Lead Chromates, Pigments in Lead Paint, on the Agenda for Global Regulation
Goteborg, Sweden-Today, IPEN welcomed the notification from the Swiss government calling on the Rotterdam Convention to address the toxic trade in lead chromates, chemicals used as the main pigments used in making lead-based paints. Chemicals listed under the Convention are subject to a Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, whereby exporting countries must notify recipient countries and receive explicit consent before the substance can be exported. Last year, Cameroon became the first country to call for such controls and was soon followed by Morocco. With countries from two regions now calling for the listing, the proposal is on the path to be on the agenda at the next Conference of Parties (COP-13) in 2027.
An IPEN study released last year during International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week documented the ongoing trade in lead chromates, noting the double standards of countries that have banned lead paint domestically but continue to produce and sell lead chromates for export. For example, the report notes that though the EU has essentially banned the use of lead chromates for paint, it continues to export lead chromates to as many as 48 countries, putting the recipient countries’ children and families at risk.
The initial call for regulations under the Rotterdam Convention by Cameroon followed a report by the IPEN member group Centre de Recherche et d’Education pour le Développement (CREPD) in Yaoundé, Cameroon following a regulation compliance check study in 2023, which found lead paints are still widely sold in markets in the country despite lead paint being banned in Cameroon since 2017. “Our experience shows that we need global controls on the trade in lead chromates to protect our children and families,” said Gilbert Kuepouo, Executive Director of CREPD. “Information on imports of lead chromates is vital for Cameroon to enforce our country’s lead paint ban. We encourage all Parties to the Convention to support this proposal at the next COP.”
“Hazardous chemicals like lead chromates should never be sent across borders without the knowledge of the recipients. The Rotterdam Convention provides a common-sense tool that gives countries the information they need to decide about imports of this toxic chemical, which poses significant hazards to children and adults, in particular to paint industry workers in their countries,” said Sara Brosché, PhD, IPEN’s Science Advisor and author of the 2024 report on the trade in lead chromates. “We welcome the call by Cameroon, Morocco, and Switzerland and look forward to advancing this urgent proposal to protect children’s health around the world.”
While lead paint has been tightly regulated for decades in most wealthy countries, the toxic paints are still widely sold in most low- and middle-income countries, posing ongoing threats to children’s health in those regions. Even in countries where lead paint is banned, they are still often found on the market, as enforcement is made more difficult without the knowledge or consent to products that come across their borders. This is why the control under the Rotterdam Convention is a crucial tool.
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.
In 2009, 120 countries called for a global phase out of lead paint. 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 more than 30 countries, with nearly 40 more countries developing regulations. But more work needs to be done to end lead paint globally, including by regulating the trade in lead chromates through the Rotterdam Convention.