The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has published new standards for lead in paints following a Fundamental Rights application filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) in the Supreme Court earlier this year – with the new rules effective from January 2013.
The CEJ in its action sought an order for the CAA and others to formulate suitable regulations to compel the manufacturers and distributors to comply with the international standards relating to the presence of lead in paints considering the serious health impacts caused by adding lead to decorative paints.
In this case, the Secretary-Ministry of Co-operatives and Internal Trade, the Director General-Consumer Affairs Authority, Consumer Affairs Authority, Secretary-Ministry of Health, Secretary-Ministry of Science and Technology, Sri Lanka Standards Instituion, Central Environmental Authority, and the Attorney General were cited as the respondents.
On September 30, the CAA published a a Government Gazette Extra Ordinary No 1725/30 regulating permissible maximum lead content on the paints and accessories effective from January 1, 2013. These apply to paints for toys and accessories for children, enamel paints, emulsion paints for exterior and interior use and floor paints.
The CEJ in a statement said that lead in paints is highly toxics to the human, especially to children below 8 years. It has an impact on over 40 million children worldwide, over 97 % of who live in developing countries.
The global scientific study “Lead in New Decorative Paints" carried out by CEJ and Toxics Link in collaboration with International POPs Elimination Network(IPEN) found that one Sri Lankan Enamel Paint sample contained 137,325 ppm lead which is 228 times greater than 600 ppm, the level indicated in the recent gazette. Other tested enamel samples contained high levels such as 133463, 55237, 21116, 20904 ppm, etc.
CEJ Executive Director, Hemantha Withanage said “this paint standard is a greater achievement of the consumers who gets contaminate every minute due to unknown toxics in the consumer products such as decorative paints at home, in the school or in the work place”. |
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