‘Beware of lead-tainted rat figurines’

MANILA, Philippines — An environmental group warned yesterday that it has found lead, a hazardous chemical, in a number of decorative rat figurines on sale in Manila for the Chinese New Year of the Metal Rat.

EcoWaste Coalition purchased 11 rat figurines from retailers in Binondo and Quiapo ranging from P100 to P200 per set and had them screened for lead using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) device.

Some of the items had a presence of lead, which is a heavy metal banned in paint formulations, at a toxic level.

“While five of the samples are luckily negative for lead content, six had lead above the regulatory limit of 90 parts per million (ppm),” said Thony Dizon, chemical safety campaigner of EcoWaste.

Out of the 11 samples, the group detected lead ranging from 874 to 3,798 ppm in six samples. None of the 11 samples had product labeling information, and none of the lead-painted ones provided any lead hazard warning.

“These adorable items can easily pass for toys, so it’s very important to ensure that such items are guaranteed lead-safe,” Dizon said.

A child can be exposed to lead when she or he plays with a lead-coated item, bites it and ingests the lead.