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VietNamNet Bridge – The General Department of Qualification, Standards and Measurement has warned consumers of Chinese-sourced glasses in Vietnam which contain toxic chemicals. .
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Multicolored glasses depicting cartoon characters are popular among children and were sold for VND45,000-VND70,000 (US$2.25-3.5) each.
The ratio of samples that contain high contents of lead and toxic chemicals is very high. In the southern province of An Giang all ten samples collected from ten supermarkets contain lead levels of 1.2-8.3 times more than the permitted level.
Traders and consumers are recommended to not trade or use this kind of glasses.
Local quality measurement agencies are instructed to collaborate with relevant agencies to control the spread of these products.
After the agency gave the warning, most supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City have stopped selling the products.
The drinking glasses printed with cartoon characters were found to be contaminated with lead that is thousands of times higher than safety limits.
Scientists have long proved that heavy metals like lead or catmi can cause damage to the brain, kidney and bone, and that at certain high levels, they can cause cancer.
In November 2010, US scientists have found excessive lead in glasses with images of cartoon characters bearing different famous brands.
A recent scientific research conducted by ToyTestingLab, a US-based laboratory, shows that lead content in such glasses sold in the US was 1,000 times higher than the federal limit.
They also contained some heavy metals with contents being 16-30% higher than the levels that medical experts said could be harmful to children’s intelligence development. Most of the glasses were made in China, according to the research.
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