1 August 2025, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition has discovered five more “Standard” spray paints with dangerously high lead content, including three that have the “No Pb” symbol (Pb is the chemical symbol for lead, a potent neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor).
Standard Aerosol Spray Paint and Standard JR Spray Paint, believed to be manufactured in China, are distributed locally by a company based in Binondo, Manila with “CCHUHSRR-NCR-HUHSI/W-0841” as license to operate (LTO) number as written on the label. The group bought the samples last weekend for P90 to P110 per 400 mL can from chain stores located in Caloocan City, Antipolo City, and Plaridel, Bulacan. The products had a common production date of October 18, 2024.
Based on the chemical screening conducted by the group using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, both the light green and medium yellow Standard Aerosol Spray Paints contain more than 10 percent lead (equivalent to more than 100,000 parts per million or ppm), way above the 90 ppm limit for lead in paint under DENR A.O. 2013-24, or the Chemical Control Order (CCO) banning lead in the manufacture of paints and similar surface coatings.
Despite carrying the “No Pb” symbol, high levels of lead were also detected on the art yellow, willow green and medium yellow Standard JR Spray Paints measured at 58,400 ppm, 65,660 ppm and over 100,000 ppm, respectively.
“We have duly alerted concerned government regulators about this brazen breach of the lead paint ban, which must be acted upon to the full extent of the law to protect public health against this highly preventable source of lead exposure,” said Manny Calonzo, Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition. The group, in particular, requested the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate an immediate investigation and impose the necessary sanctions against those responsible for placing the banned products in the market, including directing a nationwide recall of the violative products and ensuring their environmentally-sound disposal.
According to Atty. Gregorio Rafael Bueta, Legal Counsel of the EcoWaste Coalition: “Marking a product ‘lead free’ or imprinting the pictogram ‘No Pb’ on the label when it contains lead far higher than the 90 ppm limit goes against the right of consumers to be protected from harmful and dangerous products as mandated by Republic Act No. 7394. The sale of a consumer product of a particular standard (e.g.,“lead free”) when in fact it is not is deemed deceptive and illegal under the law.”
RA 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, requires the government to implement measures, including packaging and labeling requirements, to protect consumers against hazards to health and safety, as well as protect them against deceptive, unfair and unconscionable sales acts and practices, among other things.
Unlike the hundreds of leaded spray paints analyzed by the EcoWaste Coalition, the Standard Aerosol Spray Paint and the Standard JR Spray Paint surprisingly provide a list of ingredients, including banned or restricted substances of very high concern, such as “cadmium, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and phthalates” like BBP, DBP, DEHP and DIDP.
The International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), the EcoWaste Coalition and other environmental health groups are advocating for the listing of lead chromates (the most common pigments used in lead paint) under the Rotterdam Convention to control the export and import of such hazardous chemicals and paints containing them. To date, three countries, Cameroon, Morocco and Switzerland, have filed notifications nominating lead chromates for inclusion in the said treaty. Both the EcoWaste Coalition and IPEN are urging the Philippines to follow suit to address enforcement gaps, strengthen the lead paint ban, and protect public health.**
