Laws Are The Most Effective Way To Eliminate Exposure To Lead Paint

“Legally binding control measures can include statutes, regulations, and/or mandatory technical standards establishing a binding, enforceable limit on lead in paint with penalties for non-compliance. For brevity, these are referred to in this document as ‘lead paint laws’. Regulatory controls on a range of sources of lead exposure have been demonstrated to protect public health, as reflected in declining population-level blood lead concentrations in many countries.

Lead exposure has significant socio-economic impacts

Reductions in IQ adversely affect the individual’s economic productivity. The potential consequent annual economic losses to society from childhood lead exposure have been estimated at $977 billion in international dollars, i.e. 1.2% of world gross domestic product at its 2011 value. Other costs include those attributed to criminal behaviour potentially associated with lead exposure, and health-care costs for the treatment of lead poisoning and treatment of cardiovascular and renal disease caused by lead exposure.

Eliminating lead paint brings economic benefits

Countries that continue to permit the manufacture, sale and use of lead paint are creating a legacy of continuing lead exposure and long-term negative health effects. Eliminating lead paint now brings economic benefits in the future, in terms of preventing losses due to reduced productivity and avoiding the costs of the health impacts of lead and of dealing with legacy lead paint to make homes and other premises safe. The costs of dealing with legacy paint have been estimated at between US$ 193.8 million and US$ 498.7 million in France and between US$ 1.2 billion and US$11.0 billion in the United States of America.” – from the “Global Elimination of Lead Paint” by WHO and UNEP

UN Environment Programme
World Health Organization (WHO)
IPEN: for a toxics-free future

For more info on “Lead and Your Ill Health”, get the guide here