12 October 2026, Quezon City. Days before the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, the EcoWaste Coalition and the Philippine Paint and Coatings Association, Inc. (PPCAI) jointly alerted sellers and buyers that some imported paints break the country’s lead paint policy by containing dangerous amounts of toxic lead.
The policy, also known as the Chemical Control Order (CCO) for lead and lead compounds, prohibits the use of lead in paints and similar surface coatings, sets a maximum limit of 90 parts per million (ppm), and provides for a phase-out period of three years for lead-containing paints (2013-2016) and six years for lead-containing industrial paints (2013-2019).
The EcoWaste Coalition joins the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) in calling for accelerated global action to ban lead paints, a major source of childhood lead exposure.
Through a Public Notice on Lead-Containing Paints, EcoWaste Coalition and PPCAI, along with the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), provided paint dealers and consumers with helpful information on non-compliant products, which may pose lead exposure risks, especially to vulnerable populations, such as children, women, and workers.
The 260 lead-containing paints listed in the Public Notice were neither manufactured nor distributed by any of the 27 PPCAI-affiliated paint companies, which adhere to the CCO rules. Beyond transitioning to non-lead paint manufacturing, seven PPCAI member companies have also secured third-party Lead Safe Paint® Certification from the US-based certification body SCS Global Services.
“The unchecked entry of lead-containing spray paints is not only a violation of the CCO, but also a health hazard,” said Manny Calonzo, Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition. “Through this Public Notice, we intend to raise awareness across all sectors, enabling safer choices and lower exposure risks. Concurrently, we call on trade regulators, e-commerce administrators, and store owners to stop the illegal importation, distribution, and sale of lead-laced paints to protect the people’s interest.”
“PPCAI member companies have complied with the CCO by investing in lead-free formulations and raw materials,” stated Reginald T. Yu, President of the Philippine Paint and Coatings Association, Inc. (PPCAI). “The finding of imported spray paints containing lead above the 90 ppm limit underscores the need for stronger monitoring and enforcement across importation, retail distribution, e-commerce platforms, and online sales. We urge the relevant government agencies, online marketplaces, and retailers to work together to prevent non-compliant products from reaching consumers and to protect public health”
“Placing lead chromates under the Rotterdam Convention’s Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure will empower countries to control the unregulated and unmonitored trade of these toxic pigments and paints containing them,” said Jeiel Guarino, Global Lead Paint Elimination Campaigner and Science Officer, IPEN.
The EcoWaste Coalition obtained the 260 paint products from online and physical retail stores, which the group screened for lead using a handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. Samples that screened with over 90 ppm of lead were then submitted to SGS for confirmatory analyses.
These imported paints contain lead way above the legal limit of 90 ppm in blatant violation of the country’s lead paint ban.
Laboratory tests confirmed that all 260 paints are lead paints, or paints containing lead above 90 ppm. Of these 260 paints, 184 contain high lead concentrations above 10,000 ppm. Moreover, 91 of these paints have lead levels ranging from 50,000 ppm to 212,000 ppm, of which 19 products exceeded 100,000 ppm. Paradoxically, 51 of these lead-containing paints were falsely labeled as “lead-free” or bore the “No Pb” symbol (lead is a heavy metal with atomic number 82 and a symbol Pb from the Latin plumbum).
Laboratory analyses found the following 56 brands with one or more spray paints containing lead above the 90 ppm limit: Aeropak, Amazing, Anton, Automatic, Bad Axe, Best Drive Extreme One, Bosny (counterfeit), Boston, Chappie, Collrfia, Colorz, Corolla, Driveone Off, Easyman, F1, Getsun, Greenfield, Haifei, Herios, Howar, Jiuniuxing, JM, JMJAFA, King Sfon, Koby, Korona, KRX, LLA, Lucky 5 Rain-Bow, Meng Qi Bo Shi Qi Pai Zidong Penqi, MKT, MR. D.I.Y., NASMC, Nikko, One Take, Parlux, RMC, RStar, Sanvo, Silvestre, Sinag, Standard, Standard JR, Super7, Tecpaint, Tiger, Top Standard, Top Tibay, Veslee, Yandy, Yao Dong Bang, Yatibay, Yestar, YiAD, Wei Yue and Well Tools.
Updated in time for the 2026 ILPPW, this public notice seeks to guide dealers and consumers on 260 foreign-made leaded paints that would be illegal to import, distribute, and sell in the Philippines.
The Public Notice on Lead-Containing Paints, first released in 2024 with 150 lead-containing paints from 37 brands listed, was updated in 2025 and then in 2026 in time for the 14th edition of the yearly ILLPW, which aims to draw attention to the health impacts of lead exposure, highlight efforts by countries and partners to prevent childhood lead exposure, and accelerate efforts to phase out the use of lead in paint.
Lead paint is a leading cause of lead poisoning in children, who absorb lead when aging paint turns to dust or chips that they swallow or touch and put in their mouths. Early exposure in life can harmfully affect the brain and central nervous system, causing hearing, reading, and learning difficulties, delays in speech and language development, impaired cognition, reduced intelligence, poor school performance, attention deficit disorder, aggression, and other behavioral problems.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “there is no safe level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.”
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Reference:
https://www.who.int/campaigns/international-lead-poisoning-prevention-week/2026
https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DAO-2013-24-CCO-Lead.pdf
Link to the Public Notice on Lead-Containing Paints:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nkEYAiKXhGt2ILgUjdOc7vsF9hQqApnf/view