The paint in your house is likely to be exposing your children to lead which damages their brain. New research has found that 40% of oil-based paints sampled from Karachi contain dangerous and illegal levels of the toxin.

In the study, ‘The brighter the worse’: Lead content of commercially available solvent-based paints intended for residential use in Pakistan doctors from the Aga Khan University (AKU) and Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP) tested 60 paints from 21 brands for sale in Karachi. Forty percent of the paints sampled contained levels of lead higher than Pakistan’s limit and above the WHO level. Some paint contained 1,000 times the limit.

“Lead is not a necessary ingredient in paint,” pointed out primary researcher Dr Durr-e-Amna Siddiqui, a Resident in Community Health Sciences at Aga Khan University. “Data suggests that lead is primarily used in Pakistan’s paint as a pigment. However, safe alternative pigments are widely available, and many countries have successfully eliminated lead paint.”

The study took samples from four paint markets in Karachi in November 2021. The paint of 21 different brands were bought in red, yellow, and white. Each sample was analyzed at the Wisconsin Occupational Health Laboratory in the US.

International brands were no safer. Of the 60 paints, 45 were produced by Pakistani companies (51% exceeding the limit) and 15 by multinational companies (7% exceeding the limit).

Yellow paints had the highest lead content among all the brands sampled for the study.

The brands did not always have the correct labelling on the tins and it was often inaccurate.

The most common lead additives to the paints are yellow and red pigments (lead chromates), driers (lead octoate and lead naphthenate), and anticorrosives (lead tetroxide). Lead carbonate is used in white paints, but has now been largely replaced by titanium dioxide.

Paint makers likely intentionally add lead to amplify color. Even the yellow paint produced by a multinational brand with a high market share had 18,000 ppm, exceeding national limits, says the study.

The Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) introduced a standard in 2017 saying that manufacturers must restrict the level of lead in paint to 100 parts per million or ppm.

“Lead is neurotoxic and even low levels of exposure for children can result in reduced intelligence, lower educational attainment, reduced future earnings, and increased violent behavior,” said Dr Zafar Fatmi, Professor of Environmental Health & Climate Change, Community Health Sciences at Aga Khan University. “Lead affects all body systems, also causing anaemia, growth stunting, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease.”

Lead in paint in Pakistan

Lead-based house paints are still produced and used globally, largely in poorer countries. Pakistani children have been found to have the second-highest average levels of lead in their blood compared to children in poor countries.

• ~46.7 million children in Pakistan have blood lead levels above the CDC’s 5 μg/dL (or micrograms per deciliter of blood)
• The estimated economic loss caused by lead exposure in Pakistan is $38 billion = 7.8% of GDP

Where can there be lead in my house or environment?

You will find lead in:

• paint
• food
• house dust
• respirable dust
• surma
• petrol
• toys
• jewelry

The CDC warns that lead is not banned from plastics so you may have to consider the risks associated with certain toys. “Lead softens plastic and makes it more flexible so that it can go back to its original shape. It may also be used in plastic toys to stabilize molecules from heat. Lead dust can be formed when plastic is exposed to sunlight, air, and detergents that break down the chemical bond between the lead and plastics.”

Children put their toys, fingers and hands and objects into their mouths. “Young children are vulnerable to lead exposure from contaminated dust and flaking paint,” says the WHO. “They spend a lot of time on the ground and ingest lead-contaminated dust through normal hand-to-mouth behaviour. These exposures can result in elevated blood lead concentrations and lead poisoning.”

You can get your child’s blood lead levels tested after speaking to their doctor.

Some simple steps are to remove the lead from the child’s environment. The CDC says you can feed your child a diet high in iron and calcium.

How does lead poison children?

Exposure to lead can cause health problems such as anemia and hypertension and can impair the function of your immune, reproductive, and nervous systems. Children who are exposed to lead exhibit a dose-dependent reduction in brain volume, as well as deficits in school performance and measures of intelligence.

“Lead is a potent neurotoxin that causes irreparable harm to children’s brains. It is particularly destructive to babies and children under the age of 5 as it damages their brain before they have had the opportunity to fully develop, causing them lifelong neurological, cognitive and physical impairment.”

Childhood lead exposure has also been linked to mental health and behavioural problems and an increase in crime and violence, UNICEF says.