EcoWaste flags excessive lead in painted garden tools from Brazil

Environmental group wants lead-contaminated garden tools from Brazil to be removed from stores nationwide. Photo from EcoWaste Coalition

MANILA, Philippines — EcoWaste Coalition on Friday called for the removal of painted garden tools from Brazil, which contained excessive lead, as the paint may cause health risks to the public, especially children.

“The lead-containing paint in home garden tools we sent to the laboratory for analysis will surely flake over time with frequent use.  This may cause the lead in paint to get discharged into the soil, and children may be exposed to lead if the contaminated soil gets into their hands and mouths,” Thony Dizon, the environmental group’s chemical safety campaigner, said in a statement.

EcoWaste said it earlier purchased the garden tools from a home improvement store chain and from an online seller.

It screened the samples of lead from the garden tools, which will be tested by laboratory SGS Philippines, Inc. for confirmatory analysis.

Based on the SGS’ laboratory results, EcoWaste said the lead content exceeded the “regulatory limit of  90 parts per million (ppm).” It cited that a trowel contained 38,600 ppm of lead, a weeder had 36,300 ppm, a rake had 34,700 ppm, a cultivator had 33,800 ppm, and a hand fork had 32,300 ppm.

According to the environmental group, the excessive lead on the tools could be due to “lax lead paint regulation in Brazil.”

EcoWaste explained that the Brazilian lead paint regulation is less strict than the Department of Environment and Natural Resources order, the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compound, which sets a lead content limit of 90 ppm and prohibits the use of lead in all categories of paints.

EDV