Pushing forward Elimination of Lead Paints to End Childhood Lead Poisoning
The International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN: for a toxics-free future) held the annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week this year from October 22 to 28 that will put the spot light on lead, a major toxic threat to public health. With the end goal of protecting the health of children and other vulnerable groups such as women of reproductive age and workers, the POs will engage government, industry, and civil society stakeholders, as well as the media, to urge the authorities to adopt strong lead paint control instruments or push for effective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms in countries with existing lead paint law manufactured and distributed in developing countries.
IPEN supports the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint (GAELP). (https://www.unep.org/)
Lead from paint is recognized as one of the major sources of childhood lead exposure. Advocate for adding lead chromate to the Rotterdam Convention.
Lead is a toxic heavy metal that is found in many products around the world, including everyday products in our homes and workplaces. Exposure to lead can harm our health and even small amounts can damage a child’s neurological development, causing learning difficulties and behavioral problems.
Since 2009, work conducted by IPEN, its member groups, and collaboration partners in the Alliance has ended manufacturing and selling lead paints by many companies, influenced the development of new regulatory controls in several countries, and supported stakeholders with tools they need to effect change.
Unfortunately, lead paint continues to be used in the majority of countries around the world. To move swiftly toward ending the use of lead paint, IPEN calls for national actions to adopt regulations banning the use of lead in all paint, and for listing of lead chromates, the pigments used in lead paints, under the Rotterdam Convention.
AWHHE as a member of IPEN network will prepare and distribute materials to raise citizens’ awareness on the dangers of lead to human health and the environment, and organize meetings with journalists of media agencies on line webinar with students and teachers related to actions to be taken to eliminate lead in paint and protect the health of children from lead exposure.