In the process of developing a law to address lead paint, many stakeholders – including government representatives, industry, and civil society organizations – find that they have questions about specific aspects of this work. To address these questions, the Lead Paint Alliance has developed these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to provide answers on a wide range of relevant topics. The questions are organized by category, to assist you in finding the questions and answers most relevant to you, including Lead in Paint Basics, About the Lead Paint Alliance, Model Law and Guidance for Regulating Lead Paint, Health, Environmental and Economic Impacts of Lead Exposure, Setting Legal Limits on Lead Content in Paint, Using Non-lead Alternatives in Paint, Addressing Cost of Reformulating Paint, Ensuring Compliance, Timing of Lead Paint Phase-out, Paint Testing and Addressing Disposal of Lead Paint. These FAQs are intended to provide guidance supported by available technical information and are reviewed and updated by the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint as additional relevant information becomes available. Input is always welcome.
Lead in Paint Basics
1. What is lead paint? Why is there lead in paint?
In the context of action to eliminate lead paint, the term “paint” includes varnishes, lacquers, stains, enamels, glazes, primers and other coatings. “Lead paint” is defined by the Alliance as a paint or a similar coating material to which one or more lead compounds have been added. Lead compounds are added to confer specific properties such as colour, corrosion-resistance or to improve drying of paint.
Lead compounds are primarily added to solvent-based paints, such as enamel (gloss) paints. The lead content of paint can range from less than 90 ppm (0.009% by weight) from background impurities to over 100,000 ppm (10% by weight). When a manufacturer takes care to source uncontaminated raw materials and does not add lead compounds the lead content is usually well below 90 ppm.
2. How significant is the lead paint problem? Is paint the major source of lead exposure?
Lead paint is an important source of childhood lead exposure because it is still being sold in most countries and is in widespread use. Despite the well-known risks, more than 100 countries still lack binding legal limits on lead in paint, as stated in the 2022 Update on the Global Status of Legal Limits on Lead in Paint. For the current status of laws, see the UNEP Lead paint law status interactive map.
Since the phase-out of leaded petrol, lead paint is one of the most widespread sources of exposure to lead for children. As lead paint ages the paint starts to decay, fragmenting into flakes and dust that contaminate the indoor and outdoor environment. Paint flakes and contaminated dust are readily swallowed by young children who typically play on the ground and frequently put their hands to their mouths. Some children pick flakes of paint off surfaces and eat them. The removal of lead paint, for example during home renovation or maintenance of outdoor structures such as playground equipment, can also result in the release of lead-contaminated dust if it is not done in a safe manner.
Lead paint can remain a source of exposure for many years into the future. Even in countries that banned lead paint decades ago, there are still many homes where lead painted surfaces and children with elevated blood lead levels can be found. The earlier a country enacts a lead paint law to prevent new application, the better.
3. What can governments do to address lead paint?
In countries where lead paint is still available, governments should introduce legally binding controls to either ban the use of lead paint. Examples of control measures include prohibiting the use of any lead compounds in paint and setting a maximum permissible limit for the lead content of paint at the lowest feasible level. Additional information on establishing legally binding control measures can be found in the Model Law and Guidance for Regulating Lead Paint (available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).
The Alliance fact sheet, Suggested Steps for Establishing a Lead Paint Law, outlines steps which have been helpful in countries that have adopted laws. Recognizing the diversity in national legal systems, such laws may take the form of statutes, regulations, standards, or other legal instruments.
The Lead Paint Law Compliance and Enforcement Guidance provides countries with guidance for the development and implementation of compliance and enforcement strategies for lead paint laws. The Guidance describes key elements of compliance and enforcement strategies for government officials and provides examples, including from countries that have enacted lead paint laws. The Guidance also provides examples of action paint manufacturers and importers can take to demonstrate compliance.
About the Lead Paint Alliance
4. What is the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint and What Does it Do?
In 2009 the International Conference on Chemicals Management endorsed a global partnership to phase out lead paint. The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint (Lead Paint Alliance) was established as a voluntary collaborative initiative working with diverse stakeholders including from industry, government and non-profit organizations with the goal of preventing children’s exposure to paint containing lead and minimizing occupational exposure to lead paint. .
