The amount of lead used in paints by Nepali companies is mostly unsafe and poses a serious threat to children’s health, according to a recently launched report. The report published by the Centre for Public Health and Environmental Development (CEPHED) claims that most Nepali companies including some renowned brands are using the toxic metal excessively. The global standard for lead in paints is 90 parts per million, which, according to the report, exceeds manifold in Nepal. According to the report based on the examination of 49 samples of enamel paints from 21 paint companies selling in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Pokhara and Butwal, 63 percent paints had lead concentration above 1,000ppm (1 milligram lead in 1 litre is regarded as 1 ppm). CEPHED published its report on the occasion of International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. Krishna Gyawali, secretary at the Ministry of Industry, said the government is concerned about the findings of the report. He stressed the immediate need for establishing well-equipped certified labs and an accredited committee for monitoring. Addressing the programme, CEPHED Executive Director Ram Charitra Shah said that Nepal government must enact a mandatory standard for lead in household paints of 90 ppm and a regular monitoring of lead in paints. Ram Adhar Sah, director general of the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM), said his department has the capacity to monitor lead level but no mandatory standard has been enacted so far. “It is better to follow ISO for the purpose,” he suggested. The report states that most NS marked paints contain excessive level of lead contamination whereas paints with label ‘no added lead’ were found to have low level of lead contamination. According to Terrence Thompson of the World Health Organization, about 40 countries have already phased out lead paints. He suggested that focus should be also on health and economic effects of lead on children and women. Deepak Thapaliya, previously a painter and a victim of lead poisoning, bitterly said, “Lack of awareness led me to allow my body as an object of experiment for doctors. Had I known about the causes and effects of lead, I would never have suffered so much.” Thapaliya had to go to India for treatment as his illness was not diagnosed even after two operations in Nepal.