Beware of toxic good luck charms

Members of toxics watch group EcoWaste Coalition warn the public against buying lucky charms sold in Binondo, Quiapo and Divisoria in Manila that contain dangerous chemicals. Instead of bringing luck, these charms may send the buyer to the hospital for exposure to lead and other toxic ingredients, the group says. ALEXIS CORPUZ

Not even the six-syllable Kuan Yin mantra can ward off the danger of being exposed to lead by a set of prayer beads identified by an environmental watch group as among the Chinese New Year charms that contain high levels of the toxic metal.

Someone who recites the mantra “Om mane padme hum” to the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy and Compassion Kuan Yin while holding the prayer beads is supposed to be protected from all kinds of danger.

EcoWaste Coalition, however, found 207,400 parts per million (ppm) of lead in a set of prayer beads adorned with a lead alloy pendant, making it No. 1 on its list of toxic Chinese amulets and charms for the Year of the Wooden Horse.

The group detected through a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer excessive levels of toxic metals, including lead, arsenic, cadmium, antimony and chromium, in 42 of 50 good luck charms it bought from retail shops in Binondo, Divisoria and Quiapo districts in Manila. The samples were priced from P20 to P350 each.

Of the 50, 34 tested positive for high levels of lead, 16 had arsenic, while the rest had cadmium. None of the items were labeled so buyers had no idea who the manufacturers were, what country these came from, the ingredients they contain, along with health and safety warnings.

EcoWaste’s Project Protect coordinator Thony Dizon said, “We find the presence of toxic metals in some amulets and charms incompatible with the much trumpeted luck and success that they are supposed to bring.”

He added: “There is a clear mismatch between the good flow of energy and prosperity offered by some of these talismans and activators and the bad chemicals that make them up.”

EcoWaste said that the other items that showed the highest levels of lead, thus making them one of the “dirtiest dozen,” were a stabilizing amulet for good planning and decision-making with 98,330 ppm of lead; a big “Yin Yang Bagua” hanging charm with a tassel tainted with 75,900 ppm of lead; a small “Yin Yang Bagua” with 45,300 ppm of lead; a gain luck coin or money plate with 35,500 ppm of lead; and a figurine of a golden dragon sitting on a pile of gold coins surrounded by the 12 Chinese zodiac animals with 9,885 ppm of lead.

The Yin Yang Bagua represents feng shui balance and protection and contains the eight trigrams (three-line symbols) used in the Taoist cosmology’s basic principles of reality.

Also among the dirtiest dozen were a waving prosperity cat made of ceramic that contained 7,514 ppm of lead; a lucky rabbit bracelet with multicolor stones, 7,124 ppm of lead; a figurine of a smiling Buddha holding a lucky gold ingot and gourd with 7,068 ppm of lead; a 12-animal zodiac charm with 6,462 ppm of lead; a horse statuette with a pineapple and gold ingot with 5,380 ppm of lead; and a horse figurine decorated with leafy vegetables that had 4,522 ppm of lead.

Lead, chromium, cadmium and arsenic are in the World Health Organization’s list of 10 chemicals of major public health concern. They are also on the country’s priority chemicals list.