Say no to Lead Paints : Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action
Give your child the gift of health in this Diwali, “Say no to Lead Paints”
Coinciding with the festive season in India, Governments, paint industries and environmentalists across the globe are also getting together this week (October 21-27, 2018) for the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action calling for protection for the children aged 0-9 years old.
The World Health Organization lists lead exposure as one of the top ten environmental health threats globally. Lead paint, a major source of childhood lead exposure, can cause permanent and irreversible brain damage in children. Lead exposure, from all sources, is also responsible for a higher percentage of adult mortality than previously thought. In alignment with the global actions to eliminate lead from paints, India has adopted the Regulation of Lead Contents in Household and decorative Paint Rules in 2016.
Toxics Link, a Delhi based NGO released Lead in Paints report, 2018 to mark the occasion of Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action, 2018 (ILPPWA). Institute of Social Research and Development, a partner organization of Toxics Link conducted paint sampling and survey for this report. Two samples collected from Manipur, Micolite and Poinolac both manufactured in January 2018 contained highest concentration of lead i.e. 81224 ppm and 5432 ppm respectively which is quite above the prescribed standard of 90 ppm.
The survey depicted low awareness levels in the state with only 5% of the consumer respondents being aware about the presence of lead in household paints. Similar levels of awareness were also reported in the retailer survey.
“The Government should take initiatives in enforcing the rules and push for raising awareness among the stakeholders to eliminate lead from paints in the country completely considering its impact on human health especially children’s health. After all, health is wealth and nothing matters more than the well-being of your loved ones,” stated Piyush Mohapatra, Senior Program Coordinator, Toxics Link.
“It is unfortunate to know that Lead is still being found in such high concentration in paint samples being sold in our area. There is an immediate need of improving the compliance of the regulations and public awareness to deal with the issue” stated Ksh. Dinesh Singh, Secretary, Institute of Social Research and Development (ISRD).
Ksh. Dinesh Singh
Secretary, Institute of Social Research and Development (ISRD)
Lamsang Bazar, Near RDO, Imphal West District - 795146
Manipur (INDIA)