More than two-thirds of the paint sold in Taiwan contain excessively high levels of lead by Singaporean and US standards, environmentalists and legislators said.
The Taiwan Watch Institute last week said that 31 out of 47 paint products it tested had lead levels higher than Singapore’s limit of 600 parts per million (ppm), while 36 paint products had lead levels higher than the US’ limit of 90ppm.
Twenty-two products had lead levels of more than 10,000ppm, and lead concentration in a corrosion-resistant paint marketed under the brand name Rainbow Paints (虹牌油漆) was as high as 440,000ppm — hundreds of times higher than international standards, researcher Sun Wei-tzu (孫瑋孜) said.
Taiwan has no regulation limiting lead content in paint.
“Paint can have scarily high lead content because there is no limit on heavy metals in paints used in buildings and furniture. While there is a set of recommendations, the standards do not have any legally binding force,” institute secretary-general Herlin Hsieh (謝和霖) said.
The institute also tested paint on park facilities and playground equipment, and found that eight of the 10 tested samples had lead levels of more than 600ppm, as well as high levels of chromium and arsenic, exposing the public — especially children — to the risks of heavy metal poisoning.
“Blood lead levels of more than 5 parts per billion can cause irreversible nervous system damage in children, leading to attention deficit disorder and lower intelligence. There are 200,000 students with attention deficit disorders in Taiwan, which could be associated with lead exposure,” Chang Gung University toxicology professor Lin Chung-yin (林中英) said.
Officials at the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection — the authority in charge of coating materials — said they are mulling a limit on lead content in paint in accordance with international standards “if there are international standards for it.”
“Most industrialized countries have standards for lead paints, so do many Southeastern Asian countries. Singapore and Sri Lanka established a 600ppm limit a few years ago. The Philippines and Nepal set the limit at 90ppm. Thailand this year set the limit at 100pm. There are international standards, but the bureau does not seem to be aware of them,” Sun said.
“A public hearing on the issue was held last year, and the bureau promised to establish standards for heavy metals in paint, but six months have passed and it is still studying international standards,” Hsieh said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Kun-yuh (吳焜裕) said lawmakers are expected to propose a draft regulation in two months to limit lead levels in paint to less than 90ppm.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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