Chandigarh, Aug. 1 -- Stepping up public health safeguards, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has directed all paint manufacturers in the state to ensure that household and decorative paints comply with the prescribed limit for lead content and obtain certification from recognised laboratories before marketing their products.

The directions, issued on Thursday, are intended to strengthen the implementation of the Regulation of Lead Contents in Household and Decorative Paints Rules, 2016, notified by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change.

The rules prohibit the manufacture, sale, import and export of household and decorative paints containing lead beyond 90 parts per million (ppm).

According to the PPCB, t...