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) act as co-secretariats and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) chairs its Advisory Council. Over 90 organizations are partners of the Alliance. A current list of Alliance partner governments, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and industry organizations is available on the Alliance web site partner page.
The key focus as outlined in the 2021-2023 Action Plan is on encouraging the development of lead paint laws in all countries. To achieve the phase-out of lead paint the Alliance is encouraging countries to establish and enforce laws (e.g., legislation, regulations, ordinances or mandatory standards) that prohibit the import, manufacture, and sale of lead paint. To help countries develop lead paint laws, the Alliance has developed on-line tools including a Model Law and Guidance for Regulating Lead Paint and a Toolkit for Establishing Laws to Eliminate Lead Paint as well as a Lead Paint Law Compliance and Enforcement Guidance. Moreover, partners of the Alliance are available to provide technical and legal drafting assistance and advice as feasible.
5. What kinds of assistance are available from the Lead Paint Alliance?
The Lead Paint Alliance is working to help governments develop lead paint laws. In 2021, 2022 and 2023 the Alliance, through the lead in paint component of the Strategic Approach for International Chemicals Management (SAICM) project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is providing advice from key experts from international organizations (UNEP, WHO), legal organizations (the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative or ABA ROLI), environmental NGOs (the International Pollutants Elimination Network or IPEN), government technical experts (the US Environmental Protection Agency or US EPA), and the paint industry (the World Coatings Council).
In addition to helping countries with laws, the Lead Paint Alliance is also working to address barriers faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in reformulating paints by replacing lead additives in paint with lead-free alternatives. As part of the lead in paint component of the SAICM GEF project ), the Alliance is working with SMEs in seven countries through National Cleaner Production Centers (NCPCs) in Jordan, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and China and through IPEN and its partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Indonesia and Nigeria. Activities were also conducted in Tunisia in 2018 by IPEN and its NGO partner together with Mediterranean Cleaner Production Center (SCP/RAC) through the EU funded SwitchMed programme, focusing on anti-corrosive paints.
The Alliance has developed several tools to help countries develop lead paint laws and SMEs to reformulate paint. The Lead Paint Reformulation Technical Guidelines and its summary document Reformulation Technical Guidelines and How to Use this Information (both available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) provide a comprehensive starting point for all stakeholders to learn more about paint reformulation and best practices. Additional information on establishing legally binding control measures is provided in the Model Law and Guidance for Regulating Lead Paint (available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). The Lead Paint Alliance fact sheet, Suggested Steps for Establishing a Lead Paint Law, outlines steps which have been helpful in countries that have adopted laws.
Model Law and Guidance for Regulating Lead Paint
6. What is the Model Law and Guidance for Regulating Lead Paint?
The purpose of the Model Law and Guidance for Regulating Lead Paint (or Model Law) is to assist countries to enact new laws (or to modify their existing laws) to establish a single regulatory limit on the total lead content in paints. The guidance describes the key elements of effective and enforceable legal requirements. The Model Law provides sample legal text that incorporates the key provisions and reflects the best approaches currently found in lead paint laws around the world.
In the Model Law the term “law” is used as a general term that means a legal mechanism or set of provisions that establishes a binding, enforceable limit on lead in paint with penalties for non-compliance. For example, “law” can include legislation, regulations, ordinances or mandatory standards, depending on a country’s legal framework.
Key provisions in the Model Law include:
- Set a low, technically achievable limit on total lead in paint of 90 ppm
- Provide clear deadlines for compliance with the limit; consider phasing in deadlines for some paint applications
- Place primary responsibility for compliance with the lead limit on paint manufacturers and importers, by requiring them to obtain testing by an accredited, third-party laboratory and to issue declarations of conformity with the lead limit based on such testing
- Identify government agency with enforcement authority, enumerate enforcement responsibilities, including authorizing government inspections, testing, and seizure
- Specify prohibited acts:
- Manufacture, sell, distribute, or import paint that exceeds the legal limit
- Fail to cooperate with government inspection
- Fail to provide declaration of conformity or provide a false declaration
- Attempt to influence third-party party laboratory’s test results
- Provide penalties for noncompliance
7. Can countries depart from the Model Law?
The Model Law is intended as guidance containing suggested best practices for regulating lead in paint. In recognition of the diversity of regulatory structures and legal systems in different countries, the Model Law sample legal text provisions are intended to be customized to each country’s legal framework and regulatory structure. Several Alliance partners are using the Model Law as a basis to assist countries in developing, establishing or refining lead paint laws.
