An environmental watchdog has offered tips to parents shopping for raincoats for their children after finding cadmium, a toxic chemical, in some samples bought from stores in Metro Manila.
As part of its ongoing campaign to promote children’s health and safety, the EcoWaste Coalition recently investigated common school materials, particularly plastic raincoats for kids.
It said it bought raincoats costing P39 to P250 each from retail stores in Caloocan, Las Piñas and Pasay cities. Armed with an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) device, it then screened the items for cadmium, which found that four of 12 raincoats tested positive for the chemical at levels exceeding European Union safety standards. The EU limit for cadmium in plastics is 100 parts per million (ppm).
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