Poll Bets, Doctors, Bishops Back Lead-safe Schools For Children’s Health

The use of paints with no added lead, a brain-harming chemical, in schools got resounding thumbs up from doctors, bishops, educators, trade unionists, environmentalists and “green” candidates for the May 9 polls.

To signify their support for this civil society-initiated advocacy, over 100 groups and individuals coming from diverse backgrounds have signed the “Solidarity Statement towards a Lead-Safe School Environment for Bright and Healthy Children.”

Last March 28, the EcoWaste Coalition wrote to Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Armin Luistro requesting him to issue a directive that will make it mandatory for schools to use lead-safe paints to minimize, if not eliminate, sources of lead pollution in the school environment.

“We join the EcoWaste Coalition, a non-profit environmental group, in calling on the DepEd to declare the entire educational system as a lead-free zone by adopting a lead-safe paint procurement policy and by carefully addressing lead paint hazards,” the statement said.

“Childhood lead exposure, mainly through the ingestion and inhalation of lead-containing paint, dust and soil – which are major sources of lead exposure among children – can and must be prevented to protect our children’s brains, their health and future,” it stated.

“With broad support from a cross section of the society, we are certain that Sec. Luistro will swiftly take action before students and teachers return to class to ensure only lead-free paints are used to decorate schools,” said Aileen Lucero, Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“The adoption of a lead-safe school policy will have enduring health benefits for the students and also for the teachers and non-academic personnel,” she said, noting that lead exposure in adults can cause, among many lead-induced health effects, abnormal sperm, reduced sperm count, miscarriages and stillbirths.

Politicians known for their “green” platforms were among those who signed the statement, including presidential candidate Grace Poe and her runningmate Chiz Escudero, as well as senatorial candidates Neri Colmenares, Risa Hontiveros and Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Health professionals strongly backed the push for lead-safe schools, including Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo of the Philippine Medical Association – Committee on Environmental Health and Ecology, Dr. Milagros Bautista of the Philippine Pediatric Society, Dr. Eva Irene Yu-Maglonzo of the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. Victoria Bael of the Child Neurology Society Philippines, Dr. Lynn Crisanta Panganiban of the Philippine Society of Clinical and Occupational Toxicology, Dr. Luis Gatmaitan of the National Children’s Television Network, Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, former Secretary of the Department of Health Secretary and Dr. Suzette Lazo, former Director of the Food and Drugs Administration.

The doctors were joined by bishops from different denominations, including Archbishops Socrates Villegas, Antonio Ledesma and Ramon Arguelles and Bishops Pablo Virgilio David and Broderick Pabillo of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop Frederick Luis Belmonte of the Anglican Church in the Philippines (Traditional), Obispo Maximo Ephraim Fajutagana of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Bishop Noel Pantoja of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches and Bishop Arturo Asi of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.

Also signing the statement were the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, Davao Association of Catholic Schools, Environmental Resource Management Center of De La Salle University – Dasmariñas (one of the “greenest” schools in Asia) and Miriam Environmental Studies Institute.

“While lead exposure is also harmful to adults, particularly to women of child-bearing age and workers, human fetuses and children are most susceptible to the health effects of lead exposure, which can be permanent and can have lifelong impact,” the statement said.

Citing information from the World Health Organization (WHO), the statement explained that “young children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead and can suffer profound and permanent adverse health effects, particularly affecting the development of the brain and nervous system.”

“Lead affects children’s brain development resulting in reduced intelligence quotient (IQ), behavioral changes such as shortening of attention span and increased antisocial behavior, and reduced educational attainment,” the WHO said.

The group noted that lead-containing architectural, decorative and household paints will be phased out by Jan. 1, 2017 as required by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order 2013-24.

On the other hand, the phase-out of lead-containing industrial paints will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020. (PNA/Xinhua) RMA/PR/EBP