Environmental groups EcoWaste Coalition (EWC) and Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) commended Citi Hardware in Davao City on Tuesday, Jan. 25, for heeding their call to stop the sale of spray paint products with lead content.
In a statement, both groups lauded Citi Hardware's move to replace lead-containing Tacoma spray paints with products reformulated without lead additives.
Lead is a toxic chemical that can harm people's health, particularly children. It causes damage to the brain and central nervous system, slower growth and development, learning, hearing, and speech challenges, and behavioral issues.
The sale of paints that exceeds the lead content's maximum limit of 90 ppm is prohibited under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) Chemical Control Order (CCO) which aims to protect public health from the adverse effects of lead exposure.
IDIS Executive Director Atty. Mark Peñalver said that Citi Hardware's move encourages other retail companies to remove lead-containing products from their stores and provide consumers with better and safer options.
"We need more private institutions to sincerely adhere to government policies and regulations not just for compliance but as a conscious effort to help advance and promote public health and sustainability," Peñalver said.
Meanwhile, EWC Chemical Safety Campaigner Thony Dizon emphasized the need for consumer awareness and assertion of their right to lead-safe products.
"This success encourages us to continue our periodic paint sampling, testing, and outreach activities to check on our nation's progress in eliminating lead-based paints, a major source of significant childhood lead exposure," Dizon added.