One out of 10 drinking water faucets failed a government safety inspection, as it was found that the device contained an excessive amount of lead, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) said on Thursday.
The 10 faucets were purchased online or at local stores from April 7 to May 6 last year, the bureau and the Consumers’ Foundation, which jointly conducted the inspection, told a news conference in Taipei.
Inspectors tested the levels of heavy metals in the faucets and found that parts of one of them — a two-way kitchen faucet from the Lolat brand — was more than 0.25 percent lead by weight, Consumers’ Foundation Secretary-General Hsu Tse-yu (徐則鈺) said.
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
Four other products were found to be improperly labeled, he added.
BSMI section chief Wang Chun-chao (王俊超) said that that vendors have been ordered to remove the Lolat faucet from shelves.
The manufacturers of the four improperly labeled faucets were ordered to change the packaging or would be fined up to NT$1 million (US$35,778) in accordance with the Commodity Inspection Act (商品檢驗法), Wang added.
People who have the Lolat faucet installed should contact the manufacturer as soon as possible, Wang said.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to lead poses a health risk especially to fetuses and young children.
Children who are exposed to even low levels of lead might sustain damage to their central and peripheral nervous system, which might lead to learning disabilities, shorter stature and impaired hearing, and affect the formation and functioning of blood cells, the US agency said.
The BSMI has since 2017 conducted inspections of drinking water faucets, the bureau said.
The materials used in such faucets must contain less than 0.25 percent lead by weight, and water from the faucets must not contain more than 5 parts per billion of lead, the bureau said.
The packaging of drinking water faucets should feature a “lead free” label and contain information that water from the devices is drinkable, it said.
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