Group pushes crackdown on toys with cadmium

An environmental group called on three government secretaries to test and recall toys containing toxic metals, particularly cadmium, to safeguard children’s health. EcoWaste Coalition directed its appeal to Secretaries Esperaza Cabral (Health), Peter Favila (Trade) and Eleazar Quinto (Environment). “We urge them to check on toys being sold in stores and sidewalks and assure the public that none of the toys tainted with cadmium, lead and other chemicals of concern such as phthalates are being sold in the market," EcoWaste president Manny Calonzo said on the group’s blog site. The call came after regulatory agencies in Canada and US recently warned against excessive levels of toxic metals in some children’s jewelry products sold in toy stores. EcoWaste said Filipino children can be exposed to cadmium, lead and other harmful substances by biting, chewing, sucking or accidental eating of toxic-laden toys. It cited an advisory by Health Canada last January 15 that excessively high levels of lead, a neurotoxin, have been found in some inexpensive children’s jewelry products there. For its part, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission initiated a formal investigation on the presence of cadmium, a human carcinogen, in children’s jewelry. The Associated Press had reported dangerous levels of cadmium in some of the 103 pieces of low-cost children’s jewelry that it sent for laboratory testing, including bracelets, pendants and trinkets imported from China and sold in major retail stores in US. The report indicated that cadmium is being used by some toy manufacturers as a substitute for lead after US Congress in 2008 barred its use in children’s products such as toys and jewelry, despite cadmium being more toxic than lead. AP also reported that cadmium is so toxic that “if the charms were waste from manufacturing" it would qualify as hazardous waste. “Cadmium, a heavy metal used as a stabilizer in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and in coatings and pigments in plastic and paint, is carcinogenic and has been linked to lung, kidney and intestinal ailments, weakened bones, developmental effects, learning disabilities and permanent IQ loss," EcoWaste said. It said acute toxicity from the intake of elevated levels of cadmium can lead to abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and even death. EcoWaste noted the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has listed cadmium in the country’s First Priority Chemicals List that has to be regulated to prevent and reduce serious risks to public health, workplace and the environment. The DENR has so far issued four Chemical Control Orders (CCOs) – for asbestos, cyanide, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - out of the first set of 28 priority chemicals. - LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV