Environmental watchdog group, EcoWaste Coaliton, warns of lead-laden kiddie backpacks
The Quezon City, Philippines based environmental public interest group, EcoWaste Coaliton, is warning the public of poisonous kiddie back packs, according to a posting on their website yesterday.
Image/EcoWaste Coalition
The toxic backpacks, sold bargain stores and sidewalk vendors in Juan Luna St. and Recto Ave. in Divisoria and Rizal Ave. in Sta. Cruz, Manila were tested for lead as part of an EcoWatch series of product sampling prior to the beginning of the school year.
25 bags were purchased with an average cost of P165 (approximately $4.00 US) and analyzed for lead content using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer.
The group notes, In the absence of a specific standard for lead in children’s bags, the EcoWaste Coalition used as reference the 90 parts per million (ppm) limit for lead in consumer paints and surface coatings under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
What they found was 23 of the 25 backpacks tested by far exceeded the threshold of 90 ppm of lead. In fact, 13 back packs exceeded 1,000 ppm of lead–Superman 5,752 ppm, Dragon Ball Z, 4,156 ppm, Ben 10, 3,536 ppm, Superman, 3,317 ppm, One Piece, 2,660 ppm, SpongeBob SquarePants, 2,565 ppm, Slam Dunk, 2,233 ppm, Superman, 2,127 ppm, SpongeBob SquarePants, 1,830 ppm, Ben 10, 1,595 ppm, Princess, 1,464 ppm, Iron Man, 1,254 ppm and Avengers, 1,102 ppm.
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“Parents should not only be worried with overloaded school bags that can cause back pain and deformities,” stated Aileen Lucero, Acting National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.
“Parents should be concerned as well with toxins prowling in those bags that can impair brain development, causing shorter attention span, learning disabilities and decrease in IQ score,” she suggested.
According to WHO, “the potential for adverse effects of lead exposure is greater for children than for adults, because in children 1) the intake of lead per unit body weight is higher, 2) more dust may be ingested, 3) lead absorption in the gastrointestinal tract is higher, 4) the blood–brain barrier is not yet fully developed and 5) neurological effects occur at lower levels than in adults.”
Read more at the EcoWaste Coaliton