Health, Environmental and Economic Impacts of Lead Exposure
8. What are the health impacts of lead exposure?
Lead has no biological function in the body. It accumulates in the body and affects practically all organ systems. Lead exposure can cause chronic and debilitating health impacts in all age groups, but it is particularly harmful to young children. This is because the developing nervous system is vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead, even at levels of exposure that do not cause obvious symptoms and signs. Lead exposure in early childhood can result in reduced school performance, intelligence quotient (IQ), attention deficit disorder and increased problem behaviours. Lead exposure can also cause hypertension, renal impairment, immunotoxicity and toxicity to the reproductive organs.
Absorption of large amounts of lead can cause coma, convulsions and even death. Children who survive severe lead poisoning can be left with permanent neurological injury such as deafness and mental retardation.
Pregnant women are also vulnerable, and lead exposure is associated with reduced fetal growth, lower birth weight, preterm birth and spontaneous abortion. Exposure in adults is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, coronary heart disease and death.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) has estimated that in 2017 lead exposure accounted for 1.06 million deaths and 24.4 million years lost to disability and death (disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)) worldwide due to long-term effects on health. The highest burden is in low- and middle-income countries. IHME has also estimated that lead exposure accounted for 63.2% of the global burden of idiopathic developmental intellectual disability (i.e. intellectual disability not due to known causes such as genetic factors), 10.3% of the global burden of hypertensive heart disease, 5.6% of the global burden of ischaemic heart disease and 6.2% of the global burden of stroke. (IHME (2018). GBD Compare. [website] Seattle, WA: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, 2018 (http://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare, accessed 3 March 2020).
9. What are the economic impacts of lead exposure?
There are both direct and indirect economic costs resulting from lead exposure. These include health care costs of treating lead poisoning, social costs such as the need for special education to combat lead-induced intellectual impairment, and productivity losses because of reduced intelligence quotient (IQ). The estimated economic costs attributable to IQ loss due to childhood exposure to lead (from all sources) amounted to $977 billion annual costs across lower and middle-income countries, amounting to 1.2% of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011. Expressed in terms of loss to regional GDP, the estimated cost in Africa was 4.03%, in Latin America and the Caribbean 2.04%, and in Asia 1.88% (Attina TM, Trasande L (2013). Economic Costs of Childhood Lead Exposure in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, Environmental Health Perspect. 121(9): 1097-1102 or see a map and summary of the results at the New York University’s Langone Health Center web site).
10. What are the environmental impacts of lead exposure?
Lead can also have negative impacts on the environment because of its ecotoxicity (UNEP, 2010). Lead from paint can enter aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Lead contamination is also known to affect a variety of bird species and to pose a threat to biodiversity (Haig et al., 2014). Aquatic ecosystems, including aquatic plants, invertebrates, and fish, have also been shown to take in lead when present in contaminated water. In fish, for example, lead can have haematological and neurotoxic effects and can disrupt enzyme function, thereby decreasing long-term survival and reproductive success (Demayo et al., 1982).
Setting Legal Limits on Lead Content in Paint
11. Why set a lead limit of 90 ppm in paint instead of requiring paint to be lead-free?
Public health experts indicate that there are no safe levels of lead exposure and thus recommend a low achievable level. Paint manufacturers use ingredients that can contain lead contaminants, making completely lead-free paint infeasible. The 90 ppm limit in the Model Law reflects a low threshold that is technically feasible for paint manufacturers to achieve. Paints manufactured with non-lead additives have low levels of lead, well under 90 ppm. Countries can encourage the use of non-lead alternatives by prohibiting paint with high levels of lead. Nearly all of the countries that have enacted lead paint limits in recent years have used a 90 ppm limit, which has the general support of health experts as well as the paint and coatings industry.
12. Can voluntary efforts eliminate lead paint?
The most effective way to prevent new lead exposure from paint is to establish and enforce binding lead paint laws. It is important to establish consistent standards to provide a level playing field to paint manufacturers and importers. Enforceable lead paint laws create a fair competitive market for all paint manufacturers and importers. Harmonization of lead paint laws across countries can reduce trade barriers.
