(Photo/Thepaper.cn)

Lead in paint for household and decorative use causes 600,000 children around the world to be born with mental disabilities each year, a recent UN report showed. The report calls for a ban on lead in paint in a number of developing countries by 2020.

Another figure in the report stated that 800,000 people in developing countries die of lead poisoning every year.

“Lead poisoning can cause irreversible damage to the neural system...There is no such thing as a ‘safe level’ for lead exposure,” the report noted.

According to the report, children can absorb four to five times the amount of lead that adults can, but their brains and neural systems are also more sensitive to the toxic substance.

Long-term exposure to lead can cause anemia and high blood pressure, as well as harming the kidneys, the report said, adding that children are vulnerable to lead poisoning from inhaling and consuming lead dust on their fingers or toys. Children can also be poisoned by consuming lead-contaminated food or drink.

The UNEP and the World Health Organization (WHO) convened the Lead Paint Alliance in 2009 at the International Conference on Chemicals Management. The alliance promotes the elimination of the manufacture and sale of paints containing lead by 2020, and increased vigilance about risks posed by lead-contaminated paints.

So far, 62 countries have issued restrictive regulations on lead in paint, and 53 countries have standardized label usage on paint containing lead, according to the UN.