Toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition has decried the relentless sale of imported lead-containing spray paints in the local market following another discovery of 15 more spray paints containing toxic chemicals still being sold in the country.
"The never-ending sale of imported lead-containing spray paints makes a mockery of the country’s award-winning policy banning lead in all types of paint," Thony Dizon, the group's chemical safety campaigner, said in a statement Thursday.
The group's call came as the United Nations-backed International Lead Prevention Week (ILPPW), a program that seeks to draw attention to the health impacts of lead exposure, among other goals, nears conclusion this coming Saturday.
"Our discovery of more spray paints with dangerously high lead concentrations above 10,000 ppm (parts per million) gives further reason for strict customs checks for paint imports," Dizon added.
On October 6 to 8, the group had taken samples of 15 spray paints it brought from various offline and online retailers for lead screening using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device. All of them contained excessive amounts of lead, according to the group.
"We'll continue to push for the strict enforcement of the country’s lead paint regulation in order to safeguard our children and other susceptible groups from adverse health effects due to exposure to paint, dust and soil contaminated with lead, a potent neurotoxin," the group said.