{"id":70615,"date":"2016-02-13T10:11:30","date_gmt":"2016-02-13T15:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=70615"},"modified":"2016-02-13T10:11:30","modified_gmt":"2016-02-13T15:11:30","slug":"watchdog-finds-toxic-lead-in-valentine-cups-mugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2016\/02\/13\/watchdog-finds-toxic-lead-in-valentine-cups-mugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Watchdog finds toxic lead in Valentine cups, mugs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/mugs-642113_1280.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-43765\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43765\" src=\"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/mugs-642113_1280.jpg\" alt=\"mugs-642113_1280\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/mugs-642113_1280.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/mugs-642113_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/mugs-642113_1280-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/mugs-642113_1280-900x600.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>MANILA\u2014The EcoWaste Coalition, a watchdog group on hazardous chemicals in products and wastes, cautioned the public from buying toxic cups and mugs as Valentine gifts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLove-struck Pinoys should steer clear of gifts that are laden with chemicals that can harm human health,\u201d said Thony Dizon, EcoWaste Coalition\u2019s Project Protect coordinator.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeaded glazes and paints on love-themed cups and mugs are of particular concern because of their availability not only on Valentine\u2019s Day but almost all-year-round,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Information obtained from the website of Australia\u2019s Department of the Environment states that \u201clead used in ceramic glazes or in decorative paints covering the surface of ceramics can be a health hazard for potters, and for people using their products.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is because the lead can get into food and drink prepared, stored or served in the crockery,\u201d it explained.<\/p>\n<p>Dizon warned that lead is a potent neurotoxin that can interfere with the normal development of the brain and the central nervous system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLead builds up in the human body, so even low levels of exposure can pose health risks over time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated \u201cthere is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The EcoWaste Coalition group aired its latest toxics warning after finding high levels of lead in 22 out 23 samples of cups and mugs in the range of 1,028 to 31,900 parts per million (ppm), way above the 90 ppm limit for lead in decorative paints.<\/p>\n<p>The lone sample that passed the lead limit had 2,147 ppm of cadmium, a carcinogenic substance.<\/p>\n<p>The samples were procured from street vendors and retail shops in Manila and Quezon Cities from PHP20 to PHP108 each and were screened for toxic metals using a handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device.<\/p>\n<p>Both lead and cadmium are listed in the WHO\u2019s \u201ctop 10 chemicals of major public health concern.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Listed below are some of the samples with the highest lead levels:<\/p>\n<p>A mug with the text \u201cCrazy Love\u201d had 31,900 ppm lead<\/p>\n<p>A mug with the words &#8220;fantastic friend&#8221; had 21,000 ppm lead<\/p>\n<p>A glass mug with \u201cI love you\u201d had 14,500 ppm lead<\/p>\n<p>A mug with multi-color heart design had 13,900 ppm<\/p>\n<p>A \u201cHello Kitty\u201d mug with hearts had 11,200 ppm lead<\/p>\n<p>A mug with the note \u201cit\u2019s not my feet but my heart that always bring me to you\u201d had 8,468 ppm lead<\/p>\n<p>A mug that says \u201cWorld\u2019s Best Lover\u201d had 8,278 ppm lead<\/p>\n<p>A mug with the word \u201ckiss\u201d had 7,582 ppm lead<\/p>\n<p>A mug with the message \u201clet your heart show the way\u201d had 6,621 ppm lead<\/p>\n<p>A mug that says \u201cI love you\u201d with a free teddy bear had 5.612 ppm lead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MANILA\u2014The EcoWaste Coalition, a watchdog group on hazardous chemicals in products and wastes, cautioned the public from buying toxic cups &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":43765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-70615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-original","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}