Yes, Christmas is for children — and the child in all of us. For sure, the toys’ sections of department stores and toy stores will be the busiest. But before you buy that toy for your kid, your niece/nephew, grandchild or godchild (or all of the above), ask yourself this all-important question: Is it safe?
As a precautionary awareness drive for the annual Christmas shopping rush, waste and pollution watchdog Ecowaste Coalition recently kicked off its AlerToxic Day campaign in the streets of Baclaran, on the borders of Parañaque City and Pasay City.
The pre-Christmas “AlerToxic Day” drew attention to the pressing need to rethink the usual toys we buy as gifts for children, that may insidiously harbor lead (Pb), a neurotoxicant that affects both children and adults.
To dramatize their cause, members of EcoWaste Coalition, led by “Santa Claus,” and volunteers were dressed as gift boxes marked with this reminder, “Is it safe?” They traipsed through the busy streets of Baclaran, telling everyone to choose only safe and non-toxic presents to give this Christmas.
Paeng Lopez, coordinator of EcoWaste’s campaign to phase out lead in paints, pleads, “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.”
A major environmental health hazard, exposure to lead can have a wide range of effects on a child’s development and behavior. Exposed to even small amounts of lead, children may appear inattentive, hyperactive, and irritable. Children exposed to greater lead levels may suffer from learning and reading problems, delayed growth, and loss of hearing.
Lead is also known to adversely affect the kidney, gastrointestinal system, and the immune system. Lead exposure may also lead to miscarriage for pregnant women and disorders in sperm production for men. For older people, it can increase blood pressure and cause anemia. Chronic exposure leads to mental retardation, coma, convulsions, and even death.
Lopez stresses, “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.”
According to Lopez, when buying gifts, it should be second instinct for us to check the label to ensure that what we are about to buy are free from lead or other harmful ingredients.
The Coalition urged the Department of Health and the Department of Trade and Industry to proactively safeguard consumers from hazardous products by conducting regular tests for toys and other items sold on the local market and recall those that put the health and safety of children at risk. Lopez suggests that together, the DoH and DTI should come up with an annual list of products that are detrimental to children’s health and safety and thus, must never find their way here. And they should do so before the start of the holiday shopping rush (which is just about now).
The United States Consumer Product and Safety Commission has been regularly ordering the recall of items containing excessive lead. Recently, the Center for Environmental Health in the US tested about 250 children’s products bought at major retailers and found lead levels that exceeded federal limits in seven of them.
Among those with high lead levels: a Barbie Bike Flair Accessory Kit and a Disney Tinkerbell Water Lily necklace. It 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.
Lead us not into temptation and deliver our children from lead.
source: philstar
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