MANILA - The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition is warning luck seekers from buying charm bracelets adorned with metal components containing extremely high concentrations of cadmium, a chemical that is linked to various types of cancer.
The group, which has been campaigning against toxic metals like cadmium, lead, mercury and other chemicals of concern, made the timely warning as people started to flock to Chinatown and adjacent places to buy charms that are supposed to attract good health and fortune, especially during the celebration of the Chinese New Year.
As part of its periodic market monitoring, the group went to Binondo and Quiapo in Manila City to get charm bracelets sold for P25 to P75 each. The items were subsequently screened for toxic metals using a handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer.
Out of the 23 charm bracelets bought and analyzed, 17 were all found to contain
cadmium in excess of 100,000 parts per million (ppm). Cadmium was
detected on the dragon or Pi Yao (an auspicious and mythical creature) metal
components of the beaded or red string bracelets.
In Europe, cadmium in jewelry is restricted to 0.01 % (or 100
ppm) by weight of the metal in metal beads and other metal components
for jewelry making, metal parts of jewelry and
imitation jewelry articles and hair accessories, including bracelets,
necklaces and rings, piercing jewelry, wrist-watches and wrist-wear,
brooches and cufflinks as per EU Regulation 494/2011.
The charm bracelets discovered by the EcoWaste Coalition with high cadmium
content would be illegal to sell in Europe, the EcoWaste Coalition
emphasized. As publicized at the Safety Gate, the EU rapid alert system
for dangerous non-food products, many jewelry articles have been banned or
removed from the market due to cadmium, which is “harmful to human health because it accumulates in
the body, can damage the kidneys and bones and it may cause cancer,"
according to the EU.
Cadmium, a heavy metal with symbol Cd and atomic number 48, is classified
as “carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on
Cancer. Cadmium is, according to the US National Cancer Institute,
“primarily associated with human lung, prostate, and kidney cancers, and
recently pancreatic cancer,” as well as with “cancers of the breast and urinary
bladder.”
Cadmium exposure is further associated with reproductive and developmental
disorders, including premature birth, reduced birth weight, stillbirth,
spontaneous abortion and birth defects , as well with behavioral and learning
disabilities.
“There is no point to add metal components on charm bracelets that are known to
cause adverse health effects,” the EcoWaste Coalition stressed. “The fact that
cadmium was not detected on six of the 23 analyzed charm bracelets indicates that
such products can be produced sans health-damaging chemicals.”
The WHO has listed cadmium
among the 10 chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern.
To protect human health, WHO has recommended, among other interventions, “the
elimination of use of cadmium in products such as toys, jewelry and plastics.”
Cadmium is likewise included in the Philippine Priority Chemicals
List. However, cadmium in products such as jewelry is
not covered by the Chemical Control Order (CCO) issued in 2021 by the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management
Bureau. Nonetheless, “the use of products not
containing cadmium is encouraged to prevent and minimize the release
of cadmium to the environment,” the CCO stated.
To prevent and reduce human
exposure to cadmium, the EcoWaste Coalition backed the use of non-toxic
substitutes to cadmium in jewelry making. It also advised consumers to insist
on their right to chemicals in product information, and for manufacturers, importers,
distributors and retailers to recognize such right by labeling and disclosing
the identity of chemicals in their products.
"Transparency in the chemicals that make up a
product, as well as the hazards they pose to health and the environment, should
be made mandatory in line with the consumers' right to know," the watchdog
group asserted. (Mindanao Examiner)
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