Ten-Year National Plan To Build Lead-Free Bangladesh

To safeguard public health, protect cognitive development in children, and remediate industrial contamination, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Abdul Awal Mintu has called for the rigorous implementation of the "National Strategy and Multi-Year Action Plan for a Lead-Free Bangladesh 2026–2035." The minister delivered his remarks as chief guest at a high-level seminar held on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka, observing International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2026.

Organized by Pure Earth Bangladesh in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the symposium was titled "Progress Towards a Lead-Free Bangladesh: Scaling Solutions and Meaningful Youth Engagement."

Addressing the assembly, the minister stated that the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, formally ratified the 2026–2035 roadmap on 17 August 2026. The strategic framework focuses on identifying point-source emissions, establishing regular environmental surveillance, upgrading analytical laboratories, tightening statutory compliance, and enforcing institutional accountability. The minister called upon international development partners, multilateral agencies, and private sector stakeholders to extend technical, operational, and financial assistance to remediate contaminated industrial sites.

The minister revealed that the government is actively formulating an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulatory guideline tailored for the domestic lead-acid battery manufacturing and recycling ecosystem. The framework will institutionalize take-back mandates for manufacturers and importers, formalize reverse supply-chain logistics, and enforce safe secondary smelting standards to eliminate informal, highly polluting backyard battery recycling.

Marking the proceedings, the "National Youth Alliance for a Lead-Free Bangladesh" was formally launched to mobilize community-level surveillance and advocacy. Additionally, two portable high-precision X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzers were officially handed over to the Department of Environment (DoE) to augment its rapid field screening and heavy-metal diagnostic capabilities.

Chaired by Additional Secretary of the Environment Ministry Mohammad Navid Safiullah, the session featured special remarks by Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Director Prof. Dr. Kazi Ahmed Zaki and DoE Additional Director General Mohammad Soleman Haider. Pure Earth Bangladesh Country Director Mitali Das delivered the welcome address, while Senior Program Manager Aftab Uz Zaman Khan presented the keynote paper detailing remediation field trials in Khulna's Labanchara industrial belt, official sources confirmed. //DBTech/EMTHP/MVNO/MIST//