Popular paint brands under the microscope

by Carol Aloysius

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) is collecting samples of paints used for various purposes, including for household requirements, to protect consumers from the emerging health issue of lead poisoning.

“We will collect nearly a hundred samples from leading local paint manufacturers across the country. They will include a wide range of commonly used brands”, Consumer Affairs Information Director C. Thilakeratne told the Sunday Observer.

She said the main focus would be on five commonly used types of paint including emulsion paint, enamel paint, floor paint and paint used for toys.

“What we’re trying to check is whether the paints have exceeded the permitted lead levels of 90-600 per kg. Although most of the big companies based in Colombo have complied with our guidelines, smaller companies which are mostly based outside Colombo use excessive quantities of lead,“ she said.

The samples would be sent for testing to an accredited laboratory.

The decision to put paints under the microscope follows a proposal from an environmental organisation that there should be controls over the quantity of lead used in paints, Thilakeratne explained. “We therefore talked to the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI) and identified the limits of lead content to be allowed. A Gazette notice on this was issued at the beginning of the year after which we started collecting the samples”, she said.

A health sector spokesman told the Sunday Observer that excessive amounts of lead could cause poisoning by increasing levels of heavy metals in the body, and interfering with a variety of bodily functions. “It is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys and reproductive and nervous systems. It is specially toxic to children, causing permanent behaviour disorders and headaches”, he said, adding that he “welcomed this move by the CAA, as a timely step.”

“Children can ingest dried paints in toys and cots with harmful lifelong health impacts”, he said.

Around 1,500 deaths are reported annually in Sri Lanka due to poisoning.