Lead found in cheap school supplies

Toxics watchdog EcoWaste Coalition on Monday warned parents to beware of cheap school supplies after some of these were found to contain dangerous chemicals “above levels of concern.”

Out of 25 samples bought from stalls in Divisoria and a popular bookstore in Manila, nine tested positive under a handheld X-Ray Flourescence  analyzer for lead and other heavy metals like antimony, arsenic, cadmium and chromium.

The school supplies, which included pencil cases, backpacks, a plastic envelope, a water canteen and a pair of shoes, were bought on May 8 at prices ranging from P50 to P220.

Toxicity tests conducted the next day showed that some of these contained lead ranging from 229 ppm [parts per million] to 3,863 ppm, far above the 90 ppm limit set under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement

Act of 2008.

Among children, there are no safe levels for lead exposure, EcoWaste reiterated in a press statement.

“Lead in school supplies is a real threat to our children’s health as lead can be released as a toxic flake, chip or dust as the products age and deteriorate,” said Aileen Lucero of EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect.

Lucero pointed out that lead is a neurotoxin or a substance capable of damaging the central nervous system. Exposure may lower children’s intelligence quotient and affect their educational performance, she warned.

“The good news is we found non-detectable levels of lead in 16 products, indicating the availability of products with low or no lead in the market. However, it will be extremely difficult for consumers to determine which products are really okay because of inadequate product safety certification and labeling,” Lucero said.—With Ann Clariz Yap, trainee