Toxics Watchdog Group Promotes Strict Compliance to Lead Paint Ban to Protect Children’s Health
2 June 2025, Quezon City. As part of its sustained advocacy to promote a toxic-free school environment, the EcoWaste Coalition today released a list of paint products that have been verified as safe from lead, a potent neurotoxin that can harm children’s brain and development. Globally, lead paint is a major source of childhood lead exposure.
The release of the list of independently certified lead-safe paints coincided with the ongoing preparations for the annual Brigada Eskwela on June 9 to 13, which aims to “to ensure schools are safe, resilient and well-equipped” in time for the resumption of classes on June 16. The Department of Education (DepEd) requires the mandatory use of lead-safe paints in schools.
The list was provided by the SCS Global Services (the US-based certification body) to the EcoWaste Coalition and can be accessed at: https://www.ecowastecoalition.org/certified-lead-safe-paints-ph-list/
The list features hundreds of paint products for diverse uses, including decorative and industrial applications, from seven leading paint manufacturers that have passed the meticulous Lead Safe Paint® certification requirements and procedures.
Among the listed lead-safe paint products are Boysen, Nation, Titan, and Virtuoso Silk paints by Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines, Inc.; Davies paints by Davies Paints Philippines, Inc.; and Purecoat Advance, Purecoat Premium, Guilder and WeatherGard paints by Sycwin Coating & Wires, Inc.
Also listed are Rain or Shine, Alpha Chroma, Arkhon, Welcoat, Glasurit, Paralux, Polygloss, Texas, Trans-Lac, Trend, and USA paints by Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc.; Triton (five categories), Acri-Lux, Duracoat, Lotus, Primecoat, and Rosco paints by Roosevelt Chemical Inc./Triton Paints; A-Plus, Glazer, Hanscoat, and Kali paints by FH Colors & Coatings Corp./A-Plus Paints; and, last but not least, Apollo, Star and Island paints by Treasure Island Industrial Corp.
The above certified paints do not contain lead in excess of 90 parts per million (ppm), the legal limit under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order No. 2013-24, or the Chemical Control Order (CCO) for lead and its compounds. It is also the strictest regulatory standard for lead in paint worldwide, and the limit prescribed by the UN Model Law and Guidance for Regulating Lead in Paint.
The duly registered lead safe paint logo is awarded only to paint brands that meet the strictest standard for lead in paint.
The EcoWaste Coalition clarified that not all compliant paints are on the list as the Lead Safe Paint® certification is voluntary and not mandatory. In compliance with the law, local paint makers such as the members of the Philippine Paint & Coatings Association, Inc. (PPCAI) are producing products without lead-based raw materials used as pigments, driers or as anti-corrosive agents.
According to DepEd Order No. 4, series of 2017, issued by former Education Secretary Leonor Briones, the “use of only lead safe coatings or paints shall be mandatory to all pre-school, elementary and secondary schools,” noting the “use of lead safe paint shall reduce children’s exposure to toxic lead via lead-containing paint and thus, thus, avoiding health impacts including learning disabilities, anemia and disorders in coordination, visual, spatial, and language skills.”
The Department of Education requires the mandatory use of lead-safe paints in schools to prevent and reduce childern’s exposure to toxic lead via lead-containing paint and dust.
“The use of independently certified lead safe paints/coatings shall be mandatory to all painting and/or repainting works of school facilities, furniture, fixtures, learning materials, tools and equipment,” the DepEd stated.
Prior to this, then Education Secretary Armin Luistro through DepEd Memorandum No. 85, series of 2016, directed schools to ensure “the use of lead-free paints at all times, especially during the conduct of activities related to Brigada Eskwela.”
The said DepEd directives were issued at the request of the EcoWaste Coalition to protect school children from being exposed to and harmed by lead-containing paint and dust.
The Lead Safe Paint® Certification program was developed by the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) in collaboration with stakeholders such as the PPCAI and the EcoWaste Coalition. The program is managed by the SCS Global Services, the certification body. Both IPEN and the EcoWaste Coalition do not receive any type of revenue from the program.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
References:
https://www.ecowastecoalition.org/certified-lead-safe-paints-ph-list/
https://www.leadsafepaint.org/
https://www.scsglobalservices.com/services/lead-safe-paint
https://www.deped.gov.ph/2017/01/18/do-4-s-2017-mandatory-use-of-lead-safe-paints-in-schools/
https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/DM_s2016_085.pdf
https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DAO-2013-24-CCO-Lead.pdf
