A preliminary study of residential paint lead concentrations in Johannesburg

While efforts are underway to phase out the use of leaded petrol in South Africa, relatively little attention has been devoted to the potential for childhood exposure to lead used in paint. This is one of the first studies undertaken on the African continent to report on the presence of lead-based paint. In South Africa, there is a dearth of information available on the extent of past and current use of lead-based paint. Recent studies demonstrate that large numbers of young South African children continue to be at risk of elevated blood lead concentrations. To investigate the prevalence of lead-based paint in Johannesburg dwellings, the South African Medical Research Council recently undertook a preliminary study in which samples of residential paint were collected from homes in 60 randomly selected suburbs across the city. The results indicate that 17% of all of the samples collected were lead-based paint (paint that contains lead levels equal to or greater than 0.5% by weight). The percentage of lead by weight in the samples ranged from 0.01% to 29.00%. Lead-based residential paint was found in 20% of the sampled homes, located in both new and old suburbs, and in suburbs from a variety of different socioeconomic backgrounds. These results, in conjunction with those emanating from other studies of childhood lead exposure currently being conducted by the Medical Research Council, indicate that weathering, peeling, or chipping lead-based paint may play an important role in childhood lead exposure in South Africa. Children who have a pica tendency may be at particular risk.