Beware of paints, they're toxic !

The next time your little ones get artistic on a painted wall in India or in neighouring countries, beware; they may be etching away more than just the paint. They may be etching away a part of their life. A new study by Toxics Link on the Indian paint companies show that despite a lot of opposition within the country, they continue to add high amount of lead in decorative paints in Bangladesh and Nepal. The study titled ‘Double Standard - Investigating Lead Content In Leading Enamel Paint Brands In South Asia’ shows that the 27 studied paint samples of common major brands from Nepal, India and Bangladesh for their lead content shows that the paints are toxic.

The results show that those manufacturers who add high amount of lead in decorative paints in Bangladesh and Nepal are the ones who are also operating in India where their products have lower lead levels comparatively. For example, Asian Paints (Golden Yellow) contain 43,600ppm lead in Bangladesh,190ppm in Nepal and 90ppm in India. Another case is of Berger (Golden Yellow) has 2,12,700 ppm lead in Nepal, 1,21,900ppm in Bangladesh and 17,200 ppm in India.

Ravi Agarwal, Director, Toxics Link said, “It is a shame to see paints with lead loaded in them in this day and age. Further as the campaign in India for removing lead from paints grows stronger, it appears that things are not changing in our neighboring countries. Our fellow civil society partners in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal have unraveled the secrets of the paint industry, some of which is in fact based in India. Double standards are unethical to say the least.”

This is a clear case of ‘Double Standards’ followed by the acclaimed multinational paint majors in the region. Overall 63 per cent of the paint samples studied were exceeding the US’s 90 ppm limit by 422 times, 44 per cent of samples exceeded the much relaxed Indian Standard limit of 1,000 ppm by over 54 times.

India does not have a mandatory standard for lead in paint; there is a voluntary limit of ,1000 ppm, exceedingly above international norms. The Bureau of Indian Standards has not set any standards for lead in paints despite the issue being talked about for more than two years. Both Nepal and Bangladesh also terribly lack in this- they do not have any standards for lead in paints, voluntary or mandatory.

Ram Charitra Sah, Executive Director, Centre for Public Health and Environment Development (CEPHED) Nepal, a partner in the study points out, “It is quite disturbing to note that the multinational paint manufacturing companies like Asian Paints and Berger have been selling leaded paints in Nepal while marketing much cleaner coats in India. They have no right to carry their business at the cost of health of our children hiding behind the lax regulatory regime on lead in paints here in Nepal. Governments are equally responsible for not able to check this unethical business. We sincerely hope these double standards followed by the paint manufacturers would open the eyes of our regulators who address the issue without any further delay.”

Owing to serious health ramifications, especially in the children and unborn fetuses, Lead (Pb) has been phased out or restricted for use in many consumer products and processes in several western countries. Dr Anupam Sachdeva, a leading pediatrician explains, “Lead paints are one of the common sources of lead exposure among kids. This can have different effects on a child's growth and behaviour. Even exposure to small amounts of lead can make a child inattentive, hyperactive and irritable. Higher level can lead to delayed growth and sometimes brain damage.”