Caution: Your Chinese New Year lucky charms may have cadmium
Beware of purchasing lucky charms for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration that could contain toxic materials.
The EcoWaste Coalition gave this warning Wednesday as it pointed to the presence of cadmium--a cancer-causing chemical--in some of these lucky charms.
“We caution consumers from buying and wearing lucky bracelets with ox components that are often made of cadmium alloy,” said Thony Dizon, Chemical Safety Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
Cadmium belongs to the Priority Chemicals List (PCL), or those chemicals that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) has determined to pose unreasonable risk to public health, workplace, and the environment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) lists cadmium as among the “ten chemicals of major public health concern," the Coalition noted.
Out of 12 ox-inspired lucky bracelets sold from P35 to P250 per piece that the group purchased from retailers in Quiapo, Manila, seven were found to contain elevated levels of cadmium ranging from 118,500 to 287,800 parts per million (ppm) based on X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) screening results.
“These products would be illegal to sell in Europe, which prohibits cadmium equal to or greater than 100 ppm in jewelry,” said Dizon, “due to the concern that children could be exposed to this toxic chemical through skin or oral contact with such jewelry.”
In 2016, the EcoWaste Coalition requested the DENR-EMB to draw up a Chemical Control Order (CCO) for cadmium and its compounds after detecting high levels of cadmium in some cosmetics, electronic goods, jewelry, toys and plastics, particularly tarpaulin materials.
“We believe that a CCO is urgently needed to prohibit, limit or regulate the use of cadmium, particularly in the production of certain products that could expose the public from preventable sources of cadmium exposure, or pollute the environment with cadmium through unsafe disposal practices,” the group pointed out.
Although the DENR-EMB released a draft CCO for public comments in 2018, it has yet to be signed and promulgated.
The Lunar New Year will begin on February 12.