Organic halides were detected in about 85 percent of the mobile-device charging cables tested by the Taiwan Watch Institute, the non-governmental organization said on Wednesday.
The Beilstein test was conducted on the outer cladding and inner insulation layers of 74 charging cables it purchased online or collected from the public, the institute said.
Out of the 74 cables, the outer cladding of 63, or 85 percent, and the inner insulation layers of 28, or 38 percent, had positive reactions, it said.
Photo: Liu Li-jen, Taipei Times
The institute also tested earphones and found that 12 out of 42, or 29 percent, reacted positively to the test, it said.
Positive reactions to the test indicate the presence of organic halides and a 90 percent chance that the cable is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), it said.
While many manufacturers claim that they have complied with the EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, the directive does not restrict the use of PVC, the institute said.
Of the cables tested, 31 had RoHS compliance labels, while only three of the 31 tested negatively for the presence of organic halides, it said.
Organic halides were also detected in one out of 14 earphones with RoHS compliance labels, it added.
Seven out of nine charging cables with the Apple Inc MFi — Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad — certification label that were tested also produced positive Beilstein tests, it said.
PVC is the “most toxic” of all plastics, institute secretary-general Hsieh Ho-lin (謝和霖) said.
Not only does the production of PVC create carcinogens, but users can also be exposed to plasticizers, he said.
Dioxins are released when PVC is burned, he added.
The Environmental Protection Administration should ban the use of PVC in electronic products in favor of alternative materials, Hsieh said.
Consumers should choose electronic products that do not contain PVC, he added.
Department of Waste Management Director-General Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) said that the Environmental Protection Administration would discuss with the Ministry of Economic Affairs whether to establish national standards for cables.
The department would decide whether to ban or restrict the use of PVC if appropriate alternative materials could be found, she said.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Protection Committee and the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection on Wednesday released a report on the quality of baby cribs available on the market.
More than 90 percent of the 12 baby cribs inspected failed quality standards and 75 percent did not have the required labeling, the bureau said.
“Expensive baby cribs are not necessarily the best baby cribs,” committee official Wang Te-ming (王德明) said.
A branded baby crib costing NT$5,800 failed both the quality and labeling inspections, Wang said.
The SOLGUL crib sold at IKEA for NT$2,995 was the only crib tested that passed both inspections, he added.
The bureau said that it has already asked businesses to remove the products that failed the tests from their shelves.
Since the inspection failure rate was “too high,” the bureau is considering subjecting baby cribs to mandatory inspections, it said.
It is expected to announce a decision in November and begin mandatory inspections of cribs in July or August next year at the earliest, it added.
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