By Azer N. Parrocha
MANILA, (PNA) — An environmental group on Thursday echoed recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control to prevent children’s exposure to lead.
According to the EcoWaste Coalition, which also launched the first International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action the same day, these tips were necessary as lead poses serious damages to health, especially to children:
1. Make sure your child does not have access to peeling paint or chewable surfaces painted with lead-based paint.
2. Create barriers between living/play areas and lead sources.
3. Regularly wash children’s hands and toys. Remove recalled toys and toy jewelry immediately from children.
4. Regularly wet-mop floors and wet-wipe window components.
5. Prevent children from playing in bare soil.
The EcoWaste Coalition-led campaign is part of a seven-country Asian Lead Paint Elimination Project by IPEN.
IPEN is a global civil society network promoting safe chemical policies and practices to protect human health and the environment.
Meanwhile, a grant of P75 million was provided by the European Union to IPEN for its three-year project that is concurrently being carried out in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines.
According to the newly-published IPEN booklet entitled “Eliminate Lead Paint: Protect Children’s Health,” the most common way that children ingest lead is through lead-contaminated dust and soil that gets onto their hands.
“Once lead enters a child’s body through ingestion or inhalation or across the placenta, it has the potential to damage a number of biological systems and pathways,” it further said.
“The primary target is the central nervous system and the brain, but it can also affect the blood system, the kidneys and the skeleton,” it added.