13. Do industrial or non-consumer uses of lead paint pose health risks? Should they be phased out?
Internationally, there is no widely agreed upon definition of “consumer use” or “industrial use,” and “industrial” paints containing lead are often sold in retail outlets, providing consumers with access to these paints. There is little data on whether paint is always used for its intended purpose, or whether there is potential for diversion to other uses. A paint testing report in Cameroon showed that automotive paints with high lead content were widely available to consumers on store shelves, potentially for home use. In addition, industrial paints are available to consumer on-line.
“Industrial” paints often contain high concentrations of lead and are often applied to exterior metal and concrete surfaces such as bridges, water tanks, and roadways. The maintenance of these structures requires the removal of these coatings with abrasive methods that create significant lead hazards in residential areas. a
Moreover, “industrial” paints, like consumer paints, degrade over time and lead-contaminated dust from paint can be inhaled or swallowed. All lead paint, whether for consumer use or industrial use, can result in worker exposure to lead. Exposure can occur at multiple stages in the lifecycle of the paint, including production, application, and removal (such as for renovation). Moreover, in some circumstances, workers may inadvertently bring that lead dust home, e.g. on their clothing, and expose their families.
In addressing industrial paints, some countries are providing a longer time period for phaseout of industrial uses than consumer uses in order to allow time to reformulate the paints.
14. Why might it be harder for certain marine coatings to meet a 90 ppm limit?
Marine anti-fouling coatings are widely used to keep ship hulls free from fouling organisms, such as barnacles, algae or mollusks. This prevents excessive drag on the hull allowing ships to maintain efficiency and consume less fuel while underway. (See: International Maritime Organization (IMO) Anti-Fouling Systems). The growth of such organisms also allows the spread of invasive species into sensitive marine ecosystems. (See: IMO Biofouling)
Anti-fouling coatings use a number of soluble pigments, usually minerals and metals to control the properties of the coating. These raw materials are supplied to manufacturers and may contain traces of other substances, such as lead.
Lead should not intentionally be used in marine anti-fouling coatings. Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is used as an active ingredient in the majority of anti-fouling coatings available on the market today. Cuprous oxide is produced from recycled scrap copper that often contains lead (from solder). While the industry is working to develop effective coatings with lower lead levels, these are not widely available. Thus, the level of lead in recycled scrap copper suggests that copper-based marine anti-fouling coatings would not be able to consistently meet a 90 ppm lead limit at this time.
One example of a marine coatings limit is 600 ppm total lead (See “Performance Specification: Paint System, Anticorrosive and Antifouling, Ship Hull”, U.S. Department of Defense, April 9, 2013). In addition, the European Union (EU) evaluated and approved a limit of 1200 ppm residual lead contamination in cuprous oxide which often comprises less than 50% by weight in marine antifouling coatings, generally resulting in less than 600 ppm lead in the marine anti-fouling coating.
15. Should lead paint laws address toys bearing lead paint?
Lead paint on toy surfaces can pose significant health risks to children. This is also the case for lead paint on other children’s products, such as cribs... Including lead limits on children’s products in a lead paint law would provide consistent standards and protect public health but would affect a different set of products and manufacturers than a paint limit, which would raise issues not addressed in the Model Law. One option some countries might consider would be to enact a law that establishes a legal limit on lead in paint and in the same law also provides authority to set protective lead limits for children’s products through subsequent regulations or standards.
16. What should we do about paint that has already been applied in homes?
The Model Law is prospective, providing sample legal text and guidance for laws prohibiting the manufacture and import of paints exceeding the lead limit. Such laws prevent future contamination and exposure by eliminating lead paint from the marketplace before it is applied to walls and surfaces. The Model Law does not address lead paint applied in the past, also known as “legacy paint,” as the mechanisms for addressing legacy paint are different and complex.
Activities such as renovation that can disturb legacy paint can result in harmful exposures to lead. Older homes have higher concentrations of lead in dust than newer homes. (WHO Technical Brief, 2020 at p. 16). The earlier a country enacts a lead paint law to prevent new manufacture and import of lead paint the less “legacy paint” will be present on structures in the country.
