Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint – press release by the Australian Paint Manufacturer’s Federation (APMF) Inc.
APMF PRESS RELEASE – February 3, 2017 by ags_83, URL: http://www.apmf.asn.au/press-releases/
[Editor’s note: The APMF is a Partner of The LEAD Group’s Lead Safe World Project, and The LEAD Group is a founding member of The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint (GAELP). The LEAD Group was very proud to have worked with the APMF and Australia’s government agency NICNAS (National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme) in achieving the ban on lead in all paints (except artist’s paints) in Australia as of 2010 – a global precedent.]
There is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe. Yet, across the globe, lead is still used for decorative and industrial paints and applied to schools and children’s toys.
“There is no longer any justification to continue to add lead compounds in surface coatings and it is time that the global industry and governments show leadership on the issue and worked together to proactively cease the manufacture and supply of all surface coatings containing added lead compounds” states Richard Phillips of the Australian Paint Manufacturers’ Federation.
“Here in Australia, the industry voluntarily removed added lead compounds from formulations from the 1970’s and then worked with the Commonwealth Government agency National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) to prohibit the importation of paint containing added lead compounds in 1997.”
Today, Australia joins a growing list of countries that have taken positive steps to address the lead in paint issue.
The APMF has now also been recognised as an Industry Partner by the United Nations/World Health Organisation Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint.
“Our actions in Australia, removing lead from paint, provide a solid template for how this can be done globally,” according to Richard Phillips of the APMF.
The UN/WHO global initiative is a voluntary collaboration among governments, industry and NGO’s, to prevent exposure, especially in children, to lead in paints. By 2020, the key targets are to have all paint manufacturers eliminate the use of added lead compound in priority areas (architectural and decorative paints, children’s toys) and to have 70 contributors (governments and organisations) participating in the work of the Global Alliance.
Learn more at www.unep.org/noleadinpaint
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