More than half of the children in pre-kindergarten nursery schools are at risk from the harmful side effects of lead paint exposure, the Child Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center revealed on Monday.
Center director Assoc Prof Adisak Phalitpholkarn-phim said that a 2010 study of nursery schools operated by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) showed that lead-based paint were used in the buildings.
Why the results from the two-year-old study were revealed only now is beyond us.
The child safety expert recommended that children undergo blood tests to determine the extent of their exposure to lead paint.
In addition to schools, the center noted that sale of lead-based household paint should also be tightly regulated. Mr. Adisak says that young children are most vulnerable to lead poisoning as it can cause mental retardation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains that children are not safe from lead contamination, no matter how small the amount is.
Paint industry group head Phetcharat Eksaengkul supported the center’s study but was quick to note that the government should impose strict sanctions against importing raw materials that contain lead before penalizing domestic paint companies, the Nation reported.
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