Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Chemical-tainted stationery put children’s lives at risk

- &Ј ¡˪ϓ͓˪π˪ ̧̌ЈЀ̒ͮ͘π̧ͽ˪ Additional reporting by Shelton Hettiarach­chi in Nuwara Eliya

Low-quality, cheap stationery imported in violation of prescribed standards is placing the lives and health of children at risk.

Retailer shops are flooded with less expensive, substandar­d school stationery and plastics which are commonly used by school and preschool children, said Dr. Mahinda Wickramara­chchi, head of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital’s (LRH) quality control unit.

The items include lead pencils, colour pencils and a variety of plastic water bottles and lunch boxes. Following complaints from parents regarding the quality of these goods, the LRH did a study which revealed that the materials posed a danger to children’s lives, and most items contained heavy metals, Dr. Wickramara­chchi said.

Besides Sri Lanka Standards Institutio­n (SLSI) guidelines, there are health standards for such products, he pointed out. This includes the internatio­nal standard EN71-3 for children’s stationery and toys, requiring them to use colours free of heavy metals.

Children often ingest or bite the ends of pencils, thereby causing toxic chemicals or heavy metals to be absorbed, Dr. Wickramara­chchi said.

Most plastic products could release chemicals that can mimic the oestrogen hormone leading to changes in cell proliferat­ion and increasing three-fold the risk of developing breast cancer. Some should be used sparingly with food and drink while others must not be placed in the microwave.

Product certificat­ion compliance should not be taken for granted when importing products. However Sri Lanka lacks any control or separate regulation­s to monitor importatio­n of plastics.

Parents must be careful when buying water bottles and must check for “Standard 05”— the relevant guideline for food or water carriers. The same applies to stationery. Glass is deemed chemically safer than plastic as it does not leach harmful substances into food or water. Glass bottles covered with portable neoprene bottle sleeves have been encouraged as suitable for indoor and outdoor use.

Stainless steel is the most durable, eco-friendly and cost-effective option with zero potential health hazards, said Dr. Inoka Suraweera, consultant community physician.

Storing hot food in plastics may inadverten­tly expose a meal to potentiall­y harmful chemicals. Allowing the food to cool down before transferri­ng it to a plastic container and using a receptacle that is specifical­ly designed for hot food is ideal.

Bisphenol A, commonly called BPA, is an unsafe toxin found in plasticwar­e which can potentiall­y cause cancer in children over time. Dr. Suraweera urges parents to check which products are BPA-free by looking for the number stamped on the bottom. “There are seven categories,” she said. “Numbers one to six are BPA-free. Those with a number seven contain the chemical.”

The sale of substandar­d stationery disproport­ionately impacts lowincome groups, extending beyond city limits, said Ranjith Vithanage, chairman of National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection. If products don’t meet required standards, they must be re-exported, he insisted.

The Government must introduce a price cap for better quality plastic items that are now sold at high prices, proposed Kotahena Central College Principal Mohan Parakrama Weerasingh­e.

There was scant concern being displayed for school education, said Joseph Stalin, general secretary of Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU). Parents are not only struggling to feed their children, but are also burdened with the spiralling cost of all school goods and uniforms. He called for a stationery management system to cut waste.

The Central Environmen­tal Authority has introduced ‘extended producer responsibi­lity’ (EPR) that prevails on manufactur­ers to take responsibi­lity for their products’ environmen­tal and health impacts during the latter stages of their life cycle, once they are in the hands of consumers. Producers are also encouraged to design items with minimal negative effects, said Director General Hemantha Jayasinghe.

On the directives of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environmen­t, Natural Resources and Sustainabl­e Developmen­t, the CEA intends to set up a plastics center. The scheme, funded by the Japan Internatio­nal Cooperatio­n Agency (JICA), will assist in waste management.

“Product certificat­ion compliance should not be taken for granted when importing products,” Mr. Jayasinghe stressed. “However Sri Lanka lacks any control or separate regulation­s to monitor importatio­n of plastics.”

The CEA intends to mandate EPR certificat­ion for importers and to establish a centralise­d registrati­on portal to promote strict compliance,” he said.

Meanwhile, with the start of the annual Sri Pada pilgrimage season, the Nuwara Eliya District Secretary Nandana Galabada has prohibited people from taking plastic and polythene on to the mountain. The sale of these items is banned in hotels and shops from Udamaluwa to Nallathann­iya and devotees have been urged to do everything to preserve the ecological­ly sensitive forest area around the site for future generation­s.

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 ?? ?? The market is flooded with substandar­d school stationery plastics items commonly used by school and preschool children. Pix by Eshan Fernando
The market is flooded with substandar­d school stationery plastics items commonly used by school and preschool children. Pix by Eshan Fernando

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