EcoWaste Coalition Asks Politicos to Test Give-Away School Bags for Lead, a Brain Poison

With school classes about to recommence next week, the EcoWaste Coalition urged politicians, particularly town and city officials, to test school bags for lead, a brain poison, before giving them away to needy students in public schools.

Their appeal was triggered by the group's latest X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis on May 28 of three old LGU-provided backpacks as well as four recently bought backpacks with cartoon characters from Divisoria.

All three blue and yellow used backpacks from the cities of Makati, Manila and Quezon had lead ranging from 1,027 parts per million (ppm) to 2,850 ppm exceeding the 90 ppm limit under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, while three of the four backpacks from Divisoria had lead up to 409 ppm.

"Guided by the saying ‘it’s better to be safe than sorry,’ we urge our mayors to screen school bags and supplies for harmful substances such as lead before these are distributed to the children,” suggested Aileen Lucero of the EcoWaste Coalition's Project Protect.

“There is no safe level of exposure to lead, especially among young and defenseless children,” she stated.

“As their developing brains are very much at risk to lead toxicity, we must ensure that children’s environment, including the articles they use to learn and play with, is safe from lead and other pollutants,” she said.

“Primary prevention is key to ensuring that our children do not suffer from the often irreversible effects of lead exposure,” she emphasized.

Lead is a dangerous poison that can retard the development of a child’s developing central nervous system and permanently damage the brain even at low levels of exposure, the EcoWaste Coalition said.

The effects of lead poisoning in most cases are not immediately seen and there usually are no obvious symptoms until the lead level in blood is very high, the group noted.

According to health studies, childhood lead exposure can result to a broad range of serious developmental and behavioral problems, including reading and learning disabilities, inattentiveness, hyperactivity and irritability, lower IQ and poor school performance.

Lead can enter a human body through the inhalation or ingestion of lead particles or dust from chipping or flaking paints in homes, playgrounds, schools and other facilities as well as from lead-containing products such as toys and cosmetics and lead-glazed or lead-painted glasses, mugs and dishes.

The improper recycling or disposal of lead-containing discards such as electronic waste also contributes to environmental contamination and human exposure to lead, the EcoWaste Coalition said.

-end-

Comments

ullash said…
I was actually surprised by the quality of the product.
My son uses his school backpacks pretty hard so I expected to be buying another one halfway through the year but
this might just make it to the end of the year with only minor wear and tear!


camouflage backpack
camouflage duffel bag
camouflage flask
camouflage knives
camouflage tote bag
Unknown said…
Jewel tones were huge last fall and they're back again this season! A sophisticated emerald shade will take you straight from the office to a night out. Pair your bag with some gold statement accessories for a total knockout look. gym bags