Health, 140 thousand toxic crayons Maxi seizure of Finance - The Unit

November 27, 2013

The Guardia di Finanza di Trento engaged in the operation “Safe school” has seized 800 points of sale throughout Italy 140 thousand crayons dangerous to health, from China, aimed at teens and children in pre-school age.

Chemical analysis revealed the toxicity of almost all the colors due to the presence, on the outer surface of a substance in concentration that could cause mental and physical deficits in smaller in particular for the development of the reproductive system, and cause serious and permanent damage to internal organs, including carcinogenic effects.

The owner of the company that has imported the product from China was sued for the offense under Article 31 of the legislative decree number 54 of 2011, which, in the field of toy safety, provides for imprisonment of up to one year. In September, coinciding with the beginning of the school year, the Finance Police of Trent initiated a control plan to protect the market and product safety in particular to the school.

In this area, have been identified, on the shelves of several supermarkets in Trentino, thousands of crayons Chinese manufacturing non-CE marked safety also advertised on a promotional leaflet of three major Italian distribution chains . The product was immediately seized: the financiers, co-ordinated by the public prosecutor of Reggio Emilia, George Grandinetti, have climbed the entire distribution chain until the importer and distributor first, a note and a regular company of Emilia, who had purchased from a Chinese supplier , and then proceed to the seizure of the entire national territory. Also identified a container arriving by sea from China, the yellow flames Trentino intercepted at the port of La Spezia and follow-up interporto customs of Bologna, sequestering it at the time of customs clearance and just before placing the product on the market.

In the absence of safety certifications, as delegated by the prosecutor in Reggio Emilia, pastels were immediately subjected to specific mechanical and chemical investigations carried out by a specialized laboratory. It analyzes have revealed that the exterior paint of a series of fluorescent crayons is imbued with phthalates DEHP type to a value 3 times higher than allowed . A substance that considers the medical literature can produce effects similar to those of a hormone estrogenante, namely in the development of the male reproductive disorders as well as damage to the liver, kidneys and lungs, and possible additional effects of delayed mental development of infants as well as carcinogenic.