This study target common school supplies, testing 25 samples of school supplies in addition to the 435 children’s products from Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Davao, for toxic heavy metals. Lead was detected in 15 of the 25 samples (60%) with levels ranging from 96 parts per million (ppm) up to 14,100 ppm. The US threshold limit for lead is 90 ppm under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
The top five samples that registered the highest lead contents include: 1) a yellow PVC Tweety raincoat (14,100 ppm of lead), 2) a light yellow PVC Tazmanian Devil raincoat (4,741 ppm), 3) a green Spiderman backpack with lunch bag (2,852 ppm), 4) a yellow Spongebob shoulder bag (2,478 ppm) and 5) a yellow Spongebob pencil case (1,561 ppm).
School Supplies with Toxic Chemicals
Spongebob: Yellow Pencil Case with spongebob design
Lead : 1561 Arsenic: 128 Chromium: 783
Disney School Tools: Different school supplies: notebook, pencil case, crayons
Lead : 813
Racing: Pencil Case (Can)
Lead : 763
Barbie: Round-type pencil case in can with barbie design and pencil sharpener
Lead : 1040
Looney Tunes Children Rainwear: Yellow tweety rainwear
Lead : 14100 Arsenic: 278 Chromium: 3679
Looney Tunes Children Rainwear: Yellow Tazmania rainwear
Lead : 4741 Arsenic: 55 Chromium: 858
Mickey Mouse Pencil Case: Leather design mickey mouse pencil case in can
Lead : 822 Chromium: 4026
Fashion Jewelry : Yellow Monkey design key chain
Arsenic: 35
Winnie d Pooh Pencil Case (yellow): Yellow Winnie the Pooh Pencil Case
Cadmium : 85 Antimony: 74
Mickey mouse pencil case (can): Yellow mickey mouse pencil case (can)
Lead : 922
Ben 10 Alien Force Backpack: Green small Ben 10 backpack
Lead : 386 Arsenic: 51.7
Winnie the Pooh small backpack: Small yellow backpack with Winnie the Pooh design
Lead : 537 Arsenic: 48.1
Elmo Carry bag: Small Elmo design Carry Bag
Lead : 95.7
Spongebob Shoulder Bag: Yellow Spongebob design Shoulder Bag
Lead : 2478 Chromium: 184
Superman bag (small bag with lunch bag): Gray color Superman small bag with lunch bag
Lead : 691 Arsenic: 32
Spiderman bag (small bag with lunch bag): Green color Spiderman small bag with lunch bag
Lead : 2852 Antimony: 1064 Arsenic: 156
PullBag: Blue Pull Bag with action design (blue, red, green)
Lead : 1250
