Parents warned vs toxic kids’ toys

By Jonathan Fernandez

Posted on 10 Oct 2012 at 12:01am

Consumers were reminded on Tuesday to buy only safe and non-toxic toys this Christmas after the environment watchdog EcoWaste Coalition found that 60 out of 100 toys they tested contained lead and other harmful chemicals that can cause cancer, reproductive abnormalities, endocrine disorders, as well as behavioral developmental and learning problems.

Anthony Dizon, coordinator of the EcoWaste’s Project Protect, issued the warning after they found 43 out of 100 samples they tested were tainted with high levels of lead, which were above the US regulatory limit of 90 parts per million (ppm).

Non-toxic Christmas. Looking forward to a non-toxic Christmas, children sporting Santa Claus hats hold up posters warning the public against toxic toys that have been found in stores in Baclaran and Pasay. Health and chemical safety advocates from the EcoWaste Coalition asked toy makers, importers, distributors and vendors to prioritize children’s health and halt the trade in untested, unlicensed and unlabeled children’s toys. MANNY PALMERO

He said 32 toys contained more than one toxic metal such antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and mercury also above levels of concern.

Dizon said that among the samples found tainted with harmful metals were some dolls with PVC materials, play makeup sets, toy animals, toy boxing gadgets, toy cars, toy guns, toy musical instruments and other toy products.

Not a single toy, Dizon noted, listed its chemical ingredients on the label and “it deprives consumers of their right to know what the products are made of and, consequently, to make informed choices.”

The EcoWaste bought the samples, worth from P2 to P165 each, last week at various retail shops in Baclaran and Pasay City.

Bill Menrath, a visiting expert from Ohio, said that the test results give credence to the urgency to phase out lead and other substances in paints and children’s products that may undermine brain development and wreak havoc on kids’ health.

“Children are not able to protect themselves against lead and other hazardous substances lurking in toys, and it is really up to us, adults, to shield them from these hidden toxins. In the US, over a million children have high levels of lead in their blood because of exposure to lead in paint, dust and soil, necessitating for strong preventive measures to combat childhood lead poisoning at the source,” Menrath said.

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