Half a million packages of Vietnamese mosquito coils sold over the past year may contain dioxin concentrations 100 times higher than the industry standard, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
As dioxins are listed by the WHO as carcinogens, the EPA urged consumers to note the manufacturing country before they buy mosquito coils, adding that those who have already purchased Crocodile Coil brand mosquito coils can ask for refunds from the manufacturer.
Analysis of two types of mosquito coils — Crocodile Dye-free Coil (product No. 0661) and Crocodile Light (product No. 0670) — found that they contained 423 and 348 picograms of international toxic equivalent per gram respectively.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
“This is more than 100 times higher than other brands of mosquito coils,” Chang said.
The agency also conducted simulated burning tests that found the products contained 29.2 and 11.8 pg-WHO-TEQ/m² respectively, EPA Deputy Minister Chang Tzi-chin (張子敬) told a press conference.
The unit WHO-TEQ/m² is used by the world health body to standardize toxicity measurements.
While the WHO has not set a maximum for dioxins, Chang said the tests showed the coils posed a risk to humans.
If exposed to these levels in a closed room for two or three months, a person’s risk of developing cancer could increase 3.7-fold, said Yuan Shao-ying (袁紹英), director-general of the Department of Environmental Sanitation and Toxic Substances.
Though the EPA only found about 3,000 units of the products — made on March 14 — Yuan said: “The same products made with the same ingredients by the same factories — a total of about 510,000 cans — have been sold on the market for over a year.”
As this was the first time the EPA found excessive dioxins in mosquito coils, Chang said it would complete a survey of all mosquito coils on the market within two weeks and establish a maximum dioxin content for the products within a month.
To ensure consumer safety, Chang said the EPA had demanded that Crocodile Coil withdraw the products — as well as two other products also made in Vietnam — from store shelves.
Consumers who have purchased these products are entitled to full refunds or exchanges, he said.
Besides inducing lung and liver cancer, excessive exposure to dioxins can cause low sperm count, liver dysfunction, miscarriages and birth defects, said Lin Jie-liang (林杰樑), chief of Chang Gung Medical Foundation Linkou Branch’s department of toxicology.
To prevent excessive inhalation of toxic gas emitted by mosquito coils — which include dioxins and octachlorodipropyl ether — Lin said people should leave their rooms when the coils are burning and fully ventilate the rooms before they go back in.
Lin also urged people not to panic, as the probability of having consumed an unhealthy amount of dioxins was low.
As the daily maximum intake for an adult is 4 picograms per kilogram, a 60kg person can process about 240 picograms of the toxin a day, the mosquito coils’ dioxin level — at 29.2 picograms — is still far from being dangerous, Lin said.
“My recommendation is to eat plenty of fiber to boost metabolism and processing of toxins, and to refrain from a fatty diet, as dioxins are better absorbed in fat,” he said.
In response to the analysis results, Crocodile Coil spokesperson Chen Fu-hsing (陳福星) said his company would fully cooperate with the EPA in terms of withdrawing products and giving refunds, adding that the company would stop importing mosquito coils from the problematic Vietnamese plant.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS