To prove their claim, members of the group managed to buy the banned Artex Fine Water Colors from 14 stores in Cebu City at the height of last-minute back-to-school shopping last Sunday, June 15.
“It’s unlawful to sell these lead-contaminated water colors,” said Aileen Lucero, coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition.
She is calling on Cebu retailers to take the toxic water color products out of store shelves and return the items to the manufacturer for disposal.
Last May 29, the Food and Drugs Administration issued Advisory No. 2014-044 recalling “Artex Fine Water Colors” after laboratory tests detected lead in excess of the maximum tolerable limit of 90 parts per million.
In Cebu City, the EcoWaste Coalition’s AlerToxic Patrol managed to buy the banned water color sets for P40 to P64.95 at Best Buy Mart (Osmeña Boulevard. corner P. Gullas Street), La Nueva Supermart (Briones Street), La Nueva Supermart (Magallanes Street) and Prince Hypermart (P. Burgos Street).
The group had earlier reported buying the banned product from three retail shops in Lapu-Lapu City last June 14 for P40 to P59.75, specifically at La Nueva Supermart (De la Cerna Street), Marnikko School and Office Supplies (Martir Street) and Society Store (Stall No. 10 at the public market).
No Artex Fine Water Colors producst were found at Fooda, Savemart, Happy Mart, Kaking, King Long, Lucky 7 Supermart, Metro Department Store, National Book Store, Novo Asia Consumer, Unitop and Visayan Educational Supply.
Lucero said they’re calling on the FDA to also conduct raids and confiscate the banned products in the provinces.
As explained in the advisory, lead has the tendency to accumulate in the body when ingested over prolonged periods of time.
The poisonous metal may be deposited to the teeth and can be found in the blood.
Chronic lead poisoning can cause the nervous system toxicity and renal tubular dysfunction leading to irreversible interstitial nephrosis with progressive renal impairment and hypertension.
Lead can also depress blood synthesis and shortens the life span of the red blood cells causing a hypochromic microcytic anemia.
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Cebu City stores found selling banned water color sets