Excessive Lead Leads Recall of Outdoor Exercising Equipment

The Ministry of Health & Wellness is pulling back several pieces of workout equipment from parks across the country. These yellow and red outdoor fitness machines were found to have dangerously high levels of lead. This alarming discovery was made thanks to research and testing by Doctor Joaquin Urbina from the University of Belize, along with Doctor Adam Kiefer and Doctor Addie Buerck from Mercer University in Georgia.

 

Dr. Joaquin Urbina, Assistant Professor, U.B.

“Around October 2023, a group led by Mercer University came down to Belize, and in particular the group was interested in doing a collaboration with the University of Belize on a lead in paint study and they proposed a study done on outdoor gym equipment.  They were, I guess, curious to find out what the led concentrations were and together with UB students and some of their students, we conducted the study.  At the same time, they conducted a study along with us on how to carry out the study using what we call a portable X-ray florescence device which measures the concentration of heavy metals, including lead.  We found out that a big majority of the equipment across the country had great amounts of led in the paint. There’s a lot of documented evidence and this is supported by UNICEF and other agencies across the world and they report that prolonged lead exposure may lead to some chronic symptoms as a result of the toxicity of led.  But this is over a prolonged period of time.  This may include dizziness, among other symptoms, even skin disorders.  If the exposure is directly on the skin.”