CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Some highly toxic spray paints containing lead beyond regulated mixture were found sold online, the EcoWaste Coalition said.
EcoWaste Coalition revealed that three of the 13 spray paints it had found contained dangerous concentrations of lead, a chemical banned in the manufacture of paints. These were sold from an online dealer who shipped the items from Davao City.
The group is appealing to dealers of aerosol or spray paints from Mindanao to stop selling these products through online shopping platforms.
“We appeal to online as well as offline sellers of lead-containing spray paints to discontinue the unlawful sale of such products that goes against the government’s policy of eliminating lead paints,” said Thony Dizon, EcoWaste Coalition chemical safety campaigner.
Dizon also appealed to online shopping sites to take down the advertisements for these non-compliant paints to protect consumers from ordering items that can later pose risks of lead exposure.
The group said these three variants of F1 Aerosol paints sold from the said online dealer were among those found by the coalition that contains excessive lead.
A leaf green F1 spray paint has 56,100 parts per million (ppm) lead, a medium yellow F1 has 50,800 ppm lead, and an orange-yellow F1 has 11,500 ppm lead. The maker and the country where these are manufactured could not be found on the labels of these products.
The group had earlier announced its discovery of more non-compliant paints with lead content ranging from 4,500 to 56,100 ppm, which are way above the total lead content limit of 90 ppm under DENR A.O. 2013-24, or the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds.
Dr. Geminn Louis Apostol, an environmental health scientist, explained that “lead paint chips and dust are formed when a surface covered with lead paint ages, peels, and breaks.”
Apostol warned that children are exposed to lead when they eat such paint chips, swallow, or breathe in lead dust, which can affect brain development and cause reduced intelligence, learning ability, and attention span, as well as increased risk of behavioral problems such as aggressiveness, bullying, and violence.
The EcoWaste Coalition had so far discovered 50 leaded aerosol paints being sold by online and offline retailers in violation of the country’s lead paint regulation. None of the non-compliant spray paints found by the group was produced by companies belonging to the Philippine Association of Paint Manufacturers. (davaotoday.com)
