Warning Out on Hazardous and Misbranded Toy Musical Instrument with High Lead Content
14 August 2024, Quezon City. The EcoWaste Coalition raised the alarm against a toy musical instrument that is coated with lead paint in violation of the national ban on the use of such paint in children’s products, which has been in effect since December 31, 2016.
The toxics watchdog group revealed that a Wonderful Music Xylophone that it purchased last Sunday, August 11, for P150 from a store dealer at Divisoria Mall in Manila can be considered a “banned hazardous product” for containing lead in excess of the 90 parts per million (ppm) limit.
The product, which is labeled “made in China,” can also be considered as “misbranded” for failing to provide the mandatory labeling information as required by Republic Act 10620, or the Toy and Game Safety Labeling Act, including the license to operate number issued by the FDA and the manufacturer’s and distributor’s markings.
A chemical screening conducted by the group using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device shows 5,710 ppm of lead in the paint on the orange tone bar of the toy xylophone. No lead was detected on the blue, fuchsia, green, lavender, pink and yellow tone bars, indicating the availability of compliant paints that should have been used for the orange bar.
Moreover, the painted tone bars of five other toy xylophones costing P50 - P180 each screened negative for lead. However, these toys, like the lead positive one, are insufficiently labeled and are not notified with the FDA.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order No. 2013-24 banned the use of lead in the production of paints and a host of other goods, including toys. Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Memorandum Circular No. 2016-010 further emphasized the ban on paints with lead above 90 ppm in toys and other children’s products effective December 31, 2016.
The EcoWaste Coalition urged the FDA as the national authority in charge of toys and childcare articles to look into the group’s latest “toxic discovery” and to undertake measures that will stop the further sale of the said hazardous and misbranded toy xylophone.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “exposure to lead can affect multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children and women of child-bearing age.”
“Young children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead and can suffer profound and permanent adverse health impacts, particularly on the development of the brain and nervous system,” the WHO said.
“Children’s innate curiosity and their age-appropriate hand-to-mouth behavior result in their mouthing and swallowing lead-containing or lead-coated objects,such as contaminated soil or dust and flakes from decaying lead-containing paint,” the WHO also said.
According to the WHO, which has identified lead among the 10 chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern:
--- “At high levels of exposure to lead the brain and central nervous system can be severely damaged causing coma, convulsions and even death. Children who survive severe lead poisoning may be left with permanent intellectual disability and behavioral disorders.”
--- “At lower levels of exposure that cause no obvious symptoms, lead is now known to produce a spectrum of injury across multiple body systems. In particular, lead can affect children’s brain development, resulting in reduced intelligence quotient (IQ), behavioral changes such as reduced attention span and increased antisocial behavior, and reduced educational attainment.”
“There is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects,” the WHO has concluded.
Reference:
https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/
https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/
https://www.fda.gov.ph/fda-
https://www.who.int/news-room/
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