Some governments have programs to address legacy paint. For example, information on addressing legacy lead paint in the United States is available at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/steps.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/sbcomplianceguide.pdf.
Using Non-lead Alternatives in Paint
17. Are non-lead alternative ingredients available?
Non-leaded pigments, dryers, and anti-corrosives are widely available, and are used by many manufacturers to produce paints that meet the same specifications as the lead paint, making use of lead in paint unnecessary, particularly for decorative uses. As a result, major paint companies have switched to lead-free paint ingredients.
18. What help is available for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to shift to non-lead alternatives?
In addition to helping countries with laws, the Lead Paint Alliance is also working to identify and help address obstacles faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in replacing lead additives in paint with non-lead alternatives. These obstacles include lack of access to suppliers of lead-free additives and capacity to reformulate paint. The Alliance, through a project supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by the National Clean Production Center of Serbia, is working with SMEs on pilot demonstrations for paint reformulation at their own cost in seven countries with National Cleaner Production Centers in Jordan, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and China and through IPEN in Indonesia and Nigeria. UNEP has developed draft reformulation guidance for SMEs, which is expected to be finalized in 2020.
Addressing Costs of Reformulating Paint
19. Is there a cost to manufacturers for reformulating paint?
There is typically a one-time cost for the research and development to reformulate paint, which need not be passed on to the consumers. In addition, some of the non-lead additives are more expensive but the amounts needed may be smaller making the cost of the finished product comparable. The long-term economic benefits of protecting children from lead exposure far outweigh the costs of reformulation.
20. Will consumers pay more for paint that has no added lead?
The cost to consumers of paint without added lead need not be higher than paint with lead additives. Data from the Asian market show that lead content is not necessarily a predictor of the retail cost of paints. For more information, see the Lead Paint Alliance Regulatory Toolkit module on lead additive alternatives and costs. Also, while consumers consider price, they also look for safe products.
21. Will small and medium enterprises (SMEs) be able to reformulate paint?
The Lead Paint Reformulation Technical Guidelines and its summary document Reformulation Technical Guidelines and How to Use this Information (both available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) provide a comprehensive starting point for all stakeholders to learn more about paint reformulation and best practices.
Many SMEs have already successfully reformulated their paint to remove lead. Paint manufacturers, including SMEs, will need to reformulate and test their paint to ensure that they meet a low legal limit for lead in paint. The Alliance is conducting pilot demonstration projects in a few countries and a small number of SMEs to showcase solutions and to develop reformulation guidance for use by SMEs globally. A draft of this guidance is available at (see: Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, Demonstration pilots with paint manufacturers in SMEs executed in eight countries.)
In addition, paint testing in developing countries shows that many paints are below 90 ppm lead limit and only a few are between the 90 and 600 ppm limit which suggests that SMEs can achieve this limit. To view this data, please see IPEN, Lead Levels in Paint Around the World. For more information, see the Lead Paint Alliance Regulatory Toolkit modules on lead additive alternatives and costs, and barriers to SMEs.
Ensuring Compliance
The Lead Paint Law Compliance and Enforcement Guidance provides countries with guidance for the development and implementation of compliance and enforcement strategies for lead paint laws. The Guidance describes key elements of compliance and enforcement strategies for government officials and provides examples, including from countries that have enacted lead paint laws. The Guidance also provides examples of action paint manufacturers and importers can take to demonstrate compliance.
22. How can countries avoid unnecessary burdens on the paint industry?
Countries can avoid unnecessarily burdening industry by enacting provisions such as those in the Model Law. The sample legal text provisions in the Model Law were developed with consideration to the impact of testing requirements on manufacturers and provides for flexible approaches that reduce costs. For example, lead limits can be phased in over time, allowing manufacturers time to reformulate their products. Reformulating paint to reduce total lead content will contribute to preventing the enormous costs to society of lead exposure which far outweigh the costs to industry of reformulation.
