DTI, DOH Urged to Remove Lead Painted Vacuum Flasks from the Market
The EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental health NGO,
today urged the government to take action that will cause the removal from the
market of vacuum flasks found to be coated with lead-containing paint.
Through a letter sent today to Department of Trade and
Industry and the Department of Health, the toxics watch group notified the
agency about the presence of high concentrations of lead on the paint coatings
of three samples of unbranded vacuum flask that it procured from a discount
store in Divisoria for P180 per unit.
The stainless steel flask with a removable plastic cap
and stopper is decorated with pink or yellow paint and popular Disney cartoon
characters. The product label provides
no information about the manufacturer or its local distributor.
“The withdrawal from the market of the lead painted
vacuum flasks that are marketed for children’s use will protect young consumers
from a potential source of lead exposure.
The lead paint on the exterior of the flask can wear off into chip and
dust with its almost daily use and get ingested by kids through hand-to-mouth
behavior. Health experts have confirmed
there is no safe level of lead exposure for children,” Thony Dizon, Chemical
Safety Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
“As what is at stake is the health and safety of
consumers, particularly children who are most vulnerable to the adverse effects
of lead exposure, we hope concerned authorities will act with dispatch and take
the lead painted vacuum flasks out of store shelves,” added Atty. Vic Dimagiba,
President, Laban Konsyumer, Inc.
Using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analytical
device, the EcoWaste Coalition detected lead on the painted exterior of the
three flasks way above the regulatory limit of 90 parts per million (ppm) as
per the DENR A.O. 2013-24, or the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead
Compounds.
A yellow painted “Winnie the Pooh” flask had 37,600 ppm
of lead. A light pink painted “Disney
Princess” flask had 4,154 ppm of lead. A
deep pink painted “Minnie Mouse” flask had 2,144 ppm of lead.
Lead, a potent neurotoxin, belongs to the Philippine
Priority Chemical List and is banned in the production of architectural,
household and decorative paints, in children’s toys and other consumer products
that may pose lead exposure risk to consumers, especially to young children and
pregnant women.
To justify the requested action, the groups cited the
recall alert issued last April 19, 2018 by the US Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) on some 2,000 pieces of water bottles due to high levels of
lead on the pink paint of the container that exceed the federal lead paint
standard of 90 ppm.
The CPSC said that “lead is toxic if ingested by young
children and can cause adverse health issues” as it advised consumers to
immediately stop using the recalled water bottles, take them away from children
and return them to the store where it was sold.
It will be fitting to have the non-compliant products
withdrawn from retail stores this coming October to coincide with the
observance of the Consumer Welfare Month, the EcoWaste Coalition and Laban
Konsyumer said.
The groups also stated that the requested action will
reiterate government’s support to the global goal “to prevent children’s
exposure to lead from paints containing lead and to minimize occupational
exposures to lead paint,” noting that the International Lead Poisoning
Prevention Week organized by the UN-backed Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead
Paint will take place on 21-27 October 2018.
-end-
Reference:
http://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DAO-2013-24-CCO-Lead.pdf
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2018/base-brands-recalls-water-bottles-due-to-violation-of-lead-paint-standard-recall-alert
http://www.who.int/ipcs/lead_campaign/en/
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