News Articles
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October 26, 2005
PVC Wrap Contains Harmful Chemical
CRIENGLISH.com
China's quality watchdog Tuesday announced the result of their inspection towards PVC cling film on the Chinese market, saying that some kinds of the inspected PVC product contain an already banned chemical which would do harm to human body. This warning message makes the public think more about the reason behind it, such as PVC exporters in Japan or South Korea not using the product themselves. Our Shanghai correspondent Xiaoyu finds out more.

The long-awaited inspection was first initiated by enormous public concerns when some media reported that a chemical in the wrap would lead to cancer.

October 25, 2005
Wal-Mart calls for minimum wage hike [and phasing out of PVC]
CEO Lee Scott tells executives he's urging congressional action in a bid to help 'working families.'
CNN/Money
- Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said he's urging Congress to consider raising the minimum wage so that Wal-Mart customers don't have to struggle paycheck to paycheck. Scott told Wal-Martdirectors and executives in a speech Monday that he believes "it is time for Congress to take a look at the minimum wage and other legislation that can help working families." "The U.S. minimum wage of $5.15 an hour has not been raised in nearly a decade and we believe it is out of date with the times," Scott said. "We can see first-hand at Wal-Mart how many of our customers are struggling to get by. Our customers simply don't have the money to buy basic necessities between pay checks."

October 20, 2005
POPs kill 5 million children a year. Lead causes neurological damage to millions of others
ANSA (Italian newspaper)
Rome, - Toxic pollutants kill at least five million children each year around the world and another 18 million suffer neurological damage because of lead poisoning, according to a top official with the World Health Organisation.  "An estimated 40% of the diseases in the world linked to environmental problems affect children below the age of five. Some five million young victims are felled each year," WHO's Deputy Director of Health and Environment Roberto Bertollini told Italy's Panda magazine

October 20, 2005
Wal-Mart goes more eco-friendly
The retail giant is leading a switch from petroleum-based plastic packaging to corn-based. High oil prices are at the root.
By Harold Brubaker, Inquirer Staff Writer
Wal-Mart is going green.The retail giant, which is also the nation's largest grocery seller, is beginning to switch from petroleum-based to corn-based plastic packaging.The first substitution, starting Nov. 1, involves 114 million clear-plastic clamshell containers used annually by the retailer for cut fruit, herbs, strawberries and brussels sprouts, Wal-Mart executive Matt Kistler said yesterday at a conference in Philadelphia.

October 15, 2005
PVC wrap makers reject safety allegations
By Guan Xiaofeng (China Daily)
Some plastic food wraps used in China are toxic and could lead to cancer, according to a quality inspection official in Beijing. However, a spokesman for a manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wrap said that consumers are at risk only if the food under the wrap is cooked or reheated by a microwave oven. The wrap, or cling-film, is not sold directly to consumers but is used by many supermarkets, he said. "The plasticizer used to make PVC wraps contains a chemical that could migrate into food," Weng Yunxuan, director of the National Centre for Quality Supervision and Test of Plastic Products, told Shanghai-based daily China Business News. "Fatty foods are especially able to absorb the chemical." Weng said the chemical, known as DEHA, could result in endocrine dysfunction and cause cancer. Attempts to reach Weng on Friday were unsuccessful. However, one of the wrap's manufacturers said they are safe if used properly. "Such a statement is unfair," said Wang Zhihong, spokesman for the Shanghai Gunze Extruded Plastic Products Co Ltd, a Sino-Japanese joint venture that produces 2,000 tons of PVC food wrap per year. Wang cautioned that PVC wrap should not be used to package fatty food, cooked food or heated food. Neither should it be put into a microwave oven. "It is quite safe if you use PVC on unprocessed foods such as vegetable and meat." Wang said. "We've done our best to tell our clients to use PVC wraps properly, but we cannot guarantee that all our products are used safely." Wang said ordinary consumers cannot buy PVC wrap in supermarkets for home use. It is sold only to big stores or supermarkets.

October 13, 2005
Toxic chemicals found in some children's toys
Bay City News Service

October 7, 2005
11 hurt in plastics plant explosion
Cause of accident at Formosa facility in South Texas is unknown
Dina Cappiello and Eric Hanson, Houston Chronicle
In an increasingly familiar scene along the Texas coast, black smoke and flames streamed from a Point Comfort industrial plant Thursday, following an explosion that injured at least 11 workers. Two workers were taken to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.  Roger Green, 30, was in serious condition with burns over 36 percent of his body. John Hunt, 45, had burns on his arms and was listed in fair condition. The other injured workers were treated and released, according to Rob Thibault, a spokesman for the plant's operator, Formosa Plastics Corp. The blast at the Formosa  plant was the third to strike a Texas industrial facility this year and the second to hit one of the Taiwan-based company's U.S. facilities in 17 months.

October 4, 2005
From an Ingredient In Cosmetics, Toys, A Safety Concern
Male Reproductive Development Is Issue With Phthalates, Used in Host of Products;  Europe, Japan Restrict Them
Peter Waldman, Wall Street Journal
In the 12th week of a human pregnancy, the momentous event of gender formation begins, as X and Y chromosomes trigger biochemical reactions that shape male or female organs. Estrogens carry the process forward in girls, while in boys, male hormones called androgens do.  Now scientists have indications the process may be influenced from beyond the womb, raising a fresh debate over industrial chemicals and safety. In rodent experiments, common chemicals called phthalates, used in a wide variety of products from toys to cosmetics to pills, can block the action of fetal androgens.   The result is what scientists call demasculinized effects in male offspring, ranging from undescended testes at birth to low sperm counts and benign testicular tumors later in life. "Phthalate syndrome," researchers call it.

October 1, 2005
Signal, Santa Clarita Valley, CAEPA Confirms Toxins at Keysor:
Groundwater and soil at site of former plastics maker found to be contaminated.
By Adam Clark Signal
After years of investigations and legal proceedings dating back to the late 1990s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finally confirmed its long-held suspicion that the soil and groundwater surrounding the old Keysor-Century Corp. site in Saugus is filled with toxins.    "We put in five groundwater-monitoring wells and took 60 samples of the soil," said Matt Mitguard, the site manager for the EPA."We found elevated levels of contamination, vinyl chloride and something called dichloroethene. In the soil we found similar kinds of things."

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