CITY OF MALOLOS — As the Christmas Season is fast approaching, BAN Toxics is set to monitor toy samples being sold in Bulacan for its lead content.
Thony Dizon, advocacy and campaign officer of BAN Toxics said that their group has been actively monitoring toy samples being sold in the market for its lead content since September this year.
Among the toy samples, worth P50 to P150 that the group have been testing for its lead contents were playsets, dolls, toy cars, and animal figurines that were being sold by vendors in Baclaran, Pasay City and other public markets in Metro Manila.
Dizon said, their group used a Vanta C Series XRF Analyzer in testing 215 toy samples that were all found to contain lead levels ranging from 100 parts per million (ppm) to as high as 6,000 ppm.
He said these toys exceeded regulatory limits, violating DAO 2013-24, or the DENR Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds, which prohibits the use of lead in toy production and sale.
As these developed, the group will subject toy samples randomly picked and sold by vendors in Bulacan for its lead content in the coming days, Dizon noted.
He pointed out that the World Health Organization has identified lead poisoning as a major global health concern, particularly for young children who absorb four to five times more lead than adults due to their frequent hand-to-mouth behaviors and natural curiosity.
Dizon added that children are at higher risk of ingesting lead from contaminated dust, soil, and paint that can have irreversible and sometimes fatal consequences, including lower IQ, learning difficulties, behavioral disorders, developmental delays, anaemia, kidney damage, heart disease, and even death in severe cases.
