High Levels Of Lead Contamination Found In Rayong School Playground Equipment

[webfact]

High levels of lead contamination found in school playground equipment

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Rayong

Students at the Ban Khao Huay Mahat School in Rayong

RAYONG: -- The Pollution Control Department (PCD) reported yesterday that high levels of lead had been found in playground equipment at a primary school in Rayong.

It said three students between the ages of eight and 10 had been affected by lead poisoning, and it blamed the contamination on substandard paint used on the playground equipment.

The equipment was found at Ban Khao Huay Mahat School in Rayong province's Ban Chang district. The PCD's Special Environmental Response Team, led by Sumetha Wichianphet, used a fluorescent chemical-detection device to examine the soil, food containers and playground equipment at the school and discovered up to 2,000-3,000 parts per million of lead in the playground equipment.

Regulations require that paint have no more than 600ppm of lead.

Before this case came to light, a team of researchers from Thammasat University's public health faculty conducted a random test, collecting blood samples from 907 students in five schools in Rayong's Ban Chang and Ban Khai districts during June 2010 to May this year to test for lead poisoning.

In this test, 82 of the 907 students from five schools, including Ban Khao Huay Mahat School, were found to have lead contamination.

Three of the children had more than 45 micrograms of lead per decilitre of blood. Standards allow lead levels in the human body to be no more than 10mcg per decilitre of blood.

Another blood test conducted a few months ago by staff from Ban Chang Hospital showed that the level of lead contamination in the three students had dropped to 5mcg per decilitre.

"They do not face any serious health problems," a physician from Ban Chang Hospital who chose to remain unnamed said.

"They can lead normal lives like other kids."

-- The Nation 2012-09-22

[bdw]

If I didn't know any better I'd think the expats in Banchang had been sniffing that paint.

[asiawatcher]

We were brought up on lead based paints in our environment and we are all fine. What if anything is supposed to happen now, use blow torches to burn off the paint and re paint with enamel or acrylic bases? The environmental and health "issues" are now prominent so what is to be done to resolve it?

[jerrysteve]

LEAD PAINT!!!!!! WHO the Hell uses LEAD PAINT anymore.

[MikeOboe57]

LEAD PAINT!!!!!! WHO the Hell uses LEAD PAINT anymore.

Another nice side effect of corruption. You have to use substandard paint to make up for the loss of profit after paying the kickback to get the job.

[Soutpeel]

LEAD PAINT!!!!!! WHO the Hell uses LEAD PAINT anymore.

I thought the use of lead in paint had stopped many many years ago

[thequietman]

All schools except if very new, have asbestos everywhere.

most notably the roof tiles.

Yet they cut at them with grinders and the dust goes everywhere.................. during school hours.

Scary !

[Dr Robert]

maybe this would explain poor results in national testing regimes?

[Soutpeel]

maybe this would explain poor results in national testing regimes?

Maybe thr Parliment building is painted with lead paint as well...if so... would explain a lot

[Sayonarax]

Lead paint? Id be worried about what Thailand did with the hundreds of tons of asbestos they imported for 30 years.

Looking at your roof wondering hmm, i wonder... if.

[cup-O-coffee]

Could this be the 60% of Bangkok youth who admit to having insufficient information on AEC?

[belg]

asbestos... recently saw a infomercial about a new condo being sold with having their own home theatre... soundproofed with ... ASBESTOS, 2012 people

ignorance is a bliss

[Sayonarax]

asbestos... recently saw a infomercial about a new condo being sold with having their own home theatre... soundproofed with ... ASBESTOS, 2012 people

ignorance is a bliss

You know who sells it them? Canada.

[oops]

This is not the only problem. these play equipment that they put on the play grounds are seriously unstable The barrel crawl , where the child climbs up into the cavity of a barrel is very top heavy. Last year one fell over an killed a kid. Of course it just happened to be reported. After seeing that storey I went to look at My Children School and sure enough they had the same equipment. I took my child and showed how the bottoms stands that hold up these metal death traps are very unstable. Most if not all are top heavy so they will fall over. I told the principle of the school and she smiled and said ok. I went back to look and sure enough they never secured the equipment. I did however, run across a dealer in Sattahip off the I think 331. When I saw the distributor, I made a u-turn and went into see them. I spoke with him for a while about nothing just to keep him occupied, then I asked him if he was aware of his play equipment being unstable for children. He smiled and shook his head. After a few minutes I asked him another question....I said do you know that your barrel roll killed a child because it's top heavy and no one secures it to the ground. He quickly said no and then said “anyways we are discontinuing it " we will start a home supply store.

