Toxic waste watchdog warns of lead pollution in schools

As the Brigada Eskwela goes in full swing in preparation for the reopening of schools, volunteers are warned of possible exposure to lead in paint, chips and dust as they go about sprucing up the classrooms.

The EcoWaste Coalition, a nongovernment group campaigning for the elimination of lead in paint, called the attention of the Department of Education and its Brigada Eskwela collaborators from the private and public sectors to keep school premises safe from lead pollution.

“The improper scraping, sanding or burning of leaded paint can expose the Brigada Eskwela volunteers and the students themselves to toxic pollutants,” said Manny Calonzo of the EcoWaste Coalition.

The toxic waste watchdog is particularly concerned with the improper removal of old leaded paint from school walls, doors and windows, and the use of lead paint in repainting efforts.

“Repainting schools with leaded paint can, in time, pose hazards to children’s health from chipping or flaking surfaces,” Calonzo said. “Let us aim for a nontoxic makeover of our schools so that our children can benefit from a clean, healthy and safe environment that they are entitled to.”

Children more endangered

Health experts explain that children are more in danger of being exposed to lead because the toxic substance is easily absorbed by their still developing bodies. Their budding tissues and organs are also more sensitive to the harmful effects of lead. Also, their tendency to explore their surroundings and put their fingers and objects into their mouths make children more prone to toxic exposure.

To reduce lead pollution during the back-to-school clean up, leaded paint in good condition should be left undisturbed and should not be sanded or burned off.

For schools that are planning to repaint classrooms and other school facilities, the EcoWaste Coalition recommends the use of water-based plastic paints, which generally have low lead contents.

For private companies and other charitable entities that are planning to sponsor school repainting jobs, the EcoWaste Coalition urges them to exercise utmost social responsibility and refrain from donating paint materials that are not lead-free.

High lead treshold

A global testing in 2009 of decorative paints involving the EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and the International POPs Elimination Network found 40 percent of the 25 samples from Philippines with lead concentrations way beyond the US threshold of 90 parts per million (ppm), with one sample registering a staggering lead level of 189,163.5 ppm. No plastic paint sample had lead concentration higher than 90 ppm.

It will be recalled that President-apparent Benigno Aquino 3rd and six other presidentiables, in a green survey conducted by the EcoWaste Coalition and Greenpeace prior to the May 10 polls, expressed support for the elimination of lead, a toxic metal, in paint to promote the health and safety of Filipino children.

Citing information from the US Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the EcoWaste Coalition warned that lead exposure can lead to delays in physical and mental development, lower IQ levels, shortened attention spans, and increased behavioral problems among children.

According to the United Nations-backed Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead in Paints, an international partnership that will be meeting in Geneva this week, “children are particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of lead, and even relatively low levels of exposure can cause serious and in some cases irreversible neurological damage.” –Francis Earl A. Cueto, Manila Times