Beware of toxic huts for ‘Pabasa’

Makati residents be warned: Participating in the traditional “Pabasa” this Holy Week may be good for your soul but not for your health.

An environmental watch group has detected heavy doses of a toxic chemical in several “kubol” or huts set up by the city’s neighborhood associations for the conduct of the traditional reading of the “Pasyon” which depicts the life and death of Jesus Christ.

In a check conducted on Saturday, EcoWaste Coalition detected, using an x-ray fluorescence device, amounts of lead way above the limit of 90 parts per million (ppm) in nine of 17 kubol set up in Barangay Poblacion with one hut registering as much as 11,000 ppm.

Lead—a heavy metal often used in paint—is listed by the World Health Organization as among the 10 chemicals of major public health concern. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, “lead is especially dangerous to children under six years of age and can affect their brains and developing nervous systems, causing reduced IQ, learning disabilities and behavioral problems.”

In a statement, Jeiel Guarino of EcoWaste’s Lead Paint Elimination Project said that “as the ‘pabasa’ attracts residents of all ages, including young children, we find it crucial that only nonlead paint products are used to decorate the ‘kubol’ where it is held.”

Among the 17 kubol in Barrangay Poblacion, only eight were found to have low or nondetectable levels of the toxic chemical, indicating that the paint used in these were lead-free. These were the huts built by Samahang Bagong Pag-Asa, Samahang Guardian, Samahang Ilaya Heights, Samahang Iskinita ng Bonifacio, Samahang Kayumanggi, Samahang Magkakapit-Bahay, Samahang Padre Zamora and Samahang St. Paul.

At the same time, the watch group advised the neighborhood associations to be extra careful when dismantling the kubol after Holy Week to avoid the release of lead chips and dust.

“When refurbishing any painted surfaces, essential precaution must be observed to prevent the dispersal of paint dust that [may] potentially contain lead and enter a child’s body through their habitual hand-to-mouth activities,” Guarino said.

According to him, doctors have cautioned that there is no safe level of lead in children’s blood. “It is therefore our responsibility to keep their surroundings safe from lead-based paint, a major threat to children’s health, and other sources of lead pollution,” he added.

Guarin said that while lead is dangerous to one’s health when inhaled, ingested or absorbed through skin, it is most damaging to children.