DOH urged to conduct random testing of Christmas toys for safety

Citizen’s group Ecowaste Coalition yesterday asked the Department of Health (DOH) to initiate a random testing of toys this Christmas season to ensure the safety of children.

Elsie Brandes-de Veyra of Ecowaste said testing would help ensure that “only safe toys are sold in the market during this season of gift-giving.”

“We are deeply disturbed by the use of hazardous chemicals in toys that can easily enter the young bodies of defenseless infants and children through ingestion, inhalation or skin contact,” she noted.

De Veyra issued the statement after a survey released in the United States showed that one in three toys has significant levels of toxic chemicals.

She added that the DOH must do it since children are not in the position to determine the harmful ingredients of the toys they play with.

“To prevent children’s exposure to hazardous materials, we ask the toy industry and the government, particularly Secretary Duque, to keep toys free of toxic chemicals,” De Veyra maintained.

The group also asked the DOH to review the Philippine National Standards for Safety of Toys and the related DOH Administrative Order 2007-0032 to keep toxic toys out of the country.

The Ecology Center in Michigan had released a consumer guide on harmful substances that can be found in toys after testing more than 1,500 popular toys.

The toys were examined for arsenic, bromine, cadmium, chlorine, lead and mercury, the chemicals that cause reproductive, developmental and hormonal disorders in humans.

The toys tested include action figures, arts and crafts articles, backpacks, bath toys, building blocks, crib toys, dining and bibs, dolls, electronics, games and puzzles, jewelry, kid’s room decorations, musical instruments, sporting goods, pacifiers, rattles and teethers, stuffed animals, vehicles and construction toys, among others.

The results showed that children’s jewelry such as beads, bracelets, charms, earrings, key chains, necklaces, pins, rings, and watches were the most contaminated products.

Lead, a neurotoxin that can cause irreparable developmental disorders among children, was detected in 20 percent of the products, while 27 percent of them were positive for polyvinyl chloride, which can cause environmental and health hazards in its production, use and disposal.