Lead content limit should apply to all paints: experts

Centre’s new draft rules cover household and decorative paints and do not extend to industrial paint

The dangers:Slides, swings and other installations in parks often use coats of industrial paint, which does not come within the ambit of the draft rules.— File photo

The Union government’s new draft rules limiting lead in household and decorative paints to 90 parts per million (ppm) is just not enough say experts, scientists and activists from the State. They argue that it will not control lead poisoning as the rule does not extend to industrial paints.

In a market where nearly 60 per cent of paint production is unorganised, and has no clear distinction between industrial and household paint, limiting the lead content only in household paints will prove ineffective in controlling exposure to lead, especially among children, said Thuppil Venkatesh, Director, National Referral Centre for Lead Projects in India.

At present, tests conducted by NRCLPI have revealed that the lead content in paints ranges from 1,000 ppm to 35,000 ppm. The draft rules now limit this to 90 ppm in only household paints, which makes up the bulk of market consumption.

The paint industry, especially in rural and semi-rural areas, is highly unorganised and the best way to enforce the rule is to ensure that the 90 ppm limit be applied to solvents and pigments, argued scientists on Saturday.

“The 90 ppm limit should be enforced even for pigments and solvents, that’s the only way to control lead content in paints manufactured in the unorganised sector. Lead should be controlled at source,” said N. Shashidhara, professor of the Indian Society for Lead Awareness and Research (InSLAR).

Lead used in paints for its glossy effect can now be achieved using titanium, which makes the cost of paints more expensive by 5 to 10 per cent. According to experts, this is an alternative that most developed countries have adopted. Protection of metals from corrosion that lead performs in industrial paints can also now be achieved using titanium-based paints.

Both NRCLPI and InSLAR have now urged customers to flood the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change with objections to the draft rules by June 8, 2016, seeking the limit to be enforced in paints and pigments that are used in industrial and decorative products.

The 90 ppm limit should be enforced even for pigments and solvents; that’s the only way to control lead content in paints manufactured in unorganised sector.

N. Shashidhara,

Professor at the Indian Society for Lead Awareness and Research