Violations of leaded paints regulations

The manufacturers of decorative leaded paints continue to exceed the permitted levels set by a special gazette notification last year . This could have severe health impacts on children in particular, a new study by the Centre for Environmental Justice ( CEJ) Sri Lanka has said.

" In samples taken from several schools, the scrapings of lead paint contained upto 600 milligrams per square feet of toxic dust", a researcher from the CEJ, Hemantha Priyankara told the Sunday Observer. "One sample had 72,000 ppm( parts per milligram) which is over 200 times the permitted level,".

He said a government gazette in August 2014, had called on decorative paint manufacturers and traders to legibly print the total lead content in each container or pack by September last year, while specifying regulatory limits for different types of paints. " But the paint industry is continuing to flout these regulations. Health and Consumer Authorities need to be more vigilant and monitor the industry since it can have serious health impacts on young children especially", he stressed.

The new paint standard is the result of a 3 year campaign by the Centre for Public Health & Environment Development ( CEPHED) in co-ordination with the IPEN Asian Lead Paint Elimination project which is currently being implemented in seven S. Asian countries - Nepal, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh. " Our aim is to eliminate lead in paints by 2020", he said.

A health official when contacted said lead acted negatively on the growing bodies and brains of young children whose bodies absorb its effects more rapidly. "Exposure in even small quantities to lead dust can cause mental retardation, affect their IQ's and lead to kidney problems which are irreversible", the official warned. -CA