The Deputy Director, Chemical Control and Management Centre (CCMC) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr. Lovelace Sarpong has bemoaned the level of lead in paint brands on the Ghanaian market, urging manufacturers to conform with the 90 parts per million (ppm) lead content limit.
The 90 ppm lead content limit, which is currently been enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, was implemented after the agency together with its stakeholders conducted a study on paint lead content in Ghana.
Six out of 59 (10%) samples of paints for home use contained hazardous levels of lead (greater than 90 ppm), thereby revising its standard for solvent-based paint, GS 180.
In a presentation yesterday at the stakeholder consultation meeting on lead in paints regulations, Mr. Sarpong, who highlighted the negative impact of the lead content in paints, said it health effects on growing fetuses, pregnant women and malnourished children are lifelong and irreversible.
This, he said, has necessitated EPA and stakeholders in enforcing the regulation 90 ppm limit to protect human health and the environment.
Mr. Sarpong said the United Nations Programme in collaboration World Health Organisation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency have established the Global Alliance to eliminate lead paint, with the goal to promote the establishment of lead paint laws in all countries.
Acting Director, Manufacturing and Industries Department, EPA, Mr. Saeed Foroco, on his part said Ghana has a total of 26,000 manufacturing companies with 65% to 75% located in the nation’s capital.
He lamented the discharge of untreated, partially treated effluents into inlands waters; coastal wetlands which have caused substantial degradation of the fragile ecosystem, especially in areas like Accra-Tema metropolis, Korle and Chemu lagoons.
He urged the EPA to enforce its administrative penalties in line with the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions), Act 2022, Act 1080 to prevent environmental hazards caused by industries.
Acting Director, CCMC, EPA, Dr. Michael Onwona-Kwakye, who spoke on behalf of UNICEF, expressed the agency’s commitment to addressing the critical issue of lead paint in Ghana, indicating that a report by UNICEF’s Toxic Truth report states that approximately one in three children globally has elevated blood lead levels, equating to around 800 million children worldwide.
He reiterated UNICEF’s commitment in ensuring that lead paints in Ghana meet global safety standards, saying, “The organisation aims to promote the health and safety of workers and communities, especially the most vulnerable populations.”
By Prince Fiifi Yorke