Certification for Indoor and Outdoor Paints with Low Lead Content
Lead continues to be widely used in paint manufactured and distributed in developing countries and poses significant health threats, especially for children. Lead Safe Paint® is a certification program developed by IPEN, a global NGO and international leader in chemical safety, that confirms the lead content in a paint product does not exceed 90 parts per million (ppm). This limit is the strictest regulatory standard for lead content in paint established by countries across multiple continents.
SCS is the only independent third party certification body approved by IPEN to conduct Lead Safe Paint certification assessments. SCS manages all aspects of the certification program for manufacturers around the world.
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Complete and submit an SCS Application Form. From this, SCS scopes the project and prepares a work order with a timeline and quote. Upon your approval and signing of the work order, an SCS account manager is assigned to guide you through the certification process.
An SCS auditor reviews product information and coordinates regionally located paint sample preparation.
All paint products within the brand scope are submitted to an SCS-approved lab for preparation according to the Lead Safe Certification Requirements.
Once product is prepared regionally, samples are sent to a lab recognized by the U.S. National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP) for analysis.
The SCS auditor issues a Non-Conformance Report for any non-conformities identified due to any criteria that has not been met prior to drafting the final assessment report. This process provides the manufacturer the opportunity to address and correct any non-conformances prior to a final certification decision.
The SCS auditor prepares a Draft Assessment Report detailing the audit findings, including data analysis, non-conformities, and any corrective actions completed to close out non-conformance issues.
An SCS decision-maker conducts a final review of the Draft Assessment Report and makes the certification decision. If certification is granted, SCS issues to your company the certificate and final report. Once certified, your company is listed in SCS Green Products Guide, and you are granted the right to use the approved Lead Safe Paint® label, consistent with IPEN and SCS guidelines.
A sampling plan will be developed by the auditor for each paint brand certified. Samples will be collected for testing to determine ongoing compliance and will follow the same preparation and analysis requirements as the initial certification, but with a limited number of samples selected for testing.
Certificates are valid for three (3) years and must be renewed prior to the certification expiration date
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