Lead paint, supposedly outlawed, but is that a nationwide statement, or a worldwide statement? When you look at your new watch to find the maker, are you greeted with the common words of ‘made in china’? What about your children’s toys? Dora the explorer, she explored china. Thomas and his friends chugged down the great wall. Barbie strolled through Humen in search of this week’s fashion. Yet, you may take for granted the safety of your child, whilst they have a toy from such origin in their possession. But what does that mean exactly? Maybe the enforcement of America’s imported toy safety should be improved. Even if it’d be an expensive endeavor, the enforcement of product safety laws should be improved, especially for the toys imported from China, because China is making more profit from goods, than we are from them, and the safety of American children is being threatened in the process.
Is China making our children sick? Firstly, considering the topic at hand, the cause for caution is in regards the ‘lead paint’ used to paint the toys imported into America. The regulations of the FHSA [Federal Hazardous Substances Act] states that “The term “hazardous substance” means: Any substance or mixture of substances which is (i) is toxic (ii) is corrosive (iii) is an irritant, (iv) is a strong sensitizer, (v) is flammable or combustible, or (vi) generates pressure through decomposition, heat, or other means” [As sourced by: http://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/105467/fhsa.pdf]. The chemicals found in lead paint are, “as pigment, lead(II) chromate (PbCrO4, "chrome yellow") and lead(II) carbonate(PbCO3, "white lead")” (Kühn).
Enforcement of product safety would be expensive, though it could prove to be more necessary than on...
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Some examples of these measures are more frequent testing, more adequate labeling, and increasing the number of suppliers of particular ingredients. At the same time, people’s consumption of particular products in response to recalls has changed. (Peake 13) In a general sense, people tend to consume less of a particular product once a well-known recall is publicized. This alone should be reason for a company to “step up their game” and insure that food safety is at an all-time
There are many other ways that a child, especially under the age of six can be diagnosed to lead poison besides air pollution. One of the most common ways is when a child eats or chews on an object that has lead based paint chips in or on its surface. Parents can easily prevent this from happening by reading labels or buying objects which are not painted. Another way in a child can be affected is by drinking water that comes from lead pipes.
As noted by Sethi, Veral, Shapiro & Emelianova (2011), the toys’ magnets could easily become lose, and thus posed a huge threat to the safety of the children as they could easily ingest them. Additionally, the toys which were produced were usually covered with lead which does affect the health of the children. The company outsourced the products from China. In this case, Mattel was quick to portray China as the culprit and denied direct involvement in the blunders. However, the company was forced to accept the full responsibility at the end of it after widespread criticism from both China and the media (Sethi, et al.
EPA. (2009, December 29). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from Toxicity and Exposure Assessment for Children's Health: http://www.epa.gov/teach/
Nadine Burke Harris is a former pediatrician who became the founder and CEO of The Youth of Wellness. She is also a Dr. at one of the best private hospitals in northern California, California Pacific Medical Center. Her goal is “to change the standard practice across demographics” (Burke Harris). When it comes to children it is important that we address the issue regardless. In Dr. Burkes’ TED talk she tells us that in the mid 90’s an exposure had been discovered by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente. This exposure in high doses, “it affects brain development, hormonal system, the immune system and even the way that our DNA is read and transcribed. The exposure has been discovered to be a dramatic increase in the risk for seven out of ten leading causes of death in the United States”(Burke Harris). Alternatively, when Dr. Harris opened a clinic in Bayview Hunters-Point; it is to be known as the poorest underserved neighborhoods in San Francisco. Before she opened
The environmental health problems described in this book are that phthalates, PFOA and PCBs are dangerous chemicals. We are exposed to these chemicals on a daily basis and they are common household products and hygienic products. We are also increasing our exposure levels, which can create negative health effects and affect our environment. The magnitude of the problem is enormous. Everybody uses and are exposed these products on a daily basis.
