So is lead paint universally banned, or just for certain areas/surfaces?

Question

And why was the lead put into the paint in the first place, anyways?

Answer 1

Paint in China came to Canada on some prominent toys for children like Thomas the Tank Engine sets,etc. and they claimed it was ok by their standards.btw,they have no standards at all,enterprise unleashed pollution and poison for us all.

Answer 2

I always thought lead was added as a "color binding" agent. Lead is not supposed to be on toys, or items that come into contact with food or children.

We are still getting decorative plates and such from all over the world. I bought a Santa cookie plate and didn't notice until I read the statement on the back. "This item contains a substance known to cause Cancer, in the state of California"

Therefore I had to destroy mine and get hold of the 3 plates I gave as gifts.

Answer 3

OK, I know a little bit about this subject, so I'll give you a serious answer. (*puts on his engineering hat*)

There *are* a few special applications where lead paint is still available. The first example I can think of are "Anti-fouling" paints, used on the bottoms of traditional wooden boats and such. The lead tends kill algae and barnacles that otherwise might attach to the surface.

Of course, nowadays there are plenty of suitable substitutes for lead compounds in antifoulings paint, (such as copper) which are more effective than lead and far less toxic.

Lead paint is still used sometimes for lines on roads. For various reasons, white and yellow lead-based pigments tend to have better reflectivity at night than modern organic pigments. I believe the US Department of Transportation is trying to phase out lead paints as road markers, in favor of less toxic titanium and cadmium based pigments, as well as more advanced formulations which are quite expensive, but may offer even better visibility at night than lead paints.

The reason lead paints were so common in the past, is because they've brilliantly colored, have been around pretty much forever, and most important, they're absolutely *dirt cheap.*

Lead "flake white" (lead carbonate: PbCO3), also known as "Cremnitz white" or "Venetian white" and other names, is one of the oldest white pigments. Lead carbonate, in the form of naturally mined lead ore, was probably used by the ancient Egyptians in paints and cosmetics. Lead white has a brilliance, opacity, tinting strength, and covering power, that in the past would have been far superior to anything else.

So-called "Titanium white," which replaces lead, is ubiquitous in the paint industry these days. It's non-toxic enough to be used in toothpaste and food coloring. There's probably a 99.9% chance your house is painted with titanium white pigment. Titanium white has been around since about 1910, but but was, and still is, moderately more expensive than lead-based white. This was why lead was far more prevalent until it was finally banned in the early 70's

http://webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/hi...

Until the 20th century, as an artist or painter there was really no good substitute for lead white, if you wanted the most opaque, brilliant white color possible.

(Maybe this is why so many painters were crazy, because of exposure to lead and other heavy metal-based pigments....)

It's also true that lead and lead compounds have been known to be poisonous since ancient times. Many well known ancient scholars have noted the harmful effects of lead. As early as 1910 one might safely say that there was a general consensus in the scientific community, that any amount of lead in the body was harmful and undesirable.

The history of the lead paint industry in the US is quite a sad and sordid tale in of itself. This article does a better job telling it than I think I could.

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/resea...

EDIT: it's also true that while lead paint is banned in the US and most of Europe, many other important countries, notably China, have very lax standards or even none at all when it comes to lead. Perhaps more than 75% of the paints sold in China, India, and Malaysia have SOME lead in them.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2006/...

(Hope that was informative.....I guess you can stop paying attention to me now...)

~WOMBAT

Answer 4

Aside from having different codes for different materials (i.e. construction materials vs. toys vs. decorative items)… different countries also have different regulations from each other. One of my sources says in regards to lead paint in toys, China’s regulations are actually stricter than ours! Problem is the Chinese government doesn’t actually enforce them.

Why was paint ever made with lead in the first place? Both for the actual color (esp whites, greys, and yellows) and due to other basic qualities lead lends to paint, namely opacity and durability. I suppose nobody considered the fact that eventually the paint would degrade, filling the air in our houses with poison dust and the bellies of our children with yummy paint chips.

So why do some manufacturers continue using what we now know to be toxic? Well… I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the reason the sky is blue is ‘cuz blue paint was on sale that day. Sadly, it’s all about the money. Lead paint can be up to one-third as pricey as non-leaded varieties.

So Chinese toy manufacturers risk our children’s lives just to save a buck or two!? Yes. And WE outsource the manufacture of these things to foreign countries with questionable regulatory practices for the same d**n reason.

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Edit...

*throws Thomas the tank engine toy at WOMBAT up there* ;)

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Answer 5

What I don't understand is ...

How come lead paint is paint made out of lead, but house paint isn't paint made out of houses?

Answer 6

Lead paint is illegal in homes, and toys, but it is still legal to use whilst painting garden gnomes, fire stations, clouds, and anything that is made in freaking China.

<------ knowledgeable about freaking everything