Imported Automotive Paint Manufactured by PPG Contained 150,000 ppm Lead
Kingston, Jamaica. Nearly all paints in a new study analyzing lead in solvent-based paints in Jamaica contained total lead content below 90 parts per million (ppm)—the maximum allowable limit on lead in paint in the USA and Canada, and the same threshold recommended by the UN Environment Programme. However, one yellow automotive industrial paint from the brand, OMNI Mae, manufactured by PPG Paints in the USA, contained the highest amount of lead at 150,000 ppm. These and other findings are part of the report released today by the Caribbean Poison Information Network (CARPIN) and IPEN.
“Young children ages six years and under, whose brain development is at its critical phase, are generally vulnerable to the permanent and lifelong health consequences of exposure to lead,” says Sherika Whitelocke-Ballingsingh, Poison Information Coordinator, CARPIN. “Our study demonstrates that safe and effective alternatives to lead are already in use and widely available in Jamaica, except for industrial paints, therefore, we advocate for the total elimination of this dangerous source of childhood lead exposure. For instance, while a sticker on the OMNI Mae paint can indicates that the paint is “leaded” and the label shows a warning stating, “not intended for household use,” the automotive paint was sold over the counter without guidance or instructions from the retailer about its usage.
