About two out of every five children’s plastic watches sold in Taiwan contain an excessive amount of plasticizer that could pose a health risk, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection’s (BSMI) latest investigation showed.
The bureau inspected 12 types of children’s watches sold at hypermarkets, toy stores and retail outlets across the country and found that five contained plasticizer at amounts exceeding the legal limits.
The bureau said product safety standards do not allow for plasticizer chemicals making up more than 0.1 percent of product mass, but the substandard plastic watches contained such chemicals in excess of this amount, with one Maxima brand watch containing 20.56 percent of plasticizers by mass.
Photo: CNA
The maker of the Maxima watch was also guilty of other product violations, including not having a proper product label indicating country of origin or the manufacturer’s name and address, and its product labels were not translated into Chinese.
A China-manufactured Casio watch also tested positive for plasticizer chemicals at 1.02 percent on its plastic watchstrap, despite costing NT$700.
BSMI deputy director-general Huang Lai-ho (黃來和) said watches that contain excessive amounts of plasticizers could be dangerous for children, who might put the plastic watchstraps in their mouth.
“Plasticizer chemicals could be absorbed through the skin when children wear the watch or enter the body if they put the watch in their mouths,” Huang said.
Plasticizers, or phthalate esters, contain environmental hormones that act as endocrine disruptors. The substances can potentially damage the liver and kidneys, cause men to develop female traits and increase the risk of breast cancer in women, the bureau said.
The bureau has ordered all substandard watches to be removed from store shelves and called for product improvements to be made, with fines of up to NT$200,000 for those who fail to comply.
It also urged parents to only buy watches that are properly labeled and teach children not to put plastic watches in their mouths.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS