Contents
The study
What we found
The government response
The study
To determine if and to what extent lead paints are available on the market, our testers visit shops and markets to buy and test paint from the brands people in a country use most, choosing white, red and yellow from each brand.
After drying and prepping the samples, LEEP sends them to a certified lab that follows standard practices to measure exactly how much lead each contains.
What we found
Hazardous lead levels in more than half of the paint samples tested.
Solvent-based paints carried far higher concentrations than water-based.
Three of the ten largest manufacturers had already begun reformulating.
The standard was drafted within four months of the results being published.
Paint samples prepared for shipment to the certified laboratory.
“Once the results were public, manufacturers came to us asking how to change their formulas.”
Text
Name Surname
Role, Organisation
Paint samples collected in Kinshasa (left) and prepared for the lab (right).
Video caption — what the film shows, and its length (2:40).
The government response
Within months the national standards body committed to a binding limit and began drafting an enforcement plan with LEEP’s technical support.
Full study — DRC paint market, 2025 (PDF)
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In partnership with
References
1
Author or organisation. Title of the report or study. Publisher, year. Link.
2
Author or organisation. Title of the article. Publication, date. Link.
3
Author or organisation. Title of the dataset. Source, year. Link.
Written by
Name Surname
Role at LEEP. One or two lines on what the author works on and why they wrote this piece.
DRC
Paint
Regulation
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