-01/view_features/architectural-coatings-market-608997/

682011 Top Companies Report,CoatingsWorld,July2011,http://www.coat-ingsworld.com/issues/2011-07/view_features/2011-top-companies-report/

at least 59 of the World’s larGest Paint

comPanies already have all information

they WoUld need to qUickly and cost-

effectively discontinUe the Use of lead

PiGments, lead dryinG aGents and other

lead comPoUnds in all the decorative

Paints that they and their sUbsidiaries

manUfactUre and sell.


there is a strong, robust and widely accepted body of

evidence documenting the personal and social harms

caused by childhood lead exposure. Numerousscientificandpublicagencieshaveconcludedthatthereisnosafelevelofleadexposure,andleadinpaintdecorativepaintshasbeenbannedintheindustrialcountriesformorethan40years.

Thesourceofsignificantchildhoodleadexposureaffectingthelargestnumberoftheworld’schildrentodayisleadpaint.

Exposuretoleadcausesalifelong,irreversibledecreaseinchildren’sintelligence.Childhoodleadexposuresufficientlywidespreadtocauseadecreaseinaverageintelligenceandschoolperformancehasanadverseimpactontheentirecountry.Oneoutcomeisanincreaseinthenumberofchildrenwhodopoorlyinschoolandwhomaynotcontributefullytosocietywhentheybecomeadults.Anotherresultcanbeareductioninacountry’sfutureintellectual,business,andpoliticalleadershippotentialandawideninggapinsocioeconomicattainmentbetweencountrieswithhighandlowlevelsofleadexposureintheirchildren.

Earlyactiontoeliminatethemanufacture,import,sale,anduseofleaddecorativepaintsisessentialtoacountry’seconomicfutureandtominimizeoravoidthelarge-scalelegacyproblemsthatmanyhighlyindustrialcountriesmustcontendwith.

the global elimination of all manufacture and use of

lead decorative paints in countries of all regions by

the year 2020 is an achievable objective and one

against which both the GaelP and the saicm can and

should be evaluated.Theharmsfromleadexposurearewelldocumentedandnotsubjecttocontroversy.Nationalmeasurestoprohibitandeliminatethemanufacture,import,sale,anduseofleaddecorativepaintsshouldentailonlyminimalnationaleconomicorsocialcostsandcanbeexpectedtoyieldverygreatpublichealthandeconomicdevelopmentbenefits.Thepaintindustryitselfhasbeenawareofthehazardsofleadexposureformanyyearsanddecadesagostoppedaddingleadcompoundstothepaintsthatitsellsinhighlyindustrialcountries.

Moreover,positivestepstoeliminateleadinpaintareunderway.TheGAELPcreatesaveryusefulinternationalframeworkforleadpainteliminationinitiatives,includingfosteringdialoguewithpaintmanufacturingcompaniesandtheirtradeassociationsandprovidinginformationandsupporttogovernmentofficialsandothersconsideringtakingactionsintheirowncountriestoeliminateleadpaint.

national actions to eliminate lead paints are needed

in every country.Insomeofthecountrieswheretherehavebeenleadpaintpublicinformationcampaigns,severalpaintmanufacturershavetakenvoluntaryactiontostopaddingleadcompoundstotheirdecorativepaints.Atleasttwocountrieshaverecentlyadoptedbindingleadpaintcontrolinstrumentsandinsomeothercountries,theyareunderactiveconsideration.Nonetheless,muchmoreprogressisneeded.