I know that that barrel role is a very dangerous thing for the children and knowing that the Thai's don't care I wonder about lead poisoning in anything I buy here.

Funny thing is Sattahip in auto correct comes up as Satanic...LOL

[Thai at Heart]

They are living next to the biggest petro chemical facility in South East Asia in a developing country and the paint is dangerous?

[salavan]

Lead paint? Id be worried about what Thailand did with the hundreds of tons of asbestos they imported for 30 years.

Looking at your roof wondering hmm, i wonder... if.

in thailand all cement products including bags of cement for mixing concrete and roof tiles contain aspestos except for one roof tile company i cant remember the name, next time you go past a building being demolished beware

[Thai at Heart]

Lead paint? Id be worried about what Thailand did with the hundreds of tons of asbestos they imported for 30 years.

Looking at your roof wondering hmm, i wonder... if.

in thailand all cement products including bags of cement for mixing concrete and roof tiles contain aspestos except for one roof tile company i cant remember the name, next time you go past a building being demolished beware

Very worrying considering who owns one of the bigger cement firms in Thailand. Cemex and holcim putting asbestos in cement? I doubt it very much.

[jbrain]

LEAD PAINT!!!!!! WHO the Hell uses LEAD PAINT anymore.

I thought the use of lead in paint had stopped many many years ago

It has, and so has stopped the use of Asbestos, CFC's, melamine in food products and many other poisonous stuff.

Ooops, I forgot which country were in.

[jbrain]

Lead paint? Id be worried about what Thailand did with the hundreds of tons of asbestos they imported for 30 years.

Looking at your roof wondering hmm, i wonder... if.

in thailand all cement products including bags of cement for mixing concrete and roof tiles contain aspestos except for one roof tile company i cant remember the name, next time you go past a building being demolished beware

Very worrying considering who owns one of the bigger cement firms in Thailand. Cemex and holcim putting asbestos in cement? I doubt it very much.

" He " owns only a majority in the cement company because his private brokerage company took financial interests, so it makes no sense mentioning this as a reason why they shouldn't use asbestos.

[Thai at Heart]

Lead paint? Id be worried about what Thailand did with the hundreds of tons of asbestos they imported for 30 years.

Looking at your roof wondering hmm, i wonder... if.

in thailand all cement products including bags of cement for mixing concrete and roof tiles contain aspestos except for one roof tile company i cant remember the name, next time you go past a building being demolished beware

Very worrying considering who owns one of the bigger cement firms in Thailand. Cemex and holcim putting asbestos in cement? I doubt it very much.

" He " owns only a majority in the cement company because his private brokerage company took financial interests, so it makes no sense mentioning this as a reason why they shouldn't use asbestos.

U underestimate how outraged he might be if asbestos is being used.

I will ask tge production manager next week when i visit. After 20years there he should have some symptoms and the life expectancy in saraburi should be pretty low. U honestly think mncs or region wide cement companies in Thailand bother to take the business risk to use asbestos.

Their products are exported region wide,. I am sure scg, holcim or cemex are knowingly waiting to get sued????

[bkk_mike]

asbestos... recently saw a infomercial about a new condo being sold with having their own home theatre... soundproofed with ... ASBESTOS, 2012 people

ignorance is a bliss

You know who sells it them? Canada.

Not any more.

Even the Canadian government has now said they won't reopen the last two asbestos mines in Quebec after they went bust.

[xen]

This is not the only problem. these play equipment that they put on the play grounds are seriously unstable The barrel crawl , where the child climbs up into the cavity of a barrel is very top heavy. Last year one fell over an killed a kid. Of course it just happened to be reported. After seeing that storey I went to look at My Children School and sure enough they had the same equipment. I took my child and showed how the bottoms stands that hold up these metal death traps are very unstable. Most if not all are top heavy so they will fall over. I told the principle of the school and she smiled and said ok. I went back to look and sure enough they never secured the equipment. I did however, run across a dealer in Sattahip off the I think 331. When I saw the distributor, I made a u-turn and went into see them. I spoke with him for a while about nothing just to keep him occupied, then I asked him if he was aware of his play equipment being unstable for children. He smiled and shook his head. After a few minutes I asked him another question....I said do you know that your barrel roll killed a child because it's top heavy and no one secures it to the ground. He quickly said no and then said “anyways we are discontinuing it " we will start a home supply store.

