Lead is Superman’s best friend because it is an antidote to kryptonite, the substance that weakens the Man of Steel when exposed to.

Quite ironically, however,  lead is extremely hazardous to people in general, and children in particular who are prone to such needless dangerous exposure to the heavy metal.

However, and quite tragically,  lead  can be  found  in  seemingly  harmless, even necessary, things like children/s gear, school supplies, and even ordinary household  things.

In this sense, health, environment, trade, and even law-enforcement  officials have been remiss in their collective duties to protect consumers from this decidedly public health menace.

An environmental watchdog and anti-toxic campaigner made tjis alarming  discovery: Lead content in school supplies bought in Manila’s famous tiangge shops.

The Ecowaste Coalition, with the assistance of visiting US-based  Dr. Joe DiGangi  of the International Persistent Organic Pollutants Elimination Network, reported that chemical tests yielded lead in raincoats and other school supplies bought at the 168 Mall, Tutuban Mall and adjacent retail stores in Divisoria last July 22.

“Out of the 25 product samples we tested, lead was detected in 15 samples ranging from 96 parts per million up to 14,100 ppm,” said Thony Dizon, EcoWaste  project coordinator, in a statement.

Lead was also detected in pencil cases and a variety of backpacks, shoulder bags, lunch bags and hand-carry bags, the coalition said after conducting an analysis of samples of these products.

The top five samples that registered the highest lead contents include a yellow PVC Tweety raincoat, light yellow PVC Tazmanian Devil raincoat, green Spiderman backpack with lunch bag, yellow Spongebob shoulder bag and a yellow Spongebob pencil case.

EcoWaste uncovered lead in raincoats and other popular school supplies its members bought from Divisoria’s 168 Mall, Tutuban Mall, and adjacent retail stores on July 22. These were subjected to chemical tests by  DiGangi,  also scientific  and technical advisor of US-based IPEN.

He  used a portable device called X-Ray Fluorescence analyzer to screen the school supplies for toxic contents. The XRF is routinely used by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission in their regulatory functions.    

“The results of our probe should compel manufacturers to step up, remove chemicals of concern from their products and switch to non-toxic ingredients that will not jeopardize the health of children who are most vulnerable to toxins,” DiGangi was quoted by a major broadsheet as saying..

Lead is particularly harmful to children because it can damage or retard brain development and cause many health problems, including learning delays and disabilities, lower IQ scores and shorter attention span.

“The results of our probe should compel manufacturers to step up, remove chemicals of concern from their products and switch to non-toxic ingredients that will not jeopardize the health of children who are most vulnerable to toxins,” DiGangi said. 

Children are prone to toxic exposure because they breathe more air, consume more food and water, and are often exposed to harmful substances resulting from their common hand-to-mouth activities and not to forget that their vital organs and systems are still immature and developing.

According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the lead threshold limit is only 90 p.m.