Nogovernmentofacountryinwhichleaddecorativepaintscontinuetobemanufactured,imported,sold,andusedcanbesaidtohaveyetmadesignificantprogresstowardimplementingthesoundmanagementofchemicals.

the 59 largest paint manufacturing companies in

the world should stop manufacturing and selling lead

decorative paints in all markets by 2015, at the latest.Thereare59paintmanufacturingcompaniesintheworldwithannualsalesofUSD$200millionormore.Thesecompaniesproducemostofthedecorativepaintsonsaleintheworld.Itisreasonabletodemandandexpectthatthesetopcompaniescompletelyhaltthemanufactureandsalesofallleaddecorativepaints,includingbyalloftheirsubsidiaries,by2015,atthelatest.Allofthesecompanieshavetheknowledgeandtechnicalskillsneededtoeliminatetheuseofleadcompoundsintheformulationofalltheirdecorativepaintswhilestillofferingtoconsumershigh-quality,cost-competitiveproducts.

Inadditiontodecorativepaints,priorityattentionalsoshouldbegiventotheeliminationofothercategoriesofpaintsmostlikelytocontributetochildhoodleadexposure.Theseincludepaintsusedascoatingsinthemanufactureoftoys,pencils,cribsandplaypens,furniture,andotherhouseholditems,especiallyonesthatchildrenmaychewon.Theyalsoincluderustandcorrosion-resistantpaintsforuseonmetalsurfacesthataresoldforhomeuseoruseonschoolplaygroundequipmentandsimilarapplications.

the phase out and elimination of leaded automotive

fuels provides a good model to follow. Thedecisiontolaunchaglobalpartnershiptoeliminateleadedautomotivefuelswastakenin2002.Atthetime,leadedautomotivefuelswereverycommoninmostdevelopingcountriesandcountrieswitheconomiesintransition.Now,10yearslater,theobjectiveoftheglobaleliminationofleadedautomotivefuelshasbeenlargelyachieved.Oneimportantreasonforthissuccessisthattheworld’spetroleumcompaniesandtheirnational,regional,andinternationaltradeassociationsplayedaveryactiveandconstructiverole.Ifnational,regional,

conclUsions


andinternationalpaintindustrytradeassociationscouldbeconvincedtoactsimilarly,thetotalglobaleliminationofleaddecorativepaintscouldbeeasilyachievedby2020.

lead paint legacy issues need to be addressed.Inhighlyindustrialcountries,leadpaintswereverywidelyusedthirtyyearsagoandmore.Thesepaintsremainaseriouslegacyprobleminoldhomesandbuildings,andtheirresiduescontinuetocontributetosignificantchildhoodleadexposure.Inmostdevelopingcountries,ontheotherhand,thesaleanduseofleaddecorativepaintswasrelativelysmalluntilrecentlycomparedtotheirpopulations.Butnow,salesofdecorativepaintsaregrowingveryrapidlyinthedevelopingworldasthemiddleclassinmanycountriesgreatlyexpands.Thismeansthatearlyactiontoeliminatethemanufacture,import,saleanduseofleaddecorativepaintsinthesecountriesstillhasthepotentialtoavoidlegacyproblemsontherelativescalethatmanyhighlyindustrialcountriesmustcontendwith.Nonetheless,legacyissueswillremaininall

countrieswhereleaddecorativepaintshavebeenused.Itisthereforenecessarytocreateincreasedawarenessofthehazardsofleaddustproducedwhensurfacescoatedwiththeselegacypaintsarere-painted,andalsoofthetechniquesthatcanbeusedtogreatlyreducethesehazards.

industrial lead paints and coatings also need to be

phased out. Progressalsoneedstobemadetowardthephase-outandeliminationofleadpaintsproducedforindustrial,structural,andotherapplications.Thesepaintsoftenalsocontributetochildhoodleadexposure.Theyrepresentseriousoccupationalhazardsandentailveryhighcoststouserswhocomplywithgoodoccupationalhealthandhazardouswastemanagementpractices.Leadindustrialandstructuralpaintsareasourceofworkerandcommunityhealthhazardswhenleadpaintedbridgesandstructuresarepreparedforrepainting,andwhenleadpaintcoatedproductsarerecycledordisposedof.

a toxics-free futurewww.ipen.org • [email protected]

global lead paint elimination by 2020 - ipen

Documents