Global Silent Killer: Lead Paints

Bright colors always attract attention, making our lives more vibrant. However, few of us have thought about how safe these paints are?

The fact is that many companies use lead as a pigment to create bright and vivid colors in their paint and coating industries.

Due to its harmful effects on the human body, progressive countries have adopted legislation regulating the use of this toxic substance. Lead affects the central nervous system and brain, as well as the circulatory system, kidneys, and even bone tissue. Pregnant women experience genetic changes in their children, as well as a decrease in their intellectual level. Lead has the greatest impact on children’s bodies. Annually, approximately 143,000 people die from lead poisoning.

However, despite this and the ban on lead use, many modern industrial companies continue to add it to paint.

To draw public attention to this issue, a week of action was declared worldwide in October 2016 to prevent lead paint poisoning.

In Ukraine, the national environmental public organization “MAMA-86,” initiated by the international organization WHO, held a conference on the topic: “The Invisible Killer in Our Home: The Consequences of Using Lead Paints for the Health of Ukrainians,” where they presented research results on Ukrainian paints for lead content. It should be noted that during this period, similar studies were conducted throughout Central Europe. It turned out that the highest amount of lead is found in bright paints: yellow, orange, and red. These colors are most often used for painting kindergartens, playgrounds, and many other organizations.

According to research, the maximum lead content in paints produced in Tajikistan and Belarus (see Diagram No.1).

As for Ukraine, only 30% of Ukrainian industrial paint companies use unacceptable levels of lead in their paint materials. Against the general trend, this is the lowest percentage, although it should be noted that Ukraine currently does not have any legislative norms regulating the amount of lead content in paint materials unlike Russia.

It should be noted that previously the company “ZIP” used lead in some of its products but stopped using it more than 10 years ago, caring about the health of its consumers. And today, the paints produced by the company are safe for the health of Ukrainians.