The ninth International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW) began on Monday.
Environmental health and child health advocates, governments, and paint industries are uniting for ILPPW this week.
They have urged the governments to adopt and effectively implement the legislation to protect children’s health.
Centre for Public Health and Environmental Development (CEPHED) at a press meet organised on Sunday in Lalitpur said that one in every three children have blood lead levels at or above 5 micrograms/deciliters.
Over 65 per cent (6,719.235) of the total child population of Nepal have elevated blood lead levels above 5 micrograms/deciliters and some 3,512,007 children have had blood level even over 10 micrograms/deciliters that calls for immediate response, said Ram Charitra Sah, Executive Director of CEPHED and environment scientist.
Lead paint is a major source of childhood lead exposure. High blood lead levels are found in children aged between 6 months and 36 months in Kathmandu Valley.
Series of lead paints studies carried out by CEPHED and LEADERS Nepal from 2010 to 2015 have shown varied and high level of lead concentrations in the paints, produced, imported, sold, distributed and used in Nepal.
The solvent-based Enamel Paints and Spray Pits with high concentrations of lead have been still produced, imported and available to be sold in Nepal even six years after the standards came into effect.
Thirty two of 62 solvent-based enamel paints contained lead concentrations at or below 90 PM.
At the programme, two study reports ‘Compliance Monitoring of Lead Paint Standard in Nepal’ and ‘Study of Lead in Spray Paints’ were also made public.
Centre for Public Health and Environmental Development (CEPHED) with the support of National Health Education, Information and Communication Centre (NHEICC), government and provincial governments of Province 1, 2, Bagmati and Lumbini and WHO country office for Nepal are organising various programmes in the centre and provincial level awareness and capacity building programme on “International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week”.
Source : TRN,
