This is just my opinion, but I would not mind at all if the US just banned the importation of all children's toys and jewelry from China. I'm sure some perfectly wonderful products are made, but I'm personally sick of lead contamination. It just seemed low to me that the lead in some of the products was replaced with cadmium, a metal that isn't any safer... toxic and known to cause cancer. There comes a point where I wonder how we justify the risk to kids for unnecessary trinkets.
MSNBC is carrying the story of Wal-Mart's recall of children's jewelry items. The contaminated items could be found at many discount stores, so please don't think the problem is restricted to Wal-Mart's products. If anything, the recall should raise faith in their commitment to safety. Also, it isn't just cadmium that is being used as a replacement for lead in inexpensive kid's items. Other toxic substitutions include antimony and barium, or in some cases lead-free products still contain lead. I'm sure the news that other toxic metals are being substituted for lead comes as no surprise. What surprises me is that we still haven't taken decisive action against the problem.
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You’re so right. Clearly, Chinese manufacturers are looking for and working with loopholes in our laws. We can’t bar dangerous metals one by one. Either we create a list of ALL banned metals now or we just say “no” to imported metallic trinkets and then police our own manufacturers.
We’d all be outraged if a U.S. manufacturer tried this trick – substituting cadmium for lead – and I think we should be equally outraged now that Chinese suppliers are doing this.
I am not surprised at what China sends us on that gigantic ship that arrives at our shores daily, filled with imports for us Americans; and departs daily, empty from the lack of exports from us. Not only are we unwise to accept their dangerous products, but to provide them a one way street to further indanger our economy, which in turn affects our children again.
Never attribute to malice, that which can be explained by stupidity!
Seriously, how do you know your jewelry is safe for anyone to wear? You rely on your suppliers to supply you with gold and silver that really are pure. Enamels and paints that are safe and so on, don’t you? Well what if your supplier lied to you???
This is what I think is happening in China and probably other countries. People’s anger is being directed at the makers of these things and they are probably often innocent victims as well.
For me, it is the manufacturers who knowingly mis-represent their raw materials as safe and those few unscrupulous makers who knowingly use cheaper materials that are not safe, who we should get angry with.
Unfortunately we have no way of telling the good from the bad makers. You can batch test everything that is imported from China and any other countries who seem to disreagard human health, but that pushes up the costs considerably and just because one tests safe, it does not mean the rest are either.
Personally, I think just trying to ban imports will just lead to smuggling and hurt the honest makers who really do try to make sure everything they make is safe.
I am not sure there is an easy answer, but I do feel more pressure should be put on China (or wherever) to ensure that any good exported to us, meet OUR safety standards, or import tarrifs will be imposed to pay for compulsory testing of all goods from that country for a minimum period? I do not like that, as it hurts the honest makers along with the bad but I do not know how else to get people to sit up and pay attention to unsafe products?
I am sure the makers of unsafe products would try to “justify” their actions, by saying they supply the same products to their own people and they are “alright”, so it is just “over-reaction”. You should remember though that China recently executed a lot of people over contaminated milk hurting babies, so there are laws and very strict laws too – It just seems to be a case of getting a few rogue manufacturers to pay attention to them.
A very good point.
Yes, this does seem very odd. It is surely the point to remove poisionous materials from exposure to children. I do not follow the logic in changing one dangerous material for another.
Well done for bringing this to the attention of poeple.
Rex
European nations have collectively banned certain metals from all automotive components and created an International Materials Data System (IMDS) to track components via individual suppliers. We could do the same with China and children (and other’s) products but it would take an act of congress, a strongly voiced leader and a grass roots movement to push it through. I’d sign up for it!
This problem need quick action, because any delay may result in many effect to the health of our kids.As a student of chemistry i know that lead contamination caused mental retardtion and other serious damages.To avoid contamination of lead we must take primary measures to prevent damages to our kids by stopping buying them metal toys.The plastic toys could safer.
its really usefull