23. What are the compliance tools in the Model Law?
The Model Law includes sample legal text for the following tools to promote compliance:
- Requiring manufacturers and importers to have paint tested for lead content by third-party accredited laboratories using internationally recognized test methods;
- Requiring manufacturers and importers to provide a declaration of conformity based on such testing;
- Identifying the government agency with enforcement authority, enumerate enforcement responsibilities, including authorizing government inspections, testing, and seizure, and
- Making the following activities “prohibited acts” subject to penalties:
- manufacturing, selling, distributing or importing paint that exceeds the legal limit,
- failing to cooperate with government inspections,
- failing to provide declarations of conformity or providing false declarations, and
- attempting to influence a third-party laboratory’s test results.
24. What is a declaration of conformity and how does it work?
The Model Law includes sample legal text for use of declarations of conformity to document compliance with a lead paint law. These provisions would require manufacturers and importers to provide a declaration that their paints comply with the limit on lead in paint to distributors, retailers, and upon request, to governments.
25. Does the declaration of conformity have to be notarized?
No, the declaration of Conformity does not need to be notarized; it needs to be signed by a responsible representative of the issuing company. To ensure that declarations of conformity are accurate, the Model Law includes sample legal text for including submitting a false declaration in the prohibited acts section.
26. Enforcement can be challenging. How do we ensure enforcement?
The regulatory agency must work with customs officials to ensure paint imports are accompanied by proper documentation. The Model Law includes sample legal text for a provision for governments to inspect paint to ensure that it complies with the total lead limit. Such spot checks, backed by enforcement actions where appropriate, should help ensure that companies do not rely on inaccurate documentation.
27. How can enforcement officials deal with lead paint imports?
The Model Law includes sample legal text for provisions for establishing a compliance assurance mechanism that is low-cost and efficient for industry to implement and for governments to enforce. Each paint manufacturer and importer would be responsible for Declarations of Conformity, backed by third-party testing at an accredited laboratory certified in accordance with international standards. Additional provisions from the Model Law would provide governments authority to inspect facilities and test paint to ensure reliability of the declarations.
Timing of Lead Paint Phase-out
28. Can lead paint limits be phased in over time?
To be effective, lead paint laws must provide clear deadlines for compliance by manufacturers and importers to phase-out lead paint. These deadlines should allow reasonable time for manufacturers to alter paint formulations and production processes. For examples, some countries allow 1 year from the effective date of legislation before compliance becomes mandatory for household paints, and a longer phase-in, such as 2-3 years, for industrial paints. Sample text for provisions reflecting both of these options are included in the Model Law.
29. Can retailers continue to sell lead paint after manufacture and import of paint containing above 90 ppm lead is illegal?
The Model Law does not include a provision to allow sale of paint that exceeds 90 ppm once manufacture and import become illegal. Immediate enforcement against retail sales of existing stocks that were created or imported legally before the deadline might not be realistic in all contexts. Countries may wish to consider including an “existing stocks” provision in their lead paint laws, which could allow continued sales of paint produced before the deadline for stopping manufacture and import and could include an outer time limit. Some lead paint stocks may ultimately need to be disposed of, subject to applicable disposal requirements.
Paint Testing
30. What are the Model Law testing requirements for manufacturers and importers?
The Model Law includes sample text for provisions that would require manufacturers and importers to submit sufficient samples of the first production batch or lot of paint to a third-party laboratory accredited under international standards for testing for compliance with the 90 ppm lead limit. Manufacturers and importers would rely on these tests to issue their declarations of conformity. The Model Law provides a list of internationally recognized testing methods, such as ISO and ASTM methods (see Appendix II of the Model Law). The Model Law recognizes that test methods may change or improve over time and, thus, the Appendix II list is not intended to be exhaustive. Additional information on testing is available in A Brief Guide to Analytical Methods for Measuring Lead in Paint (WHO, 2020).
31. What are some of the existing lead paint testing methods?
The WHO Brief Guide to Analytical Methods for Measuring Lead in Paints lists well-established analytical methods for measuring the lead content of paint and briefly describes these methods. It also highlights, for various types of applications and scenarios, the considerations when deciding whether to use a laboratory-based method or portable technology, and whether to establish a laboratory service for lead measurement or to buy in services from another laboratory. The booklet is be available in additional six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).
