Despite the toxic toys and melamine-tainted milk powder controversies the last few years, there are still safety issues in China. A larger portion of children’s clothing and furniture were found contaminated according to Chinese government.
A government inspection in Guangdong, the southern province in China and one of its manufacturing centers, found a significant portion of the children’s clothing and furniture are tainted and failed the government’s safety standards.
The officials found many of the items contain excessive amounts of harmful chemicals according to newspaper,
China Daily.
Lin Ruixu, a spokesman for the Guangdong government’s quality watchdog, which conducted the tests, told the China Daily:
“The main reason for the excessive content of formaldehyde and heavy metals is the use of substandard raw materials and paints.”
The officials tested 60 pieces of clothing and found only 31 of them were safe for children to wear. Some of the clothing items contained an excessive amount of formaldehyde exceeding the legal limits. Some items reported false information in the raw materials used.
The testing of furniture showed even worse results, nearly 68 percent of the furniture tested contained excess levels of formaldehyde and heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and chromium. Some of the furniture had mechanical flaws in them.
Formaldehyde a widely used chemical in the industries, is a known carcinogen and can cause adverse reactions in some people.
The only bright news from the inspection was the results on toys, which were found safe in 95 percent of the toys tested.
I hope Wal-Mart and others importing clothing, furniture and toys do their own testing to make sure they are safe for everyone.
