STUFFED hearts and toys, mugs, panty rose among others may be perfect love gifts for Valentines Day.

But an environment watchdog warned that these gift items are toxic to health and not romantic at all.

On the eve of Valentines Day, the EcoWaste Coalition (EWC) cautioned lovestruck Filipinos to be wary of toxic gifts upon discovering traces of heavy metals in 13 out of 20 products bought in Binondo, Divisoria, Quiapo and Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Using an X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, the EWC screened these items for cadmium, lead and other heavy metals.

“Our findings indicate that some Valentines Day gifts and accessories are laced with hazardous chemicals that can harm people we care about,” said Aileen Lucero of the EWCs Project Protect.

Lucero said that cadmium and lead, two of the “Ten Chemicals of Major Public Health Concern” named by the World Health Organization (WHO), were detected in five samples.

According to WHO, “cadmium exerts toxic effects on the kidney, the skeletal and the respiratory systems, and is classified as a human carcinogen,” while lead “is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems, including the neurologic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal systems.”

Levels detected ranged from 1,248 ppm to 2,059 for cadmium (exceeding the 75 ppm limit under the proposed US Childrens Toxic Metals Act) and 159 ppm to 6,713 ppm for lead (exceeding the lead in paint limit under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act).

“Ceramic mugs with ‘kilig to the bones’ (titillating) images or messages were among the ‘dirtiest’ with worrisome levels of cadmium and lead unfit for food contact materials,” she noted.

It registered the highest amount of cadmium at 2,059 and also had 6,628 ppm of lead, 1,233 of arsenic and 513 ppm of antimony.

On the other hand, a “Garfield” stuffed toy had 1,785 ppm of lead, 1,346 ppm of chromium, 296 ppm of arsenic and 171 ppm of antimony.

Lucero noted that “none of the samples had complete product information, keeping consumers in the dark about who made the products, their chemical contents and their effects to health.”