The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and SRADEV-Nigeria have reiterated their commitment to eliminating lead from paint in the country.

The stakeholders are also seeking safer alternatives to the use of lead in paints.

The stakeholders stated this at the regional lead awareness workshop on Thursday in Abuja.

NESREA organised the workshop in collaboration with SRADEV-Nigeria as part of the Lead Exposure Elimination Project.

NESREA director-general Aliyu Jauro described lead as a highly toxic substance that poses severe health risks, especially to children. He said that exposure to lead could result in irreversible neurological damage, developmental disorders, and a host of other health complications.

Mr Jauro said that the primary purpose of the workshop was to raise awareness of the dangers of leaded paints, safer alternatives and reformulation methods for SMEs across the country.

He said NESREA had recently reviewed and gazetted the National Environmental (Chemicals and Pesticides) Regulations 2023.

In a presentation, Spanny Embiemu, NESREA’s food and chemicals unit head, said lead could enter the human body through the uptake of food (65 per cent), water (20 per cent) and air (15 per cent).

She said that the common exposure of lead in paint in children was through paint dust.

She said lead could cause several unwanted effects, such as a rise in temperature, kidney damage, and miscarriages, among others.

Ms Embiemu said that the alternatives to using lead in paint included Zirconium, metallic zinc, cobalt, and metallic calcium, among others.

She said cleaner alternatives like titanium dioxide have also been known to be in use.

He added that NESREA would continue to create awareness to relevant stakeholders on the dangers of leaded paints for maximum impact. 

(NAN)