Paint pigment imports jump, raising lead safety fears

Imports of chromium-based pigments – including potentially hazardous lead chromates – surged 51.1% between 2022 and 2025, raising urgent concerns over oversight gaps in monitoring toxic chemicals.

According to a new study titled Trade of Lead Chromates: Bangladesh by the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), the country imported approximately 645,800 kg of chromium-based pigments in 2025, up from 427,481 kg in 2022. 

Citing UN Comtrade data, the report noted that the total import value increased from US$1.69 million to $2.29 million over the same period. 

ESDO presented the findings on Tuesday at a Dhaka roundtable co-organised with the Department of Environment (DoE) and the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) to mark International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2026 under the theme “From Detection to Prevention.”

The study highlights a major regulatory blind spot: Bangladesh lacks a specific customs classification for lead chromate, a toxic compound widely used in paints. 

Instead, it is grouped under HS Code 32062000 alongside non-hazardous chromium pigments, leaving authorities unable to determine how much lead chromate enters the country. 

ESDO noted that India supplied 89.9% to 93% of the imports under this trade category between 2022 and 2025, followed by China at 5.7% to 9%, while warning that additional toxic pigments likely enter unmonitored through finished paints and pastes classified under separate trade codes.

The report found no evidence of domestic lead chromate pigment production, suggesting that supplies used in paints are imported. Bangladesh was also not identified as an exporter in the datasets reviewed.

Paint manufacturing is considered the likely main use of imported lead chromate, although the supply chain remains difficult to trace because smaller manufacturers generally purchase pigments through chemical traders.

Speaking as chief guest, DoE Director General Dr Md Lutfor Rahman warned that lead poisoning was becoming an increasingly serious concern.

“The lead poisoning situation is deepening every day, and we must face it head-on,” he said, calling for government support for student-led research.

Dr Md Saidur Rahman, additional secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, stressed the need to assess the economic implications of shifting industries towards lead-free alternatives. 

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He said research-based policies could help protect businesses while minimising the costs of the transition.

Prof Dr Nasrin Sultana, director of the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), called for stronger market surveillance and monitoring, particularly to protect women and children from exposure through food, ingestion, inhalation and skin contact.

ESDO Founder and Secretary General Dr Md Shahriar Hossain said there was no safe level of lead exposure and proposed green taxation to encourage industries to adopt safer alternatives.

Citing an ESDO study conducted in 2025, he said 90% of paint manufacturers were already complying with the prescribed lead limit, showing that a shift towards safer products was achievable.

ESDO Executive Director Siddika Sultana said Bangladesh had adopted a National Strategy and Multi-year Action Plan for a Lead-Free Bangladesh, but implementation remained a major challenge.

She called for tighter controls on lead chromate imports as part of broader efforts to eliminate lead pollution.
Bangladesh has set a mandatory maximum limit of 90 parts per million (ppm) for total lead content in decorative paints under BDS 1423:2018.

The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has also drafted standards proposing the same limit for industrial paints, although these are awaiting approval and gazettal.

The report stressed that better customs classification, import monitoring, market surveillance and enforcement were essential to closing regulatory gaps.

Dr Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy director of Waste and Chemicals Management at the DoE, called for mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to strengthen industry accountability.

He also recommended further assessment of lead chromate imports and improvements in university laboratory testing facilities.

Dr Md Mohammad Mustafizur Rahman of Jahangirnagar University warned that lead posed serious public health risks and served no essential biological function.

Moderating the discussion, DoE Director Razinara Begum said new chemical regulations were being drafted and Bangladesh was working towards ratifying the Rotterdam Convention.

She also stressed the need to protect workers exposed to lead, particularly those handling hazardous substances without adequate protective equipment.

Bangladesh ranks fourth globally in lead pollution and the number of children affected by lead poisoning, according to research by UNICEF, the World Bank and local health authorities cited in the event’s press release.

Lead exposure can cause irreversible damage to children’s brains and nervous systems, resulting in reduced intelligence, learning difficulties and behavioural problems.

The report noted that lead chromates were not yet subject to the Rotterdam Convention’s Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, although their inclusion was being considered.

The organisations urged Bangladesh to ratify the convention and strengthen controls on hazardous chemical imports.