BP Desk
Today on World Environment Day, IPEN and its 730+ member groups from around the world are highlighting the ongoing risks to children from lead paint, noting that a key ingredient in lead paint, the pigments known as lead chromates, should be considered for global controls under the Rotterdam Convention.
Morocco, Cameroon, Switzerland and Australia have notified the Convention of their bans on the use of lead chromates in paint, putting the chemicals on the path for the agenda at the next Conference of Parties to control the toxic trade of these pigments.
IPEN member groups in more than 20 low- and middle-income countries are currently assessing the trade and uses of lead chromates in their nations and will call on their governments to join in supporting the Rotterdam Convention action.
Listing under the Convention would subject lead chromates to a Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, whereby exporting countries must notify recipient countries and receive explicit consent before the substance can be exported.
“Lead paint remains one of the most widespread sources of lead exposure to children. Controlling the production and trade of lead-containing paints is essential to prevent lead exposure from paint in low- and middle-income countries,” said Sara Brosché, IPEN Science Advisor and director of its lead paint elimination campaign.
“A global approach is needed to protect millions of children, workers and other highly impacted groups who remain at risk from this toxic product that can easily be replaced with existing, safer alternatives.”
Siddika Sultana, Executive Director of Environment and Social Development Organization-ESDO and Member of IPEN Steering Committee said “Despite Bangladesh having a mandatory 90 ppm limit for lead in decorative paints since 2018, ESDO’s most recent nationwide study found that 42.2% of tested samples still exceeded the legal limit. Of the 161 samples analyzed, 26.2% contained more than 1,000 ppm lead, and several samples exceeded 50,000 ppm — with the highest reaching 190,000 ppm. The majority of non-compliant paints were produced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), informal manufacturers, and some imported brands, indicating enforcement and monitoring gaps rather than lack of technical feasibility”.
She said importantly, some paints marketed as decorative products are also used for industrial purposes due to durability and color strength. As there is currently no mandatory standard for industrial paints in Bangladesh, this dual use significantly increases public health concern and regulatory risk.
“This underscores that regulatory standards alone are insufficient without effective monitoring, customs screening, and market surveillance — particularly where lead chromate pigments remain accessible through trade channels”.
A recent IPEN report, Exporting Lead Poisoning: The Toxic Trade in Lead Chromates found that while the EU and other countries have banned the use of lead chromates, they continue to allow production and export of this paint ingredient with very little ability for importing countries to know or control what comes in over their borders, putting children and families in recipient countries at risk from lead poisoning. The study found that:
In 2009, 120 countries called for a global phase-out of lead paint. Lead paint is a well-known source of childhood lead exposure, which has been linked to serious health concerns including damage to the developing brain and the nervous, immune, reproductive and cardiovascular systems, with a range of adverse effects including loss of IQ, attention deficit disorder, hypertension, and other physical and behavioral problems. Often, these effects are permanent, irreversible, and untreatable.
Since 2007, IPEN member groups have collected and analyzed more than 5,000 paints in 59 countries and conducted awareness raising using the testing data. This work has supported development and adoption of lead paint regulations in the East African Community (EAC) in 2019, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2024, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in 2025, and in more than 30 countries, with close to 30 more countries developing regulations. But more work needs to be done to end lead paint globally, including by regulating the trade in lead chromates.
IPEN’s lead paint elimination work is supported in part by Coefficient Giving, a philanthropic funder and advisor working with a range of donors who share its commitment to cost-effective, high-impact giving.
