The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday said a survey conducted with the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) showed that 58.3 percent of glow sticks sampled for safety inspections contained exceedingly high amounts of plasticizers and were asked to be removed from shelves.
Foundation chairperson Joann Su (蘇錦霞) said adults and children often hold glow sticks at concerts or festivals, but several accidents have occurred in which the liquid chemical substance inside the glow sticks had splattered peoples’ eyes. Most of these accidents were the result of improper use of the glow sticks — mainly by over bending or twisting the sticks, Su said.
The foundation and the bureau conducted safety inspections on 24 glow stick samples — 20 chemoluminescent glow sticks and four electric glow sticks — that were purchased in April.
Photo: CNA
Su said 58.3 percent of glow stick samples (14 items) were found to contain exceedingly high amounts of plasticizers, 50 percent (12 items) were found without the product safety mark, 58.3 percent (14 items) were found with Chinese-character labels that fell below the required standards.
Based on Chinese National Standard 4797 for the regulation of toys, the eight permissible plasticizers, including six Phthalate Esters (PAE), may not exceed 0.1 percent of an item’s weight.
However, the survey found that in one of the chemoluminescent glow sticks, the plasticizer di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) made up to about 44.85 percent of its weight, or 448.5 times the standard limit.
BSMI Deputy Director-General Chuang Su-chin (莊素琴) said the bureau had demanded that all sub-standard glow sticks be removed from store shelves, adding that manufacturers and importers would be fined between NT$100,000 (US$3,327) and NT$2 million if improvements are not made.
Moreover, manufacturers or importers of glow sticks who fail to display a product safety mark may face a fine of between NT$100,000 and NT$1 million if no improvements are made, Chuang said, adding that the bureau had also asked companies to improve labels that displayed insufficient information, such as the company name or origin.
“PAEs are endocrine disrupting chemicals and may cause imbalances in a child’s hormonal system, the feminization of men and an increased rate of breast cancer for women,” BSMI senior specialist Lai Chun-chieh (賴俊杰) said.
In addition, Lai said three sampled items were found to be physically unsafe for small children, meaning that they contained small objects that are easily detachable and may be accidentally swallowed.
Chuang urged consumers to read the labels and product safety remarks on glow stick packaging before purchasing them, advised purchasers to refrain from breaking the sticks or otherwise exposing the liquid chemical substances inside and said they should wash their hands thoroughly after using glow sticks.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
RSS