Environmental activists and experts yesterday demanded a ban on paints containing lead in Bangladesh by 2017 in support of the plea of “International Chemical Safety Groups” to phase out such paints by 2020. The demand came as part of a human chain organised by Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) in front of National Press Club to commemorate “International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2015” from October 25 to 31. ESDO pressed for local measures to complement global goals during this week sponsored by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and World health Organization (WHO). The activists said ESDO’s paint sampling conducted in 2015 had revealed that many local and multi-national companies and small and medium enterprises which constitute 85 per cent of Bangladesh’s paint market have collectively reduced lead concentration in their paints. The human chain participants proposed preventive measures such as adoption of a national mandatory policy that would phase out manufacture and sale of paints containing lead among others.
Secretary General of ESDO Dr. Shahriar Hossain said, “It is essential for our society to respond to this global challenge and make the phase out of lead in paint a top public health priority. We must act with urgency as the health of our children can be permanently and irreversibly damaged even with very low exposure to lead.”
According to WHO, lead is one of “ten chemicals of major public concern” and “there is no safe level of exposure to lead”.
International Lead Paint Elimination Project Manager at IPEN, a global civil society network pursuing safe chemicals’ policies and practices, Dr. Sara Brosche said, “Safe and cost-effective alternatives to lead in paint have been in use for more than 40 years in the United States, the European Union and other high-income countries. There is no good reason for paints containing lead to continue to be sold.”
At the recently concluded International Conference on Chemicals Management, government, industry, and civil society delegates from over 130 countries affirmed the global consensus to eliminate paint containing lead by 2020. The conference was organised by Strategic Approach to Internati
onal Chemicals Management (SAICM) managed by UNEP. While paints containing lead have been banned in most industrialised countries decades ago, they continue to be sold in developing countries including Bangladesh. According to WHO, children are most likely to be exposed to lead due to ingestion of flakes and dust from decaying lead-based paint and it can affect their brain development and measurable level of intelligence (IQ).
Youth who participated in the human chain said, “We want to grow up in a toxin-free world. We don’t want to live in an environment polluted by heavy toxins like lead. Everyone should know about it and act accordingly to make Bangladesh lead-free”.