Lagos — Portland Paints and Products yesterday said it is planning to introduce anti-microbial technology into its paint products, to make it more environment friendly.

Announcing this yesterday in Lagos, at the Lagos Architects Forum, the company's Controller, Sales and Marketing, Victor Adewunmi, said the company, would, in conjunction with a British company, produce the product to make the environment healthier.

Adewunmi said "the biocote technology provides simple, built-in bacterial control for surfaces. A product with biocote anti-microbial protection is able to reduce levels of bacteria, mould and fungi on surfaces by up to 99.9 per cent over a 24 hour period."

Describing it as "Portland's next competitive advantage," he said "microbes are found in every environment and are a natural part of everyday life.

"Even in the cleanest of surroundings, microbes would begin to multiply on surfaces, with one bacterium having the ability to multiply to more than four million bacteria within only eight hours.

"When those surfaces are touched by human contact, the transfer of microbes begin, resulting in cross contamination. Some of the deadliest bacteria, such as MRSA, E-coli and Listeria could be caught via cross-contamination, leading to infection and illness.

"Biocote built-in antimicrobial protection in Sandex Paints would help to keep levels of bacteria to a minimum, making the environment cleaner, safer and more hygienic for our use," he said.