(Gotebörg, Sweden) High levels of toxic substances have been found in over 60% of children’s toys tested in a recent analysis of toxic heavy metals and chemicals in toys on the market in Nepal. The study, released on the anniversary of the passage of Nepal’s 2017 regulatory standard on toxic substances in children’s products, a law that industry lobbyists are currently working to weaken, underscores the need for greater enforcement of the strong regulation. The study was conducted by CEPHED, a Nepalese public interest NGO, and IPEN, a global network of public interest health and environment NGOs.
This report relates to Sustainable Development Goals 3 & 12.
Special thanks to IPEN's South Asia Regional Coordinator Tripti Arora and Regional Hub Toxics Link for their important contributions to the development and finalization of the project.
IPEN Participating organization, Toxics Link has released a new report titled, Endocrine Disruptor: Review of Indian Research.
The report is intended to collect information on some of the Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) that are used in the making of consumer products, as well as their impacts on human and environmental health, based on the research studies carried out in Indian context and general information from other international sources. The report is intended to spread awareness among consumers and encourage researchers to seek new information and make it available in the public domain. For policymakers, this report will help to take appropriate actions to create or modify regulations on the sound management of these EDCs in order to protect public and environmental health.
In Cameroon, plastic bottles, plastic bags, old rubber tyres, end of lives energy saving bulbs, and glass thermometers are frequently and carelessly dumped either on unused land or in water ways, with the risk of transportation to other waterbodies such as lakes or rivers. To eliminate this visual pollution, people living near these spontaneous dumping sites often turn to open burning of waste, with consequences for both ecosystems and human health.
