There are too many dangerous products arriving on the old Continent, according to a report from the European Chemicals Agency.
The European Union will have to be careful about the quality of the products it allows to be marketed on its territory. Because the report published this Wednesday, December 13, 2023 by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) shows that 20% of the articles analyzed should not be put on sale, due to the presence of dangerous elements such as lead or cadmium . But some manufacturing is even more affected.
Electronic items, a time bomb?
This could raise fears for the health of Europeans. Because if we are to believe the ECHA study, it is not only gas cookers that could be toxic, but also another very specific category of products: electronic products. According to the report, these are the goods in which we find the most products harmful to health such as cadmium, lead or phthalates.
Thus, 52% of the electronic toys, chargers, cables and headphones analyzed would not comply with European health constraints, due to the presence of elements cited above. Lead is believed to be the cause of five million deaths per year worldwide, while cadmium is believed to be a facilitator of pancreatic cancer. Phthalates are endocrine disruptors.
China, the leading exporter of these products
But where does the problem lie? From outside our continental territory it seems. Thus, out of the 2400 products analyzed, 1289 come from “theoutside [de] the European economic area. », when 532 would have an unknown origin. Among the countries producing these harmful items, we find China in first place, which alone represents 22% of defective items, compared to 8% for the EU as a whole.
In the vast majority of cases (85%), measures were taken to remove the incriminated objects from the market. However, the companies that manufactured the products are generally left alone, with only 18% of them having to suffer a fine, while only 13% of cases resulted in a complaint or investigation.
Source : The world
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