SON trains officials on lead poisoning prevention, product safety

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), in collaboration with Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), has trained regulatory, academic, and state environment officials on the safe and effective use of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysers.

XRF is a portable device used to detect lead content in products, including paints, toys, and cosmetics.

The two-day capacity-building workshop, held at SON’s Lagos office from 5 to 6 November, brought together 35 participants from government agencies, universities, and private laboratories.

The training is part of a nationwide effort to strengthen Nigeria’s ability to identify and eliminate sources of lead exposure.

Speaking at the event, the Deputy Director of Laboratory Services and Head of Operations at SON, Adetoyi Adeyinka, said the exercise is aimed at curbing lead contamination in everyday products before stricter enforcement begins.

Lead, a toxic metal found in the earth’s crust, is used in products such as paints, batteries, and cosmetics. Its exposure through air, dust, soil, water, or food can cause severe and irreversible health damage.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), children are particularly vulnerable because their developing bodies absorb lead more easily.

Preventing Lead Poisoning

Mr Adeyinka noted that the session brought together participants from diverse sectors, including federal institutions, the University of Ilorin, and private organisations.

“We have seen some red flags in the country and have to be proactive in addressing them,” Mr Adeyinka said. “Instead of causing problems for companies, we are inviting them to learn what is expected in products that have high levels of lead – and how to eliminate it for people’s safety.”

Mr Adeyinka added that the focus has now extended beyond paint to include cosmetics, toys, and other consumer items.

“We also target cosmetic products like lipstick that have high lead concentration in them, and some are rich in ‘tiro’ that our parents used on their eyes, and they are dangerous to our health,” he said. “These are the kind of things that we are trying to reach even at the grassroots level and let them know how poisonous these substances are so that they can do away with them.”

Lead poisoning and industrial risks

Speaking at the event, Deputy Director of the Pollution Control Department at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Kano State, Usman Sulaimon, said lead contamination remains a growing problem in industrial zones across northern Nigeria.

Mr Sulaimon explained that the state faces multiple sources of exposure from mining sites and textile industries to informal recycling of lead-acid batteries, which often takes place in residential areas.

“Lead poisoning is irreversible but preventable,” he said. “People are not aware of how dangerous it is. We’ve seen children below five years and even adults suffering from kidney and cardiovascular diseases as a result.”

Mr Sulaimon said new treatment plants have been established to help industries manage waste disposal.

He added that the training has improved participants’ capacity to conduct field tests using portable XRF machines. “With these portable machines, we have been taught how to operate them, and we don’t need to carry our samples to our laboratories anymore,” he said. “These machines will provide the results within a short period of time.”

Scope of training

Also speaking, Mirko Steinhage, Director of Spectrometer Technologies, South Africa, who facilitated the technical session, explained that the training focused on the practical use of XRF devices for lead screening.

“The scope of the training is basic operations, some XRF training, radiation safety training and covers how XRF works, XRF basics and operations of the instruments, practical examples on some of the consumer goods and products that will be tested in Nigeria and also some software training of the equipment,” Mr Steinhage said.

He said participants learned “how to safely operate an XRF analyser and how to use it effectively for lead screening purposes in Nigeria.”

“Lead poisoning is quite a concern to humanity,” he added. “What is being looked at mainly is children’s toys, consumer goods like lipsticks, make-up, clothes, and lead in paint, which is prevalent all over the world. If it is ingested or the fumes are inhaled, it could be detrimental to people’s health.”

RTSL intervention

According to the Executive Director of Resolve to Save Lives Nigeria, Nanlop Ogbureke, the training was part of the organisation’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Project launched in April 2025.

Ms Ogbureke said RTSL is working with the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Health, and SON to build local testing capacity and support policy enforcement.

“We are currently having a training because we are starting a project, Lead Poisoning Prevention Project,” she said. “Part of the activities includes testing for lead in different sources, cosmetics and other personal products. It is in lead that we have found contamination in water and in the environment generally.”

Ms Ogbureke said the project aims to generate evidence to support advocacy and stronger enforcement. “The training is to equip selected laboratory experts to identify lead in certain products and sources and to fill the body of evidence that will enable us to push forward certain policies that when enforced, we hope will lead to the elimination of lead in the country,” she explained.

She noted that while progress had been made in tackling lead in paints, more work was needed in other areas, including cosmetics and local industries.

“We intend to also train environmental health officers and others who will be helping in field testing and reporting, and strengthen our laboratory surveillance and capacity,” she said.

“We have cases where people go to the farm and they are exposed to lead poisoning due to illegal mining,” she added.

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“In Lagos State, we have heard that there is water pollution, and in Kano State, the same thing, where you have local manufacturing companies releasing high concentrations of lead in their waste. Those are part of the issues we are trying to address.”

Ms Ogbureke said awareness and advocacy will play a major role in ensuring that lead poisoning is tackled across communities and regulatory levels.

She added that the findings from the project will also guide social and behavioural change campaigns across the country.