Lead-tainted products to be phased out Dec. 31

Children participate in the “Zombie Run” staged by the EcoWaste Coalition to remind the public that lead-tainted products will be banned starting Dec. 31, 2016. (Photo contributed by the EcoWaste Coalition)

MANILA — To mark the 10-week countdown to the Dec. 31 phase-out of lead-containing products like paint, toxics watchdog EcoWaste Coalition led a “Zombie Run” at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on Sunday and called on sellers and distributors to rally behind removing lead as a material for some of their products.

Kids and teens covered in lead-safe paints were the highlights of Sunday’s activity, which was inspired by the hit US television series “The Walking Dead.” Dubbed the “toxic zombies,” some of participants performed a “Walking Lead” number while the rest ran for “health and safety.”

At the end of the race, the zombies dropped dead to show that the sale of products containing the poisonous lead “is now over” in the country. EcoWaste partners Piglas Kababaihan at Kabataan, Malaya and the Check Skill Crew were among the participants of the Zombie Run.

“With the deadline for the removal of lead-added ADH paints just 10 weeks away, we call upon all stakeholders, particularly paint manufacturers, distributors, sellers and consumers, to rally behind this historic target that will remove a common source of lead exposure in our children’s environment,” said EcoWaste Coalition national coordinator Aileen Lucero.

She explained that the phase-out deadline for lead-containing paints this December 31 would be the end of the three-year phase-out period, which began in 2013. “Paint companies should have already completed or nearly completed their switch to non-lead production for the ADH segment of their product line,” Lucero added.

EcoWaste said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the paint industry and civil society have joined hands to make sure that the phase-out deadline would be observed in the country.

Lead-based paint is poisonous to humans and places at risk children who are most exposed to this danger because of their toys and other furniture inside the home, according to Eco-Waste, citing years of medical studies.  SFM