Some souvenir products pose risks – group

CEBU, Philippines - Ecowaste Coalition declared that some souvenir products that local and foreign tourists get from gift stores as a token of their visit may pose health or safety risk.

The coalition, an environmental watchdog promoting zero waste and chemical safety, said they found that 100 of 127 popular souvenir items sold in the cities of Baguio, Davao, Manila and Cebu have toxic chemicals, including lead, a developmental and reproductive toxin.

“Lead in souvenir products, which can be traced from the use of lead-containing paint represents a health hazard,” said Thony Dizon, coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect in a statement sent to The Freeman.

Considered by the World Health Organization as one of the “ten chemicals of major public health concern,” lead and its compounds can cause irreversible brain and nervous system damage, reduced intelligence, learning disabilities and behavioral problems.

The group’s latest probe on chemicals in souvenir products was spurred by its discovery of hazardous levels of lead in toy ukuleles, which are among Cebu’s iconic souvenirs.

Since no government agency seemed to be looking into the presence of hazardous substances in souvenir items, the EcoWaste Coalition widened its investigation to include other affordable memento sold to tourists.

From July 22 to 31, the group bought a total of 127 souvenir articles from gift stores catering to tourists in the cities of Baguio (25 samples), Cebu (34 samples), Davao (43 samples) and Manila (25 samples) and had these analyzed for heavy metals.

Measurements were performed using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, a device routinely used for metal detection in consumer products and other items.

The samples include souvenir ballpens, cellphone trinkets, coin purses, fridge magnets, key chains, pen or pencil holders, shot glasses, toy ukuleles and wall decors sold for P7.50 to P180 each.

The EcoWaste Coalition’s investigation showed that 79% of their samples contain one or more toxic metals such as antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury.

Other samples (27) had low or non-detectable levels of lead and other harmful chemicals, indicating the availability of non-toxic souvenirs while 93 samples had lead above the US limit of 90 parts per million (ppm) for lead in paints and surface coatings.

None of the samples had information about their chemical ingredients, and none provided any precautionary warnings. None of the samples had complete product labels.

Given the above results, the coalition appealed to souvenir makers to switch to unleaded paint for creative crafts that tourists can safely bring home as well as to properly label their products to help consumers make informed decisions.

The group urges the government to prohibit the use of lead and other toxic metals in souvenir products and to conduct a public information drive about the risks posed by harmful chemicals in souvenirs and the benefits of transitioning to non-toxic materials. (FREEMAN)