Once used for varying applications, lead is now known for its toxicity in the human body. Dr. Gary Goldstein, the chief executive of Kennedy Krieger Institute wrote, “Exposure to excessive amounts of inorganic lead during toddler years may produce lasting adverse effects upon brain function (Goldstein 1990).” Lead poisoning awareness has become increasingly prevalent in the American government, with lead poisoning testing recommended as early as nine to twelve months of age (Health and Human Services 2011). This paper will explain briefly lead’s history and industrial uses, as well as give an in-depth analysis on lead’s exposure to children and how it affects their developing brains.
The dioxin exposure from agent orange wreaked havoc on the health of our veterans that fought in Vietnam. The Aspen institute reports (as cited by The U.S. Institute of Medicine’s report, 2009) there is “sufficient evidence of association between exposure to Agent Orange/dioxin and five illnesses: soft-tissue sarcoma, non Hodgkin 's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (including hairy-cell leukemia), Hodgkin’s disease, and chloracne.” (pg.1) I was flabbergasted that something this volatile would be allowed in something babies would wear almost every moment of their lives until they were potty trained. Unbelievably, dioxin is not the only thing used to make disposables diapers with a well documented history of negative impacts on human
...the U.S. market to be tested to U.S. standards; 2) standardize procedures that will be used industrywide to verify that products comply with U.S. safety standards; 3) establish criteria to certify that testing laboratories are qualified to perform testing to U.S. standards using industrywide protocols; 4) require the development of testing protocols and certification criteria through the cooperation of all stakeholders and apply them consistently; 5) necessitate that Toy Industry Association work with Congress, Consumer Product Safety Commissions, and American National Standards Institute to implement the legislation, rules, and protocols to ensure industrywide adherence. Both Toys “R” Us and Mattel made testimonies on the incidents as well.
Also, U.S. products are considered not as safe as domestics ones, due to the use
China has approximately 20% of the world’s population, which is around 1.3 billion people (Morris, 2009, p. 111). Also, China has become one of the worlds biggest manufacturing countries within 30 years (Fawssett, 2009, p. 27). However, such rapid development has come at a cost, which has created various environmental problems. Coincidentally, China has 16 cities on a list of the 20 worst polluted cities in the world (Fawssett, 2009, p. 15). Therefore, this essay will explain the reasons for China’s environmental problems, then evaluate the claim that the Chinese government and people, are tackling these environmental problems. First, crop farming techniques over the last hundred years, and their consequences will be explained. Followed by, how peoples choice in food has changed over the last hundred years, and how this indirectly affects the environment. Then, how a capitalist economy is linked to agriculture, and finally what the Chinese government and people are doing to tackle these problems.
Food supply and food safety carry major effects on China, as a country with large amount of population and serious pollution caused by rapid industrialization and urbanization. After the policy of Chinese economic reform in 1978, the country went through a rapid economic and technology growth, as well as booming in population. Because of that, most families now have the ability to get adequate food from market or producing food by themselves (Zhao & Kent, 2004). However on the other side, lots of food safety cases are exposed under this background from the beginning of 21 century. For example, Sudan I red was reported being used in chili sauce and eggs in 2005, baby formula contaminated by melamine, which leaded to 6 babies’ death in 2008, gutter oil found being reused in food in 2010, etc (Food safety incidents in China, 2014).
Symptoms of lead poisoning include loss of appetite, weakness, anemia, vomiting, and convulsions, sometimes leading to permanent brain damage or death. Children who ingest chips of old, lead-containing paint or are exposed to dust from the deterioration of such paint may exhibit symptoms. Levels of environmental lead considered nontoxic may also be involved in increased hypertension in a significant number of persons, according to studies released in the mid-1980s. As a result, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in recent years have been revising downward the levels of environmental lead that it would consider safe.
Nobody wants their child get sick especially when they just born for a few months. As a result, baby food became the biggest food safety problem that can impair most people most family. Be Careful when we are buying powder milk, we all want our babies healthy and happiness. This article told us how China’s food safety problem is serious and how toxic the food is. The government should pay more attention to food safety issues. Kids are the future of this world, if they are live in a toxic world, our country probably becoming nothing. I wish we could eat more healthier and live in a better world. What’s more, we should always be careful and share the information all the time, so that more child could grow up happily and
That is the reason that it is highly susceptible to a huge number of laws and regulations in order to ensure the health and safety of the consumers.