Toxic chemicals in toys

Maricar Brizuela wrote an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer and reported the presence of harmful chemicals on a lot of Christmas toys in Metro Manila, Paranaque, Pasay and Quezon City. Now that Christmas is coming and people flock at markets to buy gifts for their friends and nieces, we should be aware and check if these gifts are safe for the children. Children love toys, and when we give them these gifts, our top concern should be their safety rather than the children’s gratification.

This news is not new to us; it was already reported before. There was this news about the traces of lead present in toys from China last 2011 and toys sold in Divisoria last year, with this; we became curious and aware of lead’s harmful effects on children. Thony Dizon (EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect coordinator), as cited in the same article, said that “lead exposure in children via ingestion, inhalation or dermal contact can result in mental retardation, learning difficulties, lower intelligence quotient scores, growth delays and behavioral problems, as well as anemia, hearing loss and kidney injury.”

It is dreadful to imagine that simple toys may have grave impacts on children. I know that after the news about the toys from China containing lead; there was some action from the government to regulate this but how come it happened again? Yes, it may not be toys from the same source but the point is it happened AGAIN. These possibly harmful toys still come to our country in bulk.

Is the government not consistent in regulating this? Are they just active while the issue is at its hype? Probably, yes. If the government could not perform its duty, we, should know how to survey (or simply take a hint) which toys are possibly harmful but we must not be contented. We should aim for a society where its citizens are aware and its government is effective.

It was also mentioned in the article that there was another action done by the health department. It required manufacturers to put warnings in their toys. Now, must we be confident that they have fulfilled their job? No. We must be vigilant and be sure that this lasts unlike the prior action they took when the toys containing led were sold in markets.

Source:

Brizuela, M. (2013, December 1). Toxic chemicals found in toys. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/538457/toxic-chemicals-found-in-toys