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Shenzhen, China While many parts of the world are still in throes of COVID-19, many Chinese schools have been resuming classes as the epidemic looses its grip on China. For Chinese parents, however, aside from the deadly pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus, they may have to have at least one more concern for their children - the eraser.
As Shenzhen-headquartered NGO Toxics-Free Corps found in a recent investigation, many of the erasers in the market on Chinese mainland contain toxic substances that could pose potential hazards to children’s health.
The collected eraser samples come from the three E-commerce platforms including Taobao, Jingdong and Pinduoduo, as well as the on-site purchase of offline stores, with a total of 86 items, involving 33 well-known stationery brands.
Among 62 erasers the NGO sent for testing, 21 were found containing phthalic acid esters (PAEs), a kind of plasticizer. Moreover, the content of the substance in 18 of sampled erasers go beyond a well-known voluntary standard issued by China Stationery & Sporting Goods Association, the NGO said.
In one of the erasers, the content is 913 times higher than the standard, it added.
