Why we want to eliminate lead use in paint industry, by experts

Environmentalists have explained that operationalising a policy that eliminates lead paint will save citizens’ lives and ensure sustainable development in the country.

They also argued that lead is a highly toxic substance that poses severe health risks, especially to children, adding that exposure to lead can result in irreversible neurological damage, developmental disorders, and a host of other health complications.

The experts spoke at the Regional Awareness Raising and Reformulation Workshop organised in Abuja, saying, the chemical affects all age groups but young children and pregnant women, particularly are vulnerable, with impacts on neurodevelopment and intelligence quotient. The programme attracted international partners, government and its agencies.

Director General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Prof Aliyu Jauro, who said that exposure to lead has been attributed to 0.9 million premature deaths per year due to cardiovascular disease, called for the complete elimination of lead use in the Nigerian paint industry.

Jauro said the plan is to reduce the adverse health and economic impact of lead compounds and reveal ongoing efforts to review and enhance the status of lead paint standards in Nigeria. “We endeavour to raise awareness of the gazetted National Environmental (Chemicals and Pesticides) Regulations, 2024 of lead paint in Nigeria, ensuring all stakeholders are well-informed and prepared to comply with the new guidelines.”

He said NESREA, SRADev Nigeria, Lead Exposure Elimination Project, United Kingdom are fully committed to providing technical guidance, sharing best practices, and facilitating collaborations to ensure a smooth transition to lead-free paints.

Executive Director, SRADev Nigeria, Dr Leslie Adogame, said the aim is to introduce a sustainable policy that would safeguard the environment and health of the people by regulating chemicals, including lead-containing products such as paint.

“In line with the Basel Rotterdam Stockholm and Minamata Conventions and Global Chemical Framework, we want to ensure safe and public health by strengthening legal framework governing the production, importation, distribution, and use of paint in Nigeria.”

Also, Mrs Tessy Ojomo of Standards Organisation of Nigeria, stressed that the exercise will bring the requirements clearer to the manufacturers in line with the current technological and economic trends, as well as research advancements.

Contributing, the Executive Secretary, Paints Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMA), Jude Maduka, said that the factor militating against the transition to lead-free paint production is the non-availability of testing laboratories in the various zones of the country.

Maduka said the paint industry was passing through excruciating challenges, adding, “We are still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which adversely affected production volumes in three years.”

He said PMA intends to promote sustainable development by facilitating sound practice, exchanging information, building bridges on environmental health and natural resource conservation in a sustainable way that the people are put on the driver’s seat in the sustainable management of the policy.”