Calls for stronger regulations to phase out lead in paints grow louder

There is a need to have stronger regulations and collaborative efforts to phase out lead in LEEP in Africa and the world.

This call was made yesterday during the opening session of the two-day capacity-building workshop in Nairobi with representatives drawn from 25 African countries.

The workshop, which is being held along Mombasa Road, was organised by Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP), Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme’s (Unep’s) Chemicals and Health branch, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

It aims to catalyse government commitments to adopt or strengthen lead paint regulations, build political momentum for lead paint elimination through peer learning, regional coordination, and high-level ministerial engagement.

It is also aimed at strengthening technical capacity among government officials on regulatory approaches, enforcement mechanisms, and paint industry engagement.

The forum seeks to come up with a country action plan after seeking to map out the current regulatory status and stakeholders, identify barriers and opportunities, define a regulatory pathway and timeline, and list needed technical assistance.

Lead in paints remains one of the most significant and preventable sources of childhood lead exposure globally, affecting one in three children. “Lead poisoning is a huge issue globally. One in three children has blood lead levels above five micrograms per deciliter, that’s the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) level of intervention,” said Dr Clare Donaldson, co-executive director of LEEP.

“This causes huge harm, for example, to their cognitive development. It’s estimated by the Centre for Global Development that one-fifth of the learning gap between rich and poor countries is caused by lead poisoning.”

According to reports, children in poor countries lose 6 IQ points on average due to lead exposure, per one estimate. Dr Davidson said lead poisoning is causing a permanent impairment to children’s cognitive development that stifles their educational attainment and the economic development of the country in the future.

LEEP supports countries to eliminate lead paint from their markets and works with governments to introduce and implement lead paint regulations, and supports industries working with manufacturers to reformulate to lead-free paints. When lead paint is put on walls in schools, homes and playgrounds, Dr Davidson said it starts to flake and form dust, which is ingested or inhaled by children and causes this lead exposure.

She said there is global momentum at the moment towards regulating lead in paint, with over 90 countries having legally binding regulations limiting lead in paint to 90 parts per million,  which is the gold standard as set by the WHO and the Unep. The problem of lead in paint, she said, is solvable because reformulation is possible.

She said lead in paint is still widely used, partly because of a lack of awareness of this issue. Rajiv Garg, head Kenya Country Programme, Regional Office for Africa at Unep said lead exposure remains one of the most pervasive yet entirely preventable optical challenges of our time. “Globally, one in three children has a limited leg level. The consequences are severe and irreversible. It leads to loss of IQ, learning difficulties, lifelong health impact and significant reductions in macroeconomic productivity,” he said.

The State reiterated its commitment to eliminating lead in paints in the country through already established appropriate policies and regulations.

“As the government, what we require is to have the appropriate policies and regulations in place so that we can keep track of the issues, ensure that the relevant institutions are addressing them and that industry, especially manufacturers know what should be done so that we don’t have unsafe products being put into the market,” said Purity Kamau, Director of Chemicals and Minerals Industries at State Department of Industries.

Ms Kamau spoke on behalf of the Principal Secretary in the State Department of Industry Dr Juma Mukhwana.

Kebs Director of Market Surveillance Peter Kaigara, who represented Managing Director Esther Ngari, said they have already developed standards that meet the limits of WHO standards for lead-free paints.

In Kenya, major paint companies like Basco Paints, Crown Paints, Novel Paints, Indian Ocean Paints and Plascon manufacture lead-free paints.