MANILA, Philippines – It’s the season to be jolly. But it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
This was the warning of an environment group at the forefront of a campaign against hazardous chemicals as it cautioned the public against “indiscriminate shopping” for holiday gifts.
Conducting its “AlerToxic Day” campaign yesterday in the streets of Baclaran, the EcoWaste Coalition reminded shoppers to choose only “safe and non-toxic presents” for loved ones and friends this Christmas.
“The pre-Christmas AlerToxic Day emphasizes the need to rethink the usual items we buy as gifts, especially for kids, that insidiously harbor lead (Pb), a neuro-toxicant that affects both children and adults,” said EcoWaste president Manny Calonzo.
“We don’t want to expose our loved ones, especially our children to lead. Not during the Christmas season or any other season for that matter. If the urge to shop is irresistible, let us please buy gifts that are free from this harmful element,” said Paeng Lopez, coordinator of the EcoWaste’s campaign to phase out lead in paints.
A major environmental health hazard, lead can have a wide range of effects on a child’s development and behavior, EcoWaste said.
Even when exposed to small amounts of lead levels, children may appear inattentive, hyperactive, and irritable, it said.
The group said children with greater lead levels might have problems with learning and reading, growth, and hearing.
EcoWaste said lead is also known to adversely affect kidney, gastro-intestinal system, and immune system and cause miscarriage for pregnant women and disorders in sperm production for men.
The group added that lead can increase blood pressure and cause anemia for older people, and chronic exposure to the chemical causes mental retardation, coma, convulsions and even death.
‘Rethink the way we buy gifts’
“We should rethink the way we buy our Christmas gifts. More important than considering whether what we are buying will be appreciated is taking into account if it is safe,” Lopez said.
“In addition, our second instinct in buying gifts should be to check the label to ensure that what we are about to buy are free from lead or other harmful ingredients,” Lopez also said.
EcoWaste urged the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department Trade and Industry (DTI) to safeguard consumers from hazardous products by conducting regular test of toys and other items being sold in the market and recalling those that put the health and safety of children at risk.
As a matter of “sound and preventive practice,” EcoWaste said the DOH and DTI should jointly come up with an annual list of products “that must never find its way to the market for being detrimental to children’s health and safety.” The list should be released even before the onset of the Christmas rush, it said.
Recently, EcoWaste noted that the Center for Environmental Health in the United States tested about 250 children’s products bought at major retailers and found lead levels that exceeded federal limits in seven of them.
It said among those with high lead levels are a Barbie Bike Flair Accessory Kit and a Disney Tinkerbell Water Lily necklace.
It said the Center for Environmental Health also found excessive lead in a Dora the Explorer Activity Tote, two pairs of children’s shoes, a boy’s belt, and a kids’ poncho.
EcoWaste advised the public to check out the website of the United States Consumer Product and Safety Commission, which has been regularly ordering the recall of items containing excessive lead.
The website, EcoWaste said, contains a list of goods from toys to industrial products that were ordered out of the market for containing “this harmful heavy metal.”
It said the public may instead create their own gifts, give home-cooked specialties, fruits, potted plants, books, school supplies, an out-of-town trip or a simple family get-together as alternative to the rituals of gift giving. –Katherine Adraneda (The Philippine Star) with Jose Rodel Clapano
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