32. How many different paints does a manufacturer have to submit for testing?
The Model Law includes sample legal text for provisions to require manufacturers and importers to submit sufficient samples of a paint product’s first production batch or lot for third-party laboratory testing. Testing the first production batch or lot will be sufficient to meet the testing requirement unless a material change occurs in the production process for that paint product – such as a change in ingredients or a change in an ingredient supplier. The Model Law includes provisions that, in the event of a material change in the production process, would require laboratory testing to be conducted on paint produced through the new process and a declaration of conformity to be issued for that paint. In order to ensure that testing is not unduly burdensome and duplicative, importers may be allowed to rely on a foreign manufacturer’s test results to issue a declaration of conformity, as long as the importer exercises due care to ensure that the manufacturer’s test results meet the requirements of the law, and the importer maintains appropriate records of the test methodology and results.
33. How can a country make sure the testing requirements are not overly burdensome and expensive?
The Model Law includes sample legal text for provisions to require testing by an accredited third-party laboratory. A government could choose to supplement a basic testing requirement like this with additional provisions or guidance that may help lower the cost of testing. Two examples from US regulations are discussed below: “component part testing” and “composite testing.”
34. What is component part testing?
“Component part testing” is an option for a company to obtain third-party testing for each ingredient used in finished paint products, rather than for each finished paint product (for example, each variant of color or shine). The following is an excerpt from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission website:
“Component part testing is allowed for the base constituents of paints, which can be considered component parts. For example, assume 10 base color constituents, plus a binder, are mixed in varying quantities to create a variety of paint colors. If each base color constituent and the binder are individually tested and found compliant with the lead in paint limit, then any combination of base color constituents and binder would also be compliant, and the mixed paint does not also require additional testing.”
A company using component part testing would need to provide a declaration of conformity for each paint color and other base constituent rather than having to test the final paint product.
35. What is composite testing?
“Composite testing” (combining certain samples into one sample) entails combining different color paints from one or more samples to reduce the number of samples being tested. The paint company would still need to provide a declaration of conformity for each paint product using the results of the composite testing. When using this testing strategy, strict guidelines need to be followed to make sure that the lead concentration of each component is low enough that the composite testing provides a representative measure of lead content for each paint that is part of the composite sample. If the composite test exceeds the lead limit, then follow-up testing of each component paint would need to be conducted separately. Details of this testing strategy can be found in the U.S. CPSC publication: “Standard Operating Procedure for Determining Lead (Pb) in Paint and Other Similar Surface Coatings” (CPSC-CH-E1003-09.1).
36. How can we get accredited laboratories in our country?
Each country does not need to have its own laboratory to conduct accredited, third-party testing. Current lack of in-country laboratory capacity need not be an impediment to implementation of a lead paint law, as manufacturers and importers can still comply with the law by sending paint samples for testing to accredited, third-party laboratories in other countries or relying on testing provided by the raw material suppliers. Countries can encourage laboratories to acquire the necessary equipment, expertise and accreditation for testing lead paint.
37. Do government inspectors testing for compliance with the law have to use third-party laboratories?
No. The Model Law includes sample legal text for provisions authorizing government inspectors to inspect and test paint to assess compliance with the lead limit in “a reasonable manner.” Generally, the lead content in liquid paint can be measured in a laboratory using laboratory methods or in the field using portable devices.
The usual method to sample the paint is to apply a thin layer of paint to a non-metal, homogenous surface, such as a glass slide or flat, smooth piece of wood and allow it to dry. Government inspectors can send samples to a laboratory, where the paint is scraped off, prepared and analyzed. Alternatively, government inspectors can analyze samples in the field using a portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer (see ASTM F2853-10(2015)). HDXRF analyzers are also able to measure lead concentration in liquid samples of new paint using a manufacturer-supplied sample cup. Information on these techniques is provided in the WHO publication Brief Guide to Analytical Methods for Measuring Lead in Paint, 2nd edition.
In addition, many manufacturers operate in-house laboratories that can perform follow-up testing following internationally recognized test methods. Such testing may be useful in providing additional assurance of conformity.
Addressing Disposal of Lead Paint
38. How should lead paint disposed of?
Under the law in some countries, lead paint is considered hazardous waste once it can no longer be manufactured or sold. In order to protect health and the environment, it is important that countries ensure that their legal frameworks provide for management and disposal in an environmentally sound manner.
