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Michael Hui King-man, a member of the council, said there is currently no set limit in Hong Kong for how much plasticiser is allowed in stationary items. But he said the test referenced a standard established in Taiwan.
“[The standard] stipulates that the total content [of phthalate] should not be over 0.1 per cent (of the total weight),” he said. “So the worst sample exceeded that limit by about 600 times.”
The total amount of phthalate in the 24 affected models ranged from 0.003 per cent to 60.9 per cent, with 14 samples containing more than 31.3 per cent of the substance.
According to Hui, although the normal usage of erasers was not an issue, children have the bad habit of licking, sucking and chewing their erasers, and could be severely affected by the excessive amount of plasticiser in the items.
Dr Chan Yee-shing, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Medical Association, said children with autism or compulsive obsessive disorder were the most at risk from such erasers.
“These children might obsessively put their erasers in their mouths. They are addicted to biting,” Chan said.
He added that the city should set up its own standard to minimise consumers’ contact with phthalates.
The council said some models examined in the test also came with a certain fragrance, which could further tempt children into biting or chewing them.
(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST)
