Lead chromate pigments dominate lead paints sold in Mexico

Testing the lead content of new paints is important to inform governments of the potential hazard in countries that have yet to ban or regulate the lead content of these products. This study included a sample of paints for automotive, metal primer, architectural enamel, and road-marking applications in Mexico. Samples from 213 paint products manufactured by 54 domestic and 5 foreign paint companies were purchased from retail outlets and tested at an accredited laboratory in the United States for lead content. Samples were selected to be representative of the available brands of red and yellow coatings sold in small containers in retail outlets. A total of 118 (55%) of the 213 paint products sampled contained lead in excess of 90 ppm (all ppm concentrations in this paper designate wt/wt values) and these samples were then analyzed for chromium content. A majority (91%) of the lead paints tested had a mass ratio of Pb:Cr consistent with pure lead chromate that has a ratio of 4:1 suggesting the presence of lead chromate pigments. Labels indicating that no lead was present were observed on 12 products that our testing demonstrated contained lead in concentrations ranging from 1,100 ppm to 120,000 ppm. The testing showed that Sherwin Williams, the largest global United States-based paint company, continues to sell lead paints in Mexico. These results have significant implications for workers in diverse industries in Mexico due to the lead hazards and the carcinogenicity of hexavalent chromium. National regulations and third-party conformity assessment procedures are desperately needed to control the widespread use of lead chromate pigments in Mexican paints.