Eco group warns vs 'toxic' PVC school supplies

With less than two weeks to go before school starts, an ecological group made a last-minute warning to parents against buying toxic PVC-based school supplies.

 

The EcoWaste Coalition raised safety concerns about polyvinyl (PVC) school supplies bought from formal and informal retailers, including the popular market hub Divisoria.

 

“We find this worrisome as the market is teeming with PVC school supplies and consumers are unaware of the dangers posed by their secret toxic ingredients,” said the group's campaigner Aileen Lucero in a press release. 

 

According to EcoWaste, the harmful substances found in PVC school supplies include:

 

 

The group conducted a three-phase investigation of school supplies and rainwear samples.

 

In Phase 1, the group used an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer on May 9 to screen 25 school supplies purchased on May 8. Nine of the 25 school supplies had lead from 229 parts per million (ppm) to 3,863 ppm.

 

In Phase 2, the group used an XRF spectrometer on May 15 to screen 14 rainwear samples bought on May 14. Eleven of the 14 rainwear samples had lead ranging from over 90 ppm to 9,475 ppm of lead, while three samples had cadmium up to 254 ppm.

 

In Phase 3, four of five samples procured in late April and subjected to independent laboratory analysis via Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) from May 10 to 15 failed the phthalate limit, with one sample having 35.86 percent of di-iso-nonyl phthalate (DINP).

 

The group noted that under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the limit for total lead concentration is 90 ppm and 75 ppm for soluble cadmium, while the limit for phthalates is 0.1 percent by total weight (1,000 ppm).

 

“Exposure to cadmium, lead and phthalates can adversely affect a child’s healthy and well-rounded development and should be prevented by all means such as through the provision of school materials that are guaranteed safe for kids,” said Dr. Bessie Antonio, a pediatric toxicologist from the East Avenue Medical Center, in the press release.

 

The group said that since phthalates are not chemically attached to plastics, they can disperse or leak into the environment over time, and interfere with endocrine or hormone functions.

 

Exposure to phthalates may result in birth defects in baby boys, premature breast development in girls, male genital abnormalities, low sperm quality and testicular cancer.

  

The Philippines has not phased out or banned phthalates, but the Food and Drug Administration had issued a warning on phthalates in PVC toys as early as 1999.

 

It said these "have been found to leach out from the toys when they are sucked or chewed as commonly practiced by children.”

 

Calls to consumers, manufacturers

 

The group urged consumers to avoid PVC school supplies that may contain toxic additives such as cadmium, lead and phthalates, as well as to refrain from buying products with strong chemical smell and painted parts or designs that could later chip off. It also urged consumers to insist on their right to information and to ask for a receipt or any proof of purchase.

 

On the other hand, it urged sellers to obtain a certification from suppliers that their goods are safe from hazardous chemicals, and to only offer goods that are certified "non-toxic"' and adequately labeled.

 

Also, the group asked manufacturers to only produce and market certified toxics-free children’s products, and to ensure full disclosure of product information, including chemical ingredients and their potential health effects.

 

On the other hand, EcoWaste asked the government to assign product safety inspectors and consumer complaint officers in Divisoria and other market hubs for school supplies, as well as enact and enforce a law that will prohibit the use of cadmium, lead, phthalates and other major chemicals of concern in children’s products. –CGL/KG, GMA News