Chinese Police Seize 1 Million Toxic Towels Dyed With Benzene-Rich Compound - Reuters

[hatrack]

BEIJING - Provincial officials in northern China have closed nine factories and seized about 1 million towels that had been dyed using banned toxic chemicals, local media reported on Wednesday.

Authorities in Hebei province had confiscated 40 tonnes of industrial dye following state television reports last month on what it said was a widespread problem, the Beijing News said.

The cheap towels sold nationwide contained cancer-causing Benzene compounds such as Benzidine, state television said at the time.

It did not say whether anyone had suffered health problems from using the towels.

EDIT

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/41259/story.htm

[tk2kewl]

1. Can you say Wal-Mart?

:shrug:

[hatrack]

2. Our prices are so low they'll make your head spin!!

Always toxic savings - always!!!

[BonnieJW]

3. Can you say USA???

Chinese goods are everywhere. I went into Saks and their most expensive designer clothes are made in China. I checked the labels. Right now, our pets are dying. How long before we all start getting diseases from their stuff??? How long before our KIDS start getting chronic conditions from Chinese imports??? I can't believe we're importing all this unregulated crap from one of the most unregulated countries in the world. One of my dear friends is an entymologist. There are no bees in China. NO BEES. That's what happens when you flood all the farmland with pesticide. But they do have slave labor and those people have to spend all day on a ladder in various fruit orchards pollinating the trees with tiny paint brushes. Why are we trading with this country????

[Missy M]

4. Also, be aware of some of the cheaper candy ....

sold in drug stores and such places. At Halloween I was going to buy a marshmallow sucker for my granddaughter and noticed "Made in China" on the label. Needless to say I quickly put it back. It was a novelty type candy and now I read all labels on these items.

[Blue State Blues]

18. It doesn't have to be cheap ... it can even be "organic"

I used to buy frozen organic food without looking at it much more than to read the "USDA Organic" on the label. Then one day I happened to see "Produce of China" on the bag.

What the #*@$!? USDA Certified Organic produce from a thoroughly polluted and unregulated country? I don't think so. And I googled a bit and found that my instinct was almost certainly correct -- not enough inspectors, not enough time for the transition to organics, polluted land and water, and all you need for the label is to bribe the right person...

Not to mention the insane amount of fossil fuel it takes to ship frozen food from there.

And now I'm seeing "produce of China" more and more. It's just depressing.

ETC typo

[KoKo]

5. I've been worried about this for awhile. Has anyone else noticed odd "odor"

from the Chinese clothing in stores now? Peculiar "metallic" odor. I'm very sensitive to smells and I can barely stand being in stores because the odor is so strong. Jeans and those brightly colored women's T-Shirt tops sold everywhere from Kohls to Chico's to the Department stores have that smell. Also the clothes made in India.

Could it be they are died with toxic dyes not approved here? All those recalls of kids toys with lead in them...and even my laptop computer has a warning on the electric cord when I plug it in that it's "Hazardous" to pregnant women and children and hands should be washed after handling. It's a Toshiba and a great machine but that cord has always bothered me.

[KT2000]

8. stores are gas chambers now

Can't even stay in them very long. I don't know how the workers are doing with it - the body adapts until it depletes its resources to do so.

I would not bet though that the chemicals are necessarily banned here. The US does not have very strong hazardous chemical laws compared with Europe and Japan. In fact, banned products such as clothing are dumped here because of "voluntary" rules.

[yy4me]

10. I

[Control-Z]

12. I also have a sensitive nose

and I know the odor you're referring to. A lot of things smell hazardous to me. I always thought it was just me.

I've never seen a warning to wash your hands after using a cord, though. Very scary.

[KoKo]

15. Friend of mine has a Sunbeam Iron and noticed that the cord had a warning

where the cord meets the plug cautioning about "lead hazard and to wash hands with contact."

My Sunbeam doesn't have that but her's is pretty new. Why would these cords be allowed in the US? There should be some regulation or was it bypassed for imports? Another reason our Trade Agreements need to be revised. There's no excuse for this. At least they put the "Warning" on...but still shouldn't the lead be banned if it wasn't in products made in the US? How would lead get in a plastic covered cord, anyway. :shrug:

[Morgana LaFey]

16. It's not just your nose,

at least I'll bet not.

You and others like you (incl. me) are on your way to developing multiple chemical sensitivity. Your liver has HAD it with all these "things" so it can't cope with much more.

I can't get my husband to understand. When I complain about the odors -- "too much after shave!!!" I whine -- he doesn't "get it" that what I'm complaining about is an assault on me, not just a taste preference.

But in any case, be sure to honor that "nose" and stay clear of those odors that bother you.

[Hekate]

17. I've had to return 2 wood and 1 plastic items to Costco for sickening chemical odors...

One was a wooden sandbox shaped like a boat. Very cute; it even had a little awning for sun shade. My station wagon smelled so bad I had to drive with all the windows down, and still had burning throat and eyes. Because I needed to arrange for help to get it out of the car, it stayed there for well over a week. Finally, just about the time it looked like I could get the box offloaded into my back yard, Mr. Hekate and I had a talk about whether it was ever going to be safe for our grandbaby to play in, and I drove it back to Costco.

Christmas before last I found a lovely well-made "valet" for Mr. Hekate to dump the contents of his pockets into every night. It was great -- there was a space for his glasses, his wallet, the cordless phone... and it filled our bedroom with a chemical odor that stung our eyes and throats. I tried airing it out in another room, even left it outdoors in the daytime, but to no avail. Back it went.

And then there was the 4-cup coffee maker, the kind you find in hotel rooms all the time. Every cup of coffee burned my throat. Took it back.

Every one of these products was made in China. I expressed my concerns to the floor manager, but while she was sympathetic she said I was the only person she'd encountered who had these reactions.

It does make me wonder how hazardous it is for the staff to work there, and for the rest of us to shop there.

One thing's for sure: China doesn't give a damn, and the US government is not watching to ensure the safety of our imports.

Hekate

[KoKo]

6. Keep this kicked ...it's worrysome and folks need to keep watch...n/t

[CelticWinter]

7. Never ceases to amaze me--

Isnt it time we as Americans go back into business for ourself? I would rather pay a lil more for something made at home by my neighbors then to give my money to corporate whores who pay their workers peon wages.

[madokie]

13. the thing of it is most if not all the products could be made in America

with the workers paid a good wage and the corporation making a good profit without costing us any more. methinks

the top 1% want all they can get and then some

[kestrel91316]

9. This is par for the course in China. I don't want to eat anything

imported from China ever again.

They don't have an EPA, that's obvious.

[Joe Chi Minh]

11. Could you imagine Blair or Bush doing that!!! Not a chance - until.

it was forced on them. Maybe it was on these Chinese leaders, though I suspect they would be of a much superior calibre, anyway.

[damntexdem]

14. It was obviously time to ...

throw in the towel.

[Javaman]

19. Waa waa waaaaaaaaaa

oooo that pun got me right in the side.