While sleeping on a bamboo mattress might seem like a natural and low-cost way to beat the summer heat, about one in four such products for sale are tainted with formaldehyde and plasticizer, the Consumer Protection Department said at a press conference in Taipei yesterday, when it released the results of random tests on summer mats sold at hypermarkets, bedding shops and online stores.
Of the 38 products tested, one was found to be tainted with plasticizer and nine had average formaldehyde emission levels ranging from 0.748 milligrams per liter (mg/l) to 7.43mg/l — nearly 15 times the legal standard of 0.5mg/l.
A bamboo chair mat from a store in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) was also found to contain plasticizers, including Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and di-n-butyl phthalate, that accounted for 0.998 percent of the total mass, about 10 times the legal limit of 0.1 percent.
Photo: CNA
The department said it has ordered manufacturers to pull the deficient products from the shelves. Companies could face fines ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$1.5 million (US$2,000 to US$50,000) if they fail to comply within a month.
“Long-term exposure to formaldehyde could cause damage to the skin and respiratory system, while plasticizers could increase women’s risk of developing breast cancer or impede male fertility,” senior consumer ombudsman Wang Te-ming (王德明) said.
Wang advised consumers to avoid buying bamboo mats with a pungent, chemical smell, and to wash mats and let them dry in the sun to reduce chemical residues in the products before use.
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