High levels of the potentially dangerous substance were found in five out of 51 random samples of indoor and outdoor paint, stains and varnishes tested in the emirate by the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC).
The unnamed paints are still on sale because the QCC has no powers to remove them as they are not yet regulated on a federal level, but it is working with government departments to develop stringent regulations.
“In other parts of the world, they would be banned,” said Dr Simon Miller, a senior analyst in product conformity at the council.
“Lead above trace levels in paints has been banned in Australia since 1914, America since 1978 and Europe since 1989.
“In five of the 51 we tested we found levels of between 1,000 and 20,000 parts per million of lead. Of those five, three had failing levels of other heavy metals.”
The other metals he refers to are chromium and antimony.
The average lead content level for the paints that passed the test was six parts per million, well within the trace-levels limit.
European regulations, which the QCC applied in their tests, dictate that the heavy-metal content, including lead, should not exceed trace levels set at a maximum of 100 parts per million.
The paints that failed could be dangerous if ingested or inhaled, said Dr Miller.
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