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Less than glossy

Lead weighs down the paint industry

by Paul Cochrane

Earlier in the year the American journal Environmental Research ran an article on ‘Total lead concentration in new decorative enamel paints in Lebanon, Paraguay and Russia. It claimed that five leading Lebanese paint manufacturers had products with exceedingly high lead content, and in certain cases had misled customers through erroneously labeling paint as ‘lead free’. Is lead in paint another health worry on top of the garbage crisis and recent food contamination scandals?

White, yellow and red paint from four Lebanese brands – Tinol, Sipes, Noula, Omega as well as the US-affiliated Dutch Boy – were acquired by local activist organization IndyAct and sent to the United States for testing. The results showed that certain paints, particularly yellows and reds, had extremely high levels of lead, in excess of US standards of 90 parts per million (ppm). It stated that two of the brands, Tinol and Dutch Boy, were mislabeling products as ‘free of lead’ or ‘lead free’.

Lead was widely used in paint due to its density – covering more with less paint – durability and resistance to corrosion. However, direct and constant exposure to high levels of lead from paint chippings, contaminated dust and soil is a cause of mental retardation, especially in children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), exposure to lead during childhood contributes to an estimated 600,000 new cases of intellectual disabilities per year. As a result, restrictions and outright bans on lead in paint have been put in place over the past 40 years, with the US banning lead in decorative paints in 1978. Jordan for example banned lead paint in 2013, while in April, 2015, the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint, co-led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the WHO, announced the goal of eliminating lead paint globally by 2020. In Lebanon, lead in paint is not restricted or banned.

No lead here…

When the named manufacturers were interviewed by Executive (Noula refused) two out of the four were not aware of the study. Wajih Bizri, Chairman of Sipes Paints, was surprised at the article’s finding, and asked for a copy. He says there is no lead in his paint – the report states 135,000 ppm in yellow and 27,700 ppm in red – and that the company was not headquartered or affiliated with Sipes Egypt, as stated in the research. “All of the information is not true. We don’t use lead in our paint. Egypt has nothing to do with our factory and our shareholders are not the same,” he says.

Mohamad Ali Maatouk, Executive Manager of Omega Paints, was equally surprised when shown the results that its yellow paint had 83,800 ppm and the red 131,100 ppm. He also says that no lead was used in decorative paints, as Omega stopped using the ingredient four years ago due to the related health hazards.

That date is significant, as it turns out that despite the article being submitted to Environmental Research in November 2014, and published in 2015, all of the paints were purchased in October 2011. It is a point not lost on the manufacturers.

“This report is not fair to all the (named) manufacturers as it is outdated. It also doesn’t name the products – we have pages of varieties – and where it was bought from. The manufacturing date depends on whether it is from a factory or an agent, as these colors – yellow and red – are not common,” says Chaker Saab, Chairman of Tinol Paints. The report stated that Tinol’s yellow paint had 236,000 ppm and red 101 ppm.

“We never use lead in decorative paint. The test must have been on an industrial paint,” says Saab, adding that the company sourced from Western Europe and would not falsely label paint as lead free, as claimed. Lead is still widely used – and still allowed – globally in industrial paints due to its durability.

While manufacturers pointed out certain discrepancies with Environmental Research’s findings, such research has kept the companies on their toes to ensure they are lead-free. In the case of Dutch Boy, the report prompted the company to re-check the sourcing of raw materials.

On reading that Dutch Boy’s red paint had 32,400 ppm and yellow 1,360 ppm, the US licensor Sherwin-Williams contacted Chemipaint in Beirut to provide samples. “We had to search the market for samples from 2011,” says Chemipaint’s Bassam Bizri. “Tests were then carried out in the US, and the problem was the oxide (used as a pigment). We stopped using lead years ago, but we’d bought a titanium oxide (pigment) from China that was not supposed to have lead. It was contaminated and we didn’t notice. All paints have been re-tested, and have less than 90 ppm.”

The need for regulations

Dr Naji Kodeih, an environmental consultant and volunteer at IndyAct who contributed to the report, says he has prepared a draft proposal for an official standard for lead in paint to not exceed 90 ppm, but his requests for a meeting with the health and industry ministries have been rebuffed.

Sipes’ Bizri, also President of the Syndicate of Paint Manufacturers, says they have also been asking for standards to be adopted. “At meetings with the economy minister we’ve said we’re willing to back any regulatory decision.”

However, there are over 200 paint factories in the country while fewer than 30 are members of the Industrialists Association or the syndicate. “For big companies regulations are not an issue but a lot of smaller companies are unlicensed. Some are under residential buildings, it’s crazy. The government needs to regulate local manufacturers and importers, as nobody is looking at what is coming in. It’s a real problem,” says Bizri.

With no regulatory action expected from the government anytime soon, the larger companies state they are self-regulating by adopting international standards and bringing in external certifiers to ensure consumer confidence, and to have a competitive edge. “It is as if everyone needs a country administration within their company – you have to manage everything, the treatment, the dust collection, cleaning without solvents,” says Wafa Saab, CEO of Tinol.

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Paul Cochrane

Paul Cochrane is the Middle East Correspondent for International News Services. He has lived in Beirut since 2002, and has written for some 70 publications worldwide, covering business, media, politics and culture in the Middle East, East Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
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