Toxic metals found in some Chinese New Year charms — Ecowaste Coalition

Some lucky charms for the coming Chinese New Year may not bring good tidings as they contain toxic metals, an ecological group warned Tuesday.

 

The EcoWaste Coalition said some such lucky items contain metals like lead, which can increases the risk of miscarriage and premature birth.

 

“Lucky charms which are believed to produce a positive influence over a person’s good health and fortune should not contain hazardous substances that bring adverse health effects,” said campaigner Aileen Lucero. “Toxic chemicals have no room in auspicious materials that Filipinos find in Chinatown in anticipation of good luck and as defense against misfortune. Manufacturers should get rid of toxic ingredients in their raw materials and look for safer alternatives, and disclose full chemical information on product labels,” she added.

 

Among the samples tested were amulets, animal figurines, baguas, bracelets, hanging decor, iconic figurines such as Buddha and Confucius, urns, and other fortune enhancers and good health activators.

 

The group said it found toxic substances like lead, chromium, cadmium, mercury, arsenic and antimony in the sample items bought from shops and vendors in Manila’s Binondo district last Jan. 31.

 

Of the 30 samples the group bought, 18 were positive for chromium, 13 for lead, nine for arsenic, six for antimony, four for cadmium, and three for mercury.

 

Miscarriage and lead

 

Lucero noted the irony of a yellow-gold Chi Lin amulet that childless couples can use to conceive - it had 47,400 parts per million (ppm), way beyond the 100 ppm limit for toys and children’s articles under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. 

 

“Lead is extremely toxic and can be passed from a mother to her unborn child.  Too much lead in a mother’s body increases the risk of miscarriage or stillbirth , premature birth and low weight birth and may cause the child to have behavioral or learning difficulties," Lucero said.

 

"This makes the use of lead in a ‘baby boom’ amulet bizarre and unacceptable,” she added.

 

Cadmium not charming at all

 

Other items found with toxic substances included:

 

- A door decor with red and yellow beads registered the highest amounts of cadmium and antimony with 15,200 ppm and 3,357 ppm.

- A yellow and green Confucius figurine with a red base had 8,801 ppm of lead, 5,359 ppm of chromium, 1,069 ppm of arsenic, and 12 ppm of mercury.

- One of the three baguas registered 4,399 ppm of lead, 2,212 ppm of chromium, 531 ppm of arsenic, and 31 ppm of mercury – the highest among all samples.

- Six of the nine snake lucky charms tested positive for chromium ranging from 103 ppm to 972 ppm.

- Four out of five bracelets tested positive for multiple toxic metals. A yellow-gold bracelet registered 9,092 ppm of cadmium, 1,906 ppm antimony, 502 ppm chromium, and 426 ppm arsenic. Another yellow bracelet registered 10,300 ppm of cadmium and 2,095 ppm of antimony. Another bracelet registered 2,702 ppm of cadmium, 823 ppm of arsenic, 596 ppm of antimony, 319 ppm of chromium, and 8.7 ppm of mercury. A lion bracelet registered 1,381 ppm of antimony, 225 ppm of lead, 106 ppm of chromium, and 46 ppm of arsenic.

 

Arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury are included in the World Health Organization’s list of “Ten Chemicals of Major Public Health Concern” and are likewise categorized, along with chromium, in the “Priority Chemicals List” of the Philippines, the group said.

 

It said the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) noted lead is a heavy metal that is toxic at very low exposure levels and has acute and chronic effects on human health.

 

UNEP added cadmium is a “non-essential and toxic element for humans mainly affecting kidneys and the skeleton.”

 

UNEP also said cadmium "is also a carcinogen by inhalation and is accumulated in bone and may serve as a source of exposure later in life."  — ELR, GMA News