Lead, cadmium found in some children's raincoats

As the rainy season draws closer, parents buying rain gear for their children were warned against getting cheap raincoats that may contain toxic chemicals like lead and cadmium.

 

The EcoWaste Coalition said it found "dangerous" levels of harmful chemicals in at least 13 rain wear samples it had bought.

 

“We are concerned about lead and cadmium in raincoats and other school supplies as these toxic substances are unavoidably released as toxic dust as the products deteriorate, and could be transferred to a child’s hands and ingested through repeated handling and use,” said campaigner Aileen Lucero. 

 

Only last week, the group found excessive levels of lead in nine school supplies, including three backpacks, two pencil cases, a plastic envelope, rainwear, a pair of shoes and a water canteen.

 

They noted that exposure to lead and cadmium may lead to productive disorders, birth defects, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, permanent IQ loss and diminished school performance.

 

Lucero said that out of 14 raincoats the group bought from retailers and wholesalers in Divisoria last May 14, 11 had lead levels up to 9,475 parts per million (ppm).

 

This was way above the 90 ppm limit under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, the group said.

 

Using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, the group screened the samples for heavy metals on Tuesday, May 15.

 

EcoWaste said that while three samples had no detectable levels of lead, two of them had high amounts of cadmium, a probable human carcinogen.

 

Rain wear samples

 

The raincoats, sold from P55 to P180, were bought from shops located along Juan Luna Street in Divisoria, Manila.

 

Most were made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and decorated with popular cartoon characters.

 

PVC-based supplies

 

Meanwhile, the group also voiced concern about the difficulty of recycling or disposing PVC-based school supplies or items with lead because of their toxic additives.

 

It said PVC should be treated as “special waste” containing hazardous chemicals, should not be mixed with regular household discards, and should not be burned to prevent the formation of dioxins, a class of highly toxic byproducts of combustion. –CGL/KG, GMA News