I know that that barrel role is a very dangerous thing for the children and knowing that the Thai's don't care I wonder about lead poisoning in anything I buy here.

Funny thing is Sattahip in auto correct comes up as Satanic...LOL

In all the years i have been in Thailand i have seen a playground that complies with any of the European, American or Australian standards and yet Thai children are susceptible to the same injuries as any child anywhere in the world so i can't accept the " this is Thailand argument " as a justification for not looking after the welfare of children. It is just they don't prioritize the safety and importance of playground equipment very highly. Singapore and Hong Kong do so why not Thailand?. I work in the playground safety field and i am very hesitant even to let my step-kids use a lot of this equipment. Even the new playground equipment in Benjasiri Park in Sukhumvit Road, in Bangkok, is just a copy of Western playground equipment yet it demonstrates a lack of understanding basic playground design, is still a 30 year old design, very poorly manufactured and designed and for the amount of use it receives, the maintenance is negligible. The soft fall is there for appearance only.

The playground equipment in Ban Chang may have lead based paints but it also most likely made of lead galvanised water pipe . Use no primer on the pipe and paint just peels off and that is when it does become dangerous. But there are also at least another dozen safety issues with that swing in the picture alone which should be attended to .

Just my rave . Does anybody really care?

[Soutpeel]

but it also most likely made of lead galvanised water pipe . Use no primer on the pipe and paint just peels off and that is when it does become dangerous. But there are also at least another dozen safety issues with that swing in the picture alone which should be attended to .

No such thing as lead galvanised water pipe, water pipe is galvanised with zinc, coating steel in lead would be kinda defeat the object of galvansing in steel in the first place as the steel would be anodic to the lead and the steel would rust, however in some galvanising processes, sometimes lead is added to the molten zinc in the vats to increase fluildity/wetability of the molten zinc during hot dip galvanising.

If this is carried over to the final product or how much is carried over I am not certain

[easybullet3]

Why not just ban the manufacture and importation and sale of any Lead Paint ? then you dont have to waste time checking schools!

[xen]

but it also most likely made of lead galvanised water pipe . Use no primer on the pipe and paint just peels off and that is when it does become dangerous. But there are also at least another dozen safety issues with that swing in the picture alone which should be attended to .

No such thing as lead galvanised water pipe, water pipe is galvanised with zinc, coating steel in lead would be kinda defeat the object of galvansing in steel in the first place as the steel would be anodic to the lead and the steel would rust, however in some galvanising processes, sometimes lead is added to the molten zinc in the vats to increase fluildity/wetability of the molten zinc during hot dip galvanising.

If this is carried over to the final product or how much is carried over I am not certain

Point taken. i should have been more precise. However it is the flaking paint that is probably a greater danger than the intact paint. (unless kids lick it). I also have been informed that this is similar to asbestos which becomes most dangerous when it is disturbed by breaking, cutting etc . It is the airbourne particles that enter the body to cause the problems. It is still not good to have around anyway as asbestos tiles can break in storms etc.

[xen]

but it also most likely made of lead galvanised water pipe . Use no primer on the pipe and paint just peels off and that is when it does become dangerous. But there are also at least another dozen safety issues with that swing in the picture alone which should be attended to .

No such thing as lead galvanised water pipe, water pipe is galvanised with zinc, coating steel in lead would be kinda defeat the object of galvansing in steel in the first place as the steel would be anodic to the lead and the steel would rust, however in some galvanising processes, sometimes lead is added to the molten zinc in the vats to increase fluildity/wetability of the molten zinc during hot dip galvanising.

If this is carried over to the final product or how much is carried over I am not certain

Point taken. i should have been more precise. However it is the flaking paint that is probably a greater danger than the intact paint. (unless kids lick it). I also have been informed that this is similar to asbestos which becomes most dangerous when it is disturbed by breaking, cutting etc . It is the airbourne particles that enter the body to cause the problems. It is still not good to have around anyway as asbestos tiles can break in storms etc.