Ghana launches lead prevention week of action

Accra, Oct. 25, – Ghana has joined the international community to launch the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action. The International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action is to raise awareness among governments, manufacturers and consumers about the danger of lead in household paints.

The week of action was jointly launch in Ghana with the release of UNEP survey report on lead in paints by Mr Emmanuel Odjam-Akumatey, Executive Director of Ecological Restorations who conducted the survey in Ghana and Mr George Oteng, UNEP Representation in Ghana in Charge of Small Grants.

The survey was organized by the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint, a group co-led by UNEP and the World Health Organization.

The survey revealed that paints with extremely high levels of toxic metal lead are still in most domestic markets across the world. The survey indicates that in spite of the danger posed by high level of lead in paints only few countries have established regulatory frameworks.

According to the report only few manufacturers include warnings about hazards associated lead on their labels.

On Ghana the report indicates that there are lots of household paints in the market with high concentration of lead which poses serious danger to children.

According to the report there is currently no law or regulation in Ghana that controls or limits the lead content of paints used for household decoration; “It appears that the lead content of many of the decorative paints sold and used in Ghana are sufficiently high to contribute to significant national levels of childhood lead exposure”. However, brands of paint without added lead are available indicating that there is no competitive barrier.

UNEP report was based on a total of 234 cans of enamel decorative paints (sometimes called architectural paints of paints for household use) purchased in retail establishments in: Ghana, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Chile, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia, and Uruguay.

According to the report all of the paints were tested for their total lead content, dry weight.

According to the UNEP report most of the paints tested would not meet regulatory standards established in most highly industrial countries In Azerbaijan, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan and Tunisia, 67 per cent or more of the paint samples tested had lead content greater than 90 ppm lead – the regulatory limit in the United States and some other industrialized countries. The UNEP report recommended national efforts to promote the establishment of legal and regulatory frameworks to control the manufacture, import, export, sale and use of lead paints and products coated with lead paints.

The UNEP also called for information campaigns to inform the public about the hazards of lead exposure, especially in children; the presence of lead decorative paints for sale and use on the national market; lead paint as a significant source of childhood lead exposure; and availability of technically superior and safer alternatives.

The UNEP urged paint manufacturers to eliminate lead compounds from their paint formulations, and participate in programs that provide third party certification that no lead has been added to their paint. They are encouraged to label products to help consumers identify paints free of added lead.

According to the report paint manufactures have a responsibility to act on their own, particularly when there is virtually no associated negative economic impact for their businesses.