Promoting regulatory and voluntary action by government and industry to phase out lead in paint
The lead in paint component is part of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) Global Environment Facility (GEF) project “Global best practices on emerging chemical policy issues of concern under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management ". The two other components are chemicals in products and knowledge management.
The project outcome was aiming for at least 40 countries with adopted legislation or final text awaiting political validation (including at least 20 countries with adopted legislation) and for at least 35 small and medium paint manufacturing enterprises in seven countries to phase out lead from their production processes.
In 2019, UNEP launched the project activities on lead in paint through four regional workshops in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin American regions, with the participation of more than 130 participants from government, industry, and civil society. In addition, five launch workshops for the work on paint reformulation in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) took place in Jordan, China, Indonesia, Nigeria and the Andean countries (Peru, Ecuador, Colombia) in collaboration with NCPCs and IPEN Partner Organisations.
UNEP and the relevant partners executing this project component supported countries in drafting lead paint laws, conducting national consultations and implementing pilot projects with paint manufacturers to reformulate their paint production processes and phase out the use of lead in paint. These execution partners include the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-ROLI), the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), NCPCs, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the World Coating Council (WCC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The support of this project has resulted in 21 countries enacting legislation to limit the use of lead in paint: Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
Other 19 countries have a final draft lead paint law pending adoption by their legislative bodies, thus achieving the project target. To complement this work and support the implementation of the lead paint laws, a guidance document on compliance and enforcement with lead paint laws is being developed by the project partners under the leadership of the US EPA.
In addition, 25 paint producers in seven countries have completed paint reformulation pilots and are able to produce paint without added lead compounds. A set of technical guidelines on paint reformulation were developed and tested to provide paint manufacturers with a step-by-step approach to reformulation, indicating where to find relevant information such as alternative raw materials and additional details such as standards for testing. These guidelines help address both capacity constraints and technical barriers to the substitution of lead compounds in paints with a focus on the needs of SMEs for the effective and efficient reformulation of paint. Other SMEs are expected to benefit from these guidelines and replicate the reformulation projects in other countries.
To wrap up the project activities on Lead in Paint, three regional workshops have been organized in 2022 in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean regions with representatives from Ministries of Environment, Ministry of Health and civil society to allow countries to exchange best practices, experiences and lessons learned towards the development of lead paint. In parallel, dissemination workshops were organized in Nigeria, Indonesia, Ecuador and Jordan to disseminate the technical guidelines on paint reformulation.
SAICM GEF Project Lead in Paint Component Briefing Note
