Buying Halloween stuff? Check the label for harmful chemicals

Parents buying Halloween masks and props early may be in for a real-life scare as many such items contain health-threatening chemicals, an ecological group warned Monday.

 

EcoWaste Coalition said it found many Halloween items containing high levels of antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury.

 

“Consumers are literally kept in the dark about these creepy substances in some Halloween products. It’s high time for manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers to fully disclose the chemical contents of the products they make and sell, and replace toxic chemicals with safer substitutes,” said Project Protect coordinator Anthony Dizon.

 

The group also lamented none of the samples listed information about their chemical ingredients in their packaging. 

 

Pediatric toxicologist Bessie Antonio of the East Avenue Medical Center asked consumers to be careful when buying Halloween products.

 

Antonio, vice president of the Philippine Society of Clinical and Occupational Toxicology, also said exposure to heavy metals in consumer products "can cause adverse effects on human health and the environment.”

 

Samples in Metro Manila

 

The group used an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer to screen 60 samples being sold for P10 to P350 at retail stores in Mandaluyong, Makati, Taguig and Quezon Cities, and in Manila's commercial Divisoria district.

 

It bought the samples last Sept. 26 and 27, and screened them Sept. 28.

 

Seventeen of the 60 products sampled were found to have at least one toxic metal above levels of concern. 

 

The group said 10 samples yielded excessive quantities of lead up to 2,091 parts per million (ppm). The US lead paint standard is 90 ppm.

 

Of the 17 products with toxic metals, seven had more than one toxic metal, which increases the risk of potential damage to health.

 

Most toxic

 

Some of the most toxic Halloween products found by the group include:

 

 

Dizon said test results also showed “43 samples had low or non-detectable levels of heavy metals indicating the technical and commercial viability of producing products without toxic metals."

 

But the group said the absence or low detection of heavy metals in some of the samples does not mean the product is really safe. 

 

It said the tests excluded other chemicals such as phthalates in products made of polyvinyl chloride or PVC materials.

 

Safe Halloween

 

The group suggested ways for parents to make Halloween safer for their children:

 

 

–KG, GMA News