India: Lead in Solvent-Based Paints for Home Use

From February to May 2023, the IPEN PO Toxics Link purchased a total of 51 cans of paints—46 enamel decorative paints and five enamel spray paints—intended for home use from stores in 10 cities across India. The group also purchased paints from online sellers and e-platforms. The paints represented 40 different brands produced by 39 manufacturers.

Independent lab testing showed forty-six out of 51 analysed solvent-based paints for home use (90 percent of paints) were lead paints, i.e., they contained lead concentrations above 90 parts per million (ppm, dry weight of paint). This is also the regulatory limit for lead in decorative paint in e.g., Nepal, Bangladesh, China, South Korea, the Philippines, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon, Tanzania, Colombia, Canada, and the United States of America. Moreover, 39 paints (76 percent of paints) contained extremely high lead concentrations at 10,000 ppm or more. The highest lead concentration detected was 250,000 ppm in a yellow enamel decorative paint sold for home use.

On the other hand, five out of 51 analysed paints (10 percent of paints) did not contain intentionally added lead,1 suggesting that the technology to produce paint without lead ingredients exists in India.

Read the full report, below.