EcoWaste Coalition: Illegal Importation of Lead-Containing Paints Persists

11 June 2026, Quezon City.  Despite the national ban on lead in paint production, the EcoWaste Coalition uncovered additional spray paint brands that contain one or more colors with lead.  This toxic chemical affects multiple body systems and is particularly damaging to the brain and nervous system.

Purchased from online sellers for P81 to P164 per can, the Amazing High Gloss Spray Paint, Wei Yue Spray Paint, and Herios Spray Paint were found to contain lead above the legal limit of 90 parts per million (ppm).

Using a handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device to identify and measure lead in dry paint samples, the EcoWaste Coalition detected lead levels of 22,750, 14,560, and 416 ppm in the Jialing red, fresh green, and lemon yellow Amazing paints.  The green and yellow Wei Yue paints were found to contain 37,790 and 329 ppm of lead, while the yellow Herios paint contained a whopping 92,800 ppm lead.

The Wei Yue paints were manufactured in March 2026, the Amazing paints in September 2025, and the Herios paint in February 2025.  These paints were not produced or distributed by companies affiliated with the Philippine Paint & Coatings Association, Inc. (PPCAI).While Amazing and Herios paints provided labeling information in English, these products lacked lead-based paint hazard warnings.  Wei Yue paint is labeled in Chinese.

Under DENR Administrative Order No. 2013-24, also known as the Chemical Control Order (CCO) banning lead in the manufacture of paints, lead cannot exceed the maximum limit of 90 ppm. This restriction applies not only to locally manufactured paints but also to imported paints sold in the domestic market, including online shopping sites.

To allow paint manufacturers to transition to lead-free paint production, the CCO provided a three-year phase-out period, from 2013 to 2016, for lead-containing decorative paints, and six years, from 2013 to 2019, for leaded industrial paints.

While member manufacturers of the PPCAI have diligently abided by the lead paint ban, lead-containing paints, mainly spray paints sourced from overseas manufacturers, continue to enter the market. This policy gap underscores why the Philippine government, through the DENR-EMB, must support listing lead chromates under the Rotterdam Convention. Notably, PPCAI submitted a statement to the EMB in 2024 expressing no objection to this advocacy. Under the convention’s Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, the Philippines would gain the explicit authority to accept or reject importations of lead chromates and lead-containing paints.

To guide consumers and sellers on which spray paints to avoid, the EcoWaste Coalition, in cooperation with the PPCAI and the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), has published a  Public Notice of Lead-Containing Paints, which can be accessed at: https://www.ecowastecoalition.org/leadspraypaints/

Lead paint and contaminated dust drive widespread childhood exposure, which can have a range of health effects, including damage to the brain and nervous system, lowered IQ, reading, learning, and speaking difficulties, slowed growth, hearing loss, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, aggression, and other behavioral problems.

Lead poisoning in adults can cause joint and muscle pain, mood disorders, memory and concentration problems, abnormal and reduced sperm count in men, miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature birth in women, high blood pressure, and hypertension.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “there is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.”

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Reference:
https://www.ecowastecoalition.org/leadspraypaints/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health