BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 23
Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
UN Environment, World Health Organisation, the US Environment Protection Agency and other partners have teamed up to assist several countries including Georgia in the establishment and implementation of a regulation on lead paint, Trend reports via Georgian media.
"In Europe, the work covers Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. We raise awareness on the dangers posed by lead paint and work with governments to set up a two-year plan to legislate against it", said the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
The overall aim of the project is for 40 countries to establish legal limits to the lead content of paint and for at least 50 small and medium-sized paint manufacturers in eight countries to phase out lead.
The UNEP says that every year, 600,000 children are born with mental disabilities after their mothers were exposed to lead paint. Lead exposure accounts for 540,000 deaths annually and 13.9 million years lost to disability and death due to long-term effects on health, with the highest burden on developing regions.
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