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Laboratory Tests Validate EcoWaste Coalition s Discovery of 18 Highly Leaded Paints
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Five paints analyzed to contain 113,000 to 184,000 ppm of lead, way above the 90 ppm limit
4 October 2026, Quezon City. Ahead of the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW) on October 18 to 24, the toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition revealed paint product imports with shocking lead levels in gross violation of the country’s lead paint ban.
Laboratory tests on 18 imported paints bought online by the EcoWaste Coalition showed lead concentrations exceeding the legal 90 parts per million (ppm) limit, making their importation, distribution, and sale in the Philippines strictly illegal.
These dry paint samples were submitted by the EcoWaste Coalition to a private laboratory for confirmatory lead content analysis.
Under the 2013 Chemical Control Order (CCO) issued by the DENR, a strict 90 ppm cap on lead content was established for all paints, including spray paints. The CCO set phase-out deadlines for lead use in paint manufacturing, ending decorative paint use by December 2016 and industrial paint use by December 2019.
Based on confirmatory laboratory tests, dry samples of 18 brightly-colored spray paints, representing five brands, contained lead up to a whopping 184,000 ppm.
Of the 18 analyzed paints, 15 had lead levels exceeding 20,000 ppm, of which 11 contained lead above 50,000 ppm.
Five of the 18 analyzed paints, including four China-made Corolla Spray Paints, had lead concentrations exceeding 100,000 ppm.
Five paints contained over 100,000 ppm of lead, such as medium yellow, deep yellow, naranja, and orange Corolla Spray Paints, with 184,000 ppm, 164,000 ppm, 148,000 ppm, and 129,000 ppm, respectively, and deep yellow Lucky 5 Rain-Bow Spray Paint with 113,000 ppm.
In terms of lead concentrations per brand, medium yellow Corolla Spray Paint topped with 184,000 ppm, followed by deep yellow Lucky 5 Rain-Bow Spray Paint with 113,000 ppm, counterfeit grass green Bosny Spray Paint with 91,400 ppm, blackish green Tecpaint Aerosol Spray Paint with 71,800 ppm, and an art yellow Jiuniuxing Aerosol Spray Paint with 63,300 ppm.
Photo shows highest lead levels detected per brand, including in one counterfeit product.
The 18 analyzed paints with lead content will be added to the “Public Notice on Lead-Containing Paints” co-published by the EcoWaste Coalition, International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), and the Philippine Paint and Coatings Association, Inc. (PPCAI). The updated notice will be released during the ILPPW.
In response to the unresolved influx of imported aerosol paints with lead content, the EcoWaste Coalition advised the public to be vigilant and avoid purchasing poorly labeled paints from unknown manufacturers and with undisclosed lead content.
Lead-containing paints are a major source of lead exposure among children globally. “There is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has included lead among the ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern, along with arsenic, asbestos, benzene, cadmium, dioxins, mercury, highly hazardous pesticides, etc.
Lead is a dangerous poison that damages many parts of the body, especially the brain and nervous system. It is most hazardous to young children whose brains are still developing. Exposure at this age can cause permanent harm, including lower IQ, learning difficulties, poor attention spans, and behavioral problems like aggression.
To stop the illicit importation of lead-based paints into the Philippines and uphold the lead paint ban, the EcoWaste Coalition advocates for enhanced trade controls on lead chromates, the most prevalent lead-based pigments.
The group, together with other IPEN participating organizations, is campaigning for the listing of lead chromates under the Rotterdam Convention to track and control the global trade of lead chromates and derived paint products.
In September 2026, the Chemical Review Committee of the Rotterdam Convention recommended listing lead chromate pigments under the treaty, moving toward a formal decision at the Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2029.
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https://www.ecowastecoalition.org/leadspraypaints/
https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DAO-2013-24-CCO-Lead.pdf
https://www.who.int/news-room/photo-story/photo-story-detail/10-chemicals-of-public-health-concern
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Source: Pressenza