Global Lead Chromate Exports Pose Poisoning Risk to 1.45 Million Children

• The global trade in lead chromate, used in lead paint and plastics, totals 23,900 metric tons annually
• Rich countries, including Canada, the US, the UK, and Spain, export 3,000 metric tons to poor countries
• This occurs despite restrictions on lead chromate use within their own borders
• The flow of lead chromate from rich to poor countries could poison up to 277,000 children annually, dependent upon end-use

9 April, 2025— New research, published today by the Center for Global Development (CGD), finds that 3,000 metric tons of lead chromate are exported annually from rich countries to poor nations—a trade that could poison 277,000 children each year, dependent upon end-use.

Lead is highly toxic and has detrimental effects on children’s cognitive development and learning outcomes. Lead poisoning affects one in three children worldwide, with the issue highly concentrated in low- and middle-income countries.

Researchers document the global trade in lead chromate, a pigment used in lead paint and plastics. They find that several high-income countries, including, Canada, the US, the UK, and Spain, are major exporters of lead chromate, despite these countries placing severe restrictions on the use of lead chromate in their own territories—including an effective ban in the case of the UK and EU countries.

A confirmed 200 tons of lead chromate was exported annually from Canadian firms, and over 100 tons annually from UK and US firms to poorer countries, from January 2022 to June 2024. Almost all identified US exports go to Mexico, while UK and Canadian firms send large amounts to Türkiye. Another major trade route—167 tons annually—is from Indian firms via Spain to Mexico.

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Alluvial plot showing largest export flows from rich countries, by weight

Lee Crawfurd, senior research fellow and one of the authors of the paper, said, “Countries like Canada, the US, the UK, and Spain enforce strict regulations—and in some cases, an effective ban—on lead chromate within their own borders. Yet there is a glaring double standard when it comes to their attitude to poorer nations. Rich countries pour millions into international aid to boost health and education in low- and middle-income countries, yet harmful lead pigment exports threaten to undermine these efforts. Safe alternatives to lead pigments exist and policymakers in both rich and poor countries should call for a complete ban on the manufacture and use of lead chromate.”

The authors of the report make a series of recommendations for governments to stem the global trade of lead chromate, which include calling for:

• All countries to ban the manufacture and use of lead chromate in the long-term, including for export
• All countries to ban shippers from using their territories as a pass-through for lead chromates en route to other countries
• Low- and middle-income governments to raise awareness of the toxicity of lead and lead paint among their populations
• The UK and European countries to submit a notification to the Rotterdam Convention that they have severely restricted the use of lead chromate, to support its listing as a hazardous chemical at the next Conference of Parties in April.

Ends.