International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action is an annual event held each year to raise awareness of the hazards of lead and lead paint, in particular. In October 2016, events to mark the week were held in at least 42 countries. Thirty-three of these events were organized by IPEN NGOs. Read IPEN's newsletter about the 2016 Week to see what took place around the world.
East Africa is racing against time to phase out paints with high content of lead additives.
The East African Community (EAC) requirement provides for 100 parts per million (ppm) of lead content for paints used in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan, to be complied with within three years.
Quezon City. Twenty paint companies are now producing architectural, decorative and household (ADH) paints free of health-damaging lead-based-pigments, driers and anti-corrosion agents.
The EcoWaste Coalition, a chemical safety and zero waste watch group, revealed the good news after receiving written responses from paint manufacturers confirming their compliance with the three-year phase-out period for lead-containing ADH paints that ended last December 31, 2016.
IPEN Participating Organization Center for Environmental Justice and Development (CEJAD) is featured in this news story from K24 in Kenya. The story relates to the dangerous concentration of lead in Lake Naivasha, which is likely due to pesticide run-off from nearby flower farms or other agricultural activities in the area. Dr.
Quezon City. A non-profit watch group on toxic chemicals has lauded the fast approaching deadline for the phase-out of lead-containing architectural, household and decorative (AHD) paints on December 31, 2016 as a “victory for children’s health.”
“We are really excited about the impending national ban on lead-added AHD paints as their removal from trade and commerce would help reduce a major source of childhood lead exposure and result in healthier kids,” said Thony Dizon, Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect.
