THE sale of spray paints that contain too much lead continuous even as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has already set the limit of the lead content of said products.

This was revealed by non-government organization EcoWaste Coalition after it discovered that the different variants of Standard Aeorosol Spray paints they bought recently in Quezon City have exceeded the maximum 90 parts per million (ppm).

The said limit is mandated under the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds issued by the DENR.

The group’s chemical safety campaigner, Thony Dizon said that five more lead-containing variants (deep yellow, medium yellow, gem green, leafy green and post green) of Standard Aerosol Spray Paints, which they bought at P109 each from a branch of a chain store in QC, were found to have contained from 4,102 to 21,400 ppm of lead.

“We advise consumers to insist on their right to product safety and reject paints containing lead additives,” said Dizon.

“We’re afraid that non-compliant spray paints are still sold by retailers outside Metro Manila,” warned Dizon, noting the group’s inability to conduct test buys in other regions due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Dizon stressed that government regulators and consumers across the country must be vigilant against the unlawful trade of leaded paints.

The government through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year banned the art yellow, light green and orange yellow variants of Standard Aerosol Spray Paint for exceeding the 90 ppm limit.

As pointed out in FDA Advisory 2020-1585 banning 37 lead-containing spray paint products, “lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children and can suffer profound and permanent adverse health effects, particularly affecting the development of the brain and nervous system.”

“It also causes long-term harm in adults, including increased risk of high blood pressure and kidney damage. Exposure of pregnant women to high levels of lead can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight. There is no permissible level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects,” the said advisory emphasized.

To put an end to the illegal sale of lead-containing spray paints, the group appealed to concerned retailers to cease from selling non-compliant products and to return them to their suppliers for environmentally sound disposal.

“We urge paint distributors and sellers to only offer lead-safe paint products with a proper certificate of analysis,” said Dizon.

The manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of lead-containing paints has been rendered illegal with the issuance of DENR A.O. 2013-24, or the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds, which phased out the use of lead in all paint categories.