Xinhua News Agency, Guiyang, March 29 -
Problem: a pen with ten kinds of poison - vigilance "Yan high value" stationery hidden high-risk
Xinhua News Agency "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters Oudianqiu, Wu Si, Zheng Minghong
Cartoon-like pencil sharpeners, pens with pendants, shiny white paper... "High-value" stationery is becoming the most popular product in the current children's stationery market.
When the National Safety Education Day for Primary and Secondary School Students arrives on March 29, a reporter from "Xinhua Viewpoint" found that some "high-value" stationery has hidden high risks and can easily cause damage to children's health.
The Hefei Institute of Material Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences once tested and analyzed the disassembled parts of 4 brand scented highlighters that are popular among elementary and middle school students on the market. It was found that the volatile odor came from the ink in the highlighter. A total of 15 volatile components were detected. 10 kinds of toxic substances, including the highly toxic substance acrylonitrile.
Studies have shown that long-term inhalation of acrylonitrile can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headache, and fatigue.
"Color, fragrance and taste" all-in-one products lead the new trend of stationery market
Whether it is the stationery stores around the campus or the wholesale market for stationery and sports goods, "high-profile" has become a gimmick for businesses to sell children's stationery.
Stationery with complete "color, fragrance and taste" is leading the new trend of the market.
——The color is pretty.
The reporter visited many supermarkets and stationery stores and learned that in painting books, workbooks, and calligraphy books, "the whiter the paper, the better the sale" is almost a common phenomenon.
Book covers printed with various colorful cartoon patterns, pencil bags printed with bright pigments, etc. have become the favorites of primary and middle school students.
However, in fact the paper is not as white as possible.
According to relevant regulations, the whiteness of paper and workbook should not be greater than 85%.
The person in charge of the Guangdong Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau said that the white paper will cause eye irritation, and there may also be excessive fluorescent substances, which can easily cause damage to people's eyesight under the reflection of sunlight.
"Some low-quality color pigments that are colorful on book covers and pencil bags may contain carcinogenic aromatic amines, as well as various heavy metal elements such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. Long-term exposure may cause carcinogenic aromatic amines to migrate to the human body, which may cause human disease or induce Cancer." said Wang Xing, head of a stationery testing agency in Guangdong.
——Strong aroma.
The reporter saw in a stationery store in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou that a 12-piece scented highlighter was priced at 29 yuan. Each pen has a different odor, including lemon fruit tea, peach jelly, sweet potato, and rock candy. The smell of 12 kinds of food such as wumei.
The owner of the stationery store said: "Children like these smells so much. More than 200 boxes of this highlighter have been sold in one month."
Wang Xing said that most of the different odors on children's stationery are not natural, but the odors of substances compounded by various chemical raw materials.
For example, ethylbenzene, a synthetic material with moderate toxicity that is common in problem stationery, emits an aromatic odor, and isooctyl acetate, which is moderately toxic, has a fruity fragrance.
Long-term exposure to these odors can increase health risks.
-Interesting.
The reporter saw in a number of stationery stores near the cultural and sports goods shopping malls and elementary schools that most of the best-selling stationery was of a fun type: erasers were made into the shapes of peppers, peanuts, corn, mahjong, pumpkins, tableware, etc., gel pens , The cap of the watercolor pen is hung with a pendant several centimeters long. The pendant image includes a five-pointed star, a sunflower, a cartoon character, a bow and so on.
Li Xi, a primary school teacher in Beijing, said that these cute and complex stationery are often used by children as toys, pulled, fiddled with, and even put in the mouth during play.
Once a small part is inhaled by a child, it may block the respiratory tract and suffocate, or be scratched by the sharp part of the pendant.
Teachers in some schools have reported finding similar dangerous situations.
Why are there so many risks behind the "high-profile"?
According to industry insiders, there are nearly 10,000 varieties of children's literature produced in my country every year. The children's stationery market has low technical content and low barriers to entry. The vast majority of enterprises are small, medium and micro enterprises with an annual output value of less than 20 million yuan.
In order to gain market advantages, companies often use materials with low prices and strong surface decoration.
