Amid reports that public health is at risk of lead poisoning through various sources including paints, the country’s private sector has committed to make efforts to further reduce the levels of lead content in paints.

During an interaction programme among government agencies and paint manufacturers in the Capital on Monday, the private sector said paint manufacturers are equally responsible for public health. 

“We are aware about the serious health conditions. Paint industries do not mix lead in the paints, but it might be because of variety of raw materials used for making paints,” said Vishwa Prakash Sakha, president of Nepal Paints Manufacturers Association. 

Paint manufacturers in the country have come under criticism over the years as several studies have suggested that their products contain ‘a very high level’ of lead that could have adverse effects on human health.

Five different studies conducted over as many years—four by the Centre for Public Health and Environmental Development (CEPHED) and another by Leaders Nepal—have shown that nearly 70 percent of paints have higher levels of lead content than the international standards of 90 ppm. 

The findings of the most recent CEPHED study suggested that nearly 40 percent of paints were still not abiding by the government’s mandatory standards of 90 ppm for paints, set in December 2014. 

According to a Ministry of Population and Environment (MoPE) study, conducted after the standards came into effect, only 30 percent paints had lead content below 90 ppm.

The paint industries, however, lamented that the government agencies for failing to arrange required infrastructure for testing lead level in paints. 

“The government has set 90 ppm as standards, but we don’t have any laboratories where we can test the lead levels. Our ministry does not have such labs, let alone the companies,” said Sakha. 

The private sector has also demanded the government set up different standards for domestic and industrial paints, while calling for regular monitoring of imported paints. 

Minister for Environment and Population Mithila Chaudhary urged the private sector and other concerned stakeholders to work together for eliminating lead content in paints through effective implementation of the government standards. 

Speaking on the occasion, MoPE Secretary Bishwa Nath Oli maintained the government had been monitoring imported paints as well. 

“While we are facing resource crunch for monitoring, there is no double standard for paints produced in Nepal and imported ones,” said Oli, adding that the ministry was working on setting up its own laboratories for testing levels of lead content in paints.

Besides the requirement to maintain the lead levels under 90 ppm, the government’s standards on lead has two other provisions: labelling of exact amount of lead content and printing the precautionary message for occupational safety. But the paint industries are found to have been ignoring these provisions, as the latest study has suggested. 

“Paint industries have done praiseworthy works as there has been two fold increase in compliance of the government set standards in recent time. But they are still ignoring two basic provisions,” said Ram Charitra Sah, CEPHED executive director. He also called on the government to impose a ban on the sales of paints with excessive levels of lead content.