An environmental group said on Sunday the Bureau of Customs (BOC) should not allow the entry of paint products that contain dangerous level of lead.
Quezon City-based EcoWaste Coalition reminded the BOC of the country’s regulation banning lead in all paints due to the harmful effects of the chemical on public health and environment.
“We appeal to the BOC to instruct port authorities to reject paint imports lacking verifiable certificate of analysis confirming compliance to our country's lead paint regulation," EcoWaste Coaltion chemical safety campaigner Thony Dizon said.
He added: “It's completely unfair to allow the entry of leaded paints while local paint manufacturers follow the ban on lead paints to protect our children and other vulnerable sectors against lead exposure.”
The group made the call to the BOC after it found dangerous concentrations of lead in 37 samples of 19 imported spray paints being manufactured mainly in China, Taiwan, and Thailand.
In a joint study with the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) released last Friday, the EcoWaste Coalition revealed that 37 of the 87 analyzed samples had lead levels hundreds of times higher than the 90 parts per million (ppm) maximum limit set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds.
Of the 37 leaded spray paints discovered, 29 contained dangerously high lead concentrations ranging from 11,700 to 82,100 ppm.