PRESS RELEASE  

CASE No. 64/2011 –Lead In Paint Matter

Gazette has been published on 30 th September 2011 publishing mandatory paint standards

Colombo , Sri Lanka . 12 th October 2011. The Consumer Affairs Authority has been published the standards for lead in Paints as a responding to the Fundamental Rights application filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) in the Supreme Court , Sri Lanka, on 14 th February 2011 seeking the Consumer Affairs Authority 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.

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 Institution, Central Environmental Authority, and The Hon. Attorney General have sited as the Respondents.

As pleaded, Consumer Affairs Authority has published a Government Gazette Extra Ordinary No 1725/30 on 30 th of September 2011 regulating permissible maximum lead content on the following paints and accessories shall come into effect from 01st January, 2013.

The Gazette states that “ no Manufacturer, Importer, Packer, Distributor or Trader shall manufacture, import and use or distribute, pack, store or sell or display for sale, expose for sale or offer for sale, wholesale or retail any paints unless such paints shall conform to the corresponding Total Lead Content given hereunder as specified by the Sri Lanka Standard Institution for such paints”.

Permissible maximum lead content

 Paints for Toys and Accessories for Children (soluble in HCI acid) 90 mg/kg Enamel Paints 600 mg/kg

Emulsion Paints for Exterior use 90 mg/kg

Emulsion Paints for Interior use 90 mg/kg

Floor Paints 600 mg/kg

Lead in paints is highly toxics to the human, especially to the children below 8 years. It has impacts on over 40 million children worldwide, over 97 percent of who live in developing countries. In 2002, the United Nations sponsored World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) committed to take actions to protect human health from exposure to lead. Paragraph 57 of the Plan of Implementation of the WSSD states: “Phase out lead in lead-based paints and in other sources of human exposure, work to prevent,in particular, children's exposure to lead and strengthen monitoring and surveillance efforts and thetreatment of lead poisoning.”

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 standards 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. It will save thousands of children yet to be born”.

Centre for Environmental Justice

20A, Kuruppu Road, Colombo 08, Sri Lanka.

 For further details contact:-

Mr. Hemantha Withanage – Executive Director 0777600503

Ms. Nilmal Wickramasinghe- Legal Officer 0773930820