"The wholesale price of a piece of ordinary white rubber is 0.3 yuan, and the retail price is only 1 yuan; but after combining with other processing technology to improve the'value', the wholesale price can be increased to 1.25 yuan, and the retail price can be increased to 3 to 4 yuan, and the profit can be increased several times. Times." said the owner of a stationery store in Yunyan District, Guiyang City.
Judging from the random inspections conducted by the market supervision departments in various regions, "high-profile" stationery has become the hardest hit area for problematic stationery in various regions.
In order to improve the color, look and feel and flexibility of stationery, some manufacturers excessively add plasticizers to packaging materials.
The Hebei Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau randomly inspected 20 batches of polyvinyl chloride plastic stationery box samples on the market, and found that the phthalate content in 10 batches did not meet the requirements.
In the second half of last year, the Zhejiang Provincial Market Supervision Administration urged companies to recall more than 180,000 pens with excessive phthalate content, involving pencils and gel pens.
Wang Xing said that the purpose of using plasticizers such as phthalates on stationery containing polyvinyl chloride is to make the stationery have a higher "value", a more beautiful color, and a softer feel.
The relevant person in charge of the Hebei Provincial Market Supervision Administration stated that phthalates are the main plasticizers of polyvinyl chloride. Prolonged exposure will interfere with human endocrine, affect the reproductive system, and cause damage to the cardiovascular, liver and urinary systems.
In addition, the state has made clear regulations on the breathability of pen caps for pen stationery. Most of them require a continuous air passage of at least 6.8 square millimeters in size on the pen cap, which is a "life-saving hole" to prevent children from swallowing the pen cap and causing suffocation.
However, many pen sleeves now have fancy appearances, adding pendants, making cartoon characters, and simulating other shapes. "These accessory decorations often cover or block the vents on the pen sleeves, burying potential safety hazards." Wang Xing said.
The Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration conducted random inspections on the quality of pen stationery products in 2020, and found that 12 batches of product pens had unqualified cap safety items, involving ballpoint pens, watercolor pens, water-based hook line pens, water-based marker pens, etc., and pointed out if If children swallow the pen cap by mistake, it will cause a choking hazard.
Further improve production standards, strengthen supervision and warnings
According to data released by the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration, as of June 15, 2020, my country has implemented a total of 51 recalls of children’s stationery, involving 1,355,400 pieces.
Experts pointed out that the recall system is a post-mortem remedial measure, and it is necessary to further improve the standards of children's stationery, and promote the joint efforts of the supervision department and the society.
With the increase in pre-school education, many kindergarten children have also begun to use stationery more.
At present, the "General Safety Requirements for Student Supplies" (GB 21027-2007) mainly focuses on stationery used during school age. Experts suggest that the stationery used by preschool children should also be included in the scope of the standard, and the corresponding safety requirements should be revised , Provide a basis for supervision.
At the same time, experts suggest that in the risk monitoring work of children’s stationery products, a systematic study of the risk sources such as stationery’s paint, design style, and odor should be carried out, from the children’s intelligence, behavior, possibility of contact, and the possibility of disability and death. Conduct comprehensive research on gender and other aspects to lay a solid foundation for improving relevant standards.
Some experts pointed out that the testing methods for stationery products should be formulated in time.
At present, the "General Requirements for the Safety of Student Supplies" uses the testing methods of some stationery indicators completely using the testing methods of other industry products. For example, the sharp edge test of stationery is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the "National Toy Safety Technical Specification"; school bags and pencil bags are tested. The measurement of formaldehyde content in fabrics and accessories used is carried out in accordance with the detection method of formaldehyde content in ordinary textiles.
Wang Xing pointed out that the current lack of testing methods for stationery products is a weak link in stationery standardization.
It is not necessarily appropriate to simply use the detection methods of products from other industries, especially for the detection of chemical performance requirements. Due to different samples, there are differences in the collection and pretreatment of the samples, which will directly affect the accuracy of the detection results.
Liu Junhai, a professor at the School of Law of Renmin University of China, suggested that the market supervision and management department should strengthen the supervision and inspection of the safety of stationery, and guide enterprises to eliminate potential safety hazards from product development and quality control.
In addition, parents and students should be reminded to pay attention to safety when buying stationery, not to be overly obsessed with "high value", and try to choose manufacturers and brands with quality assurance.