Lead found in kids’ slippers

An environmental group has found high levels of a brain-damaging chemical in plastic children’s slippers that feature popular cartoon characters which are being sold by sidewalk vendors in Manila.

Based on tests conducted by EcoWaste Coalition, 18 pairs made of plastic were found positive for high levels of lead, far above the 90 parts per million (ppm) limit set by the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

None of the seven rubber slippers, however, were found to contain dangerous               chemicals, the tests showed.

The toxic watch group bought 25 pairs of children’s slippers from March 7 to 9 at prices ranging from P20 to P65 from vendors hawking their wares at the Lacson Underpass in Quiapo, Rizal Avenue, in Sta. Cruz, Recto Avenue in Divisoria, M. Roxas Street in Sta. Ana and Pedro Gil in Ermita.

The findings prompted Thony Dizon, coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect, to warn that “lead and other toxic ingredients in slippers [could] spread out into the surroundings as a result of normal wear and tear from their daily use.”

According to Dizon, the toxin may end up on a child’s hands and eventually enter the mouth through house dust.

“Also, all of these leaded slippers contain one or more toxic chemicals, including antimony, arsenic, cadmium and chromium above levels of concern,” he said.

While the plastic slippers had lead ranging from 542 to 2,391 ppm which could come from paint coatings and lead stabilizer from PVC (polyvinyl chloride), “the good news is the rubber slippers we tested which are equally affordable, attractive and colorful had no detectable level of lead and other heavy metals, indicating that slippers could be made without using these toxic chemicals,” Dizon added.

EcoWaste Coalition said that PVC plastic slippers would generally be heavier, have a glossy coating, a coarse surface, firmer sole and a strong chemical smell.

Rubber slippers, on the other hand, usually have a less glossy design, a smoother surface, are softer and lighter and with a rubbery smell.

Quoting a global study on plastic shoes by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, the EcoWaste Coalition said that “lead is one of the worst environmental toxins and can accumulate in the body, primarily in the skeleton where it can damage the bone marrow and impair the body’s formation of red blood cells.”

The study added that “lead affects neurological functions that can be measured in the form of declining intelligence.”