Dangerous toys

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Ni Ime Sornito
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A “CHRISTMAS gift to Filipino children of the present and future generations.” This is how EcoWaste Coalition, a non-profit chemical safety watch group, describes the House of Representatives’ unanimous approval of a bill that seeks to protect children from dangerous substances lurking in some toys and other products produced and marketed for children’s use.

The approval of House Bill No. 6702, or the Safe and Non-Hazardous Children Products Act is important. We must safeguard the health and safety of all children from chemical substances that can adversely affect their growth and development.

HB No. 6702 outlaws children’s products containing hazardous chemicals exceeding permissible levels, and places the burden of proof of product safety upon the manufacturers, importers and sellers. Among the chemicals deemed most harmful to children and commonly used in the manufacture of children’s products include toxic metals such as antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury and nickel, phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA).

Children are uniquely susceptible to the negative effects of shoddily-made and chemically-laden toys as their immature bodies and minds are still growing and developing. It is thus the responsibility of toy manufacturers, distributors and vendors, and even individual toy givers, to offer toys that meet quality and safety standards in recognition of the right of children to safe games and toys to play with.

HB No. 6702 “bans the importation, manufacture, distribution and sale of children’s products that contain more than the allowable levels of the chemicals; are banned or withdrawn in the country of manufacture; are found to be injurious, unsafe or dangerous; or are non-compliant with the standards and requirements set by the relevant agencies.”

To curb the unlawful entry of non-compliant products, “imported children’s products shall be allowed entry when accompanied by Certificates of Testing or Analysis of its composition,” and “the Bureau of Customs shall require pertinent clearance or certification from the Food and Drug Administration prior to entry.”

Other key provisions of the bill include the establishment of a Children’s Product Safety Council chaired by the Department of Health and comprised of 10 government agencies and two non-government organizations.

We hope our good senators will follow suit and approve next year the counterpart measure (Senate Bill No. 1084).  The current Congress, we trust, will succeed in getting this law passed to rid the market of harmful children’s products and curb childhood exposure to perilous chemicals in such products.
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