The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition (on March 20) revealed it has detected lead in four more variants of Yandy Spray Paint, bringing to 18 the number of this imported paint brand from China with lead content above the regulatory limit.

To date, Yandy Spray Paint, which has no labeling information about its manufacturer or local distributor, has the most number of non-compliant paints sold locally with lead concentrations exceeding 90 parts per million (ppm) – the strict maximum limit for lead in paints under the DENR-issued Chemical Control Order (CCO) for lead and lead compounds.

Based on the chemical screening it conducted using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, the EcoWaste Coalition measured lead up to 2,759 ppm in four 400 ml. Yandy Spray Paint products that it bought from online sellers.

The cream yellow color contained 2,759 ppm lead, while the Toyota white, peach red and grain yellow variants had 2,580 ppm, 1,689 ppm and 1,630 ppm, respectively. The group will later submit the products to a private laboratory for confirmatory tests.

To recall, confirmatory laboratory analyses commissioned by the EcoWaste Coalition in 2020 and 2022 found 14 variants of Yandy Spray Paint with varying lead levels, including 10 colors with over 10,000 ppm lead.

As per laboratory tests performed by SGS, a global testing company, Yandy Spray Paints deep yellow had 47,500 ppm lead, medium yellow 46,700 ppm, canary yellow with 42,200 ppm, orange yellow 35,500 ppm, leaf green 32,100 ppm, grass green 30,500 ppm, jade green 26,500 ppm, Jialing red 24,600 ppm, Shifeng green 14,200 ppm, blackish green 15,400 ppm, apple green 3,580 ppm, fresh green 2,090 ppm, violet 1,040 ppm, and Suzuki red with 210 ppm lead.

All the analyzed Yandy Spray Paints provided no information about their lead content and offered no precautionary warnings to alert and help consumers in making informed purchasing decisions.

Lead is among the ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “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,” the WHO said.

“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 WHO emphasized.

To uphold the ban of lead-containing paints and protect human health, the EcoWaste Coalition urged manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers to only make and sell paints that are safe from lead as an ingredient or contaminant. It also asked national and local government authorities to work hand in hand in strictly enforcing the said ban. It further advised consumers to seek and demand for certified lead safe paints.

Together with the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), the EcoWaste Coalition is also advocating for stricter rules to control the global trade of lead chromates and paints containing them such as by listing these most common lead-based pigments in paint manufacturing under the Rotterdam Convention.

If listed in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention, companies that export lead chromates or paint products containing them may not ship these commodities to a country that has not agreed or consented to receiving them under the treaty’s prior informed consent (PIC) procedures.

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Reference:

https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DAO-2013-24-CCO-Lead.pdf
https:///www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health

EcoWaste Coalition

78-A Masigla Extension, Barangay Central, 1100 Quezon City, Philippines
Phone: +632-82944807 E-Mail: info@ecowastecoalition.org
Website: http://ecowastecoalition.blogspot.com