China is awesome.

[ShivaX]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100110/ap_on_he_me/us_cadmium_jewelry

LOS ANGELES – Barred from using lead in children's jewelry because of its toxicity, some Chinese manufacturers have been substituting the more dangerous heavy metal cadmium in sparkling charm bracelets and shiny pendants being sold throughout the United States, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The most contaminated piece analyzed in lab testing performed for the AP contained a startling 91 percent cadmium by weight. The cadmium content of other contaminated trinkets, all purchased at national and regional chains or franchises, tested at 89 percent, 86 percent and 84 percent by weight. The testing also showed that some items easily shed the heavy metal, raising additional concerns about the levels of exposure to children.


To gauge cadmium's prevalence in children's jewelry, the AP organized lab testing of 103 items bought in New York, Ohio, Texas and California. All but one were purchased in November or December.

The results: 12 percent of the pieces of jewelry contained at least 10 percent cadmium.


Seriously. Lets just stop buying shit from China already.

But even better:
A patchwork of federal consumer protection regulations does nothing to keep these nuggets of cadmium from U.S. store shelves. If the products were painted toys, they would face a recall. If they were industrial garbage, they could qualify as hazardous waste. But since there are no cadmium restrictions on jewelry, such items are sold legally.

Really? REALLY? Wow. So feel free to sell medical waste as jewelry, theres probably no restriction on that either. Maybe industrial toxins should just be universally banned from being sold as consumer products. Nah, I'm talking crazy. Enjoy your Uranium necklaces, kids.

[Hotcod]

Seriously. Lets just stop buying shit from China already.

Not the best idea when you own them what? 798.9 billion dollars?

[ShivaX]

Not the best idea when you own them what? 798.9 billion dollars?

Fuck em. They sell lead and other toxic metals to our children. If they really want it we can fire up the printing presses and watch that money's value tank. Or God forbid raise taxes for a few years and just pay them back.

[Ox]

Even I agree that's fucked up. Cadmium compounds are pigments. What the hell kind of cheap-ass trinkets are 91% paint by mass?

[ShivaX]

Even I agree that's fucked up. Cadmium compounds are pigments. What the hell kind of cheap-ass trinkets are 91% paint by mass?

Its not even paint though, cause that would be recalled.

[Kelegacy]

As a parent, this is frightening.

Maybe everything you buy should have an ingredient list. EVERYTHING.

[carnage11]

Hey, so in China.....what do they call their good plates?

Do they set out the Fine America for Thanksgiving? :p

[Vigil80]

Me Chinese, me play gag, me put deadly poison in all your swag.

[diablopath]

Me Chinese, me play gag, me put deadly poison in all your swag.

Okay, this is awesome.

[H.Bogard]

Me Chinese, me pray gag, me put deadry poison in awr yo swag.

There, much better.

[Narradisall]

I was expecting this to be about how Chinese cars are now outselling American cars worldwide.

I wonder if those Chinese cars are so cheap because they're made of poisonus well, EVERYTHING.

[boratika]

I was expecting this to be about how Chinese cars are now outselling American cars worldwide.

I wonder if those Chinese cars are so cheap because they're made of poisonus well, EVERYTHING.

If you get in a head on collision, your bumpers will reach critical mass.

[CES]

Even I agree that's fucked up. Cadmium compounds are pigments. What the hell kind of cheap-ass trinkets are 91% paint by mass?

That I don't get. The only other thing I can think of is Cadmium electroplating, but on a trinket?

Either that or it's just a shit-ton of orange and red paint.

[ShivaX]

That I don't get. The only other thing I can think of is Cadmium electroplating, but on a trinket?

Either that or it's just a shit-ton of orange and red paint.

Well China has a lot of the metal. I don't think its a matter of electoplating, its just they have a bunch of this basically worthless toxic metal lying around.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/CadmiumMetalUSGOV.jpg

Melt that shit down and pour it in some molds and sell it.

[LongStepMantis]

We should be thankful. The continued persistence of the Chinese to offer highly toxic merchandise to our children is obviously their way of helping us kickstart the age of mutants.

I've started stuffing my cheeks with Chinese toy bracelets, like a chipmunk, to really soak up the toxins. I'm really hoping for super speed or even x-ray vision. So far I just have superhuman bleeding gums and a persistent headache.

[Narradisall]

I've started stuffing my cheeks with Chinese toy bracelets, like a chipmunk, to really soak up the toxins. I'm really hoping for super speed or even x-ray vision. So far I just have superhuman bleeding gums and a persistent headache.

I'm sorry to inform you LongStepMantis.......you....have lymphoma.

[MagGnome]

Really? REALLY? Wow. So feel free to sell medical waste as jewelry, theres probably no restriction on that either. Maybe industrial toxins should just be universally banned from being sold as consumer products. Nah, I'm talking crazy. Enjoy your Uranium necklaces, kids.

People scream and cry about the government "interfering in their lives/business" until people start getting sick or dying, and then they scream and cry about the government "doing nothing".

Obviously I am against cadmium showing up in any consumer product (or anything for that matter, as heavy metals are terrible for the environment as well), but I do have two observations I'd like to make:

1)These articles rarely, if ever, talk about the welfare of the poor Chinese who work in the factories where these products are made. They are probably at more risk than the end consumer of said products, yet their welfare is rarely questioned. I find this unfortunate.

2)This is what happens when people demand that all of the shit that they buy be ridiculously cheap. You get what you pay for, folks. Of course "free trade" has a lot to do with it as well, but if people were to stop shopping at stores like Wal-Mart this type of thing wouldn't be nearly as common. Stop buying cheap plastic and metallic crap. Your kids don't need it and neither do you.


As a parent, this is frightening.

Maybe everything you buy should have an ingredient list. EVERYTHING.

The ingredient labels that we use now in the US are already inaccurate, and you want to put them on everything? :p

[Saladin]

People scream and cry about the government "interfering in their lives/business" until people start getting sick or dying, and then they scream and cry about the government "doing nothing".

The invisible hand of the market will save them!

[ClannerDelta]

1)These articles rarely, if ever, talk about the welfare of the poor Chinese who work in the factories where these products are made. They are probably at more risk than the end consumer of said products, yet their welfare is rarely questioned. I find this unfortunate.

2)This is what happens when people demand that all of the shit that they buy be ridiculously cheap. You get what you pay for, folks. Of course "free trade" has a lot to do with it as well, but if people were to stop shopping at stores like Wal-Mart this type of thing wouldn't be nearly as common. Stop buying cheap plastic and metallic crap. Your kids don't need it and neither do you.


1. The welfare of the Chinese is the domain of the Chinese. However one can assume that once toxic materials are eliminated from our products the workers will then have to handle less of it to make the products we buy. Good for them, at least those that get to keep their jobs.

2. It's kids jewelry. Little girls see their moms wearing necklaces and earings and want to emulate. Buying something expensive would be completely fucking retarded. Parents should have the reasonable expectation that what is marketed to children wont be something filled with toxic materials.

We don't need a lot of shit, I'd imagine your computer fits that bill. Considering the harm electronics waste does to the environment, I'd think you'd be a little more lenient towards the frivolous spending of others.

[MagGnome]

How dare you insinuate that I would ever throw my computer away. :p

Seriously, I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about whether I should buy a new computer or not. It's absolutely frivolous, and there's a part of me that would rather give up electronic devices entirely. My life would certainly be simpler.

However, in the end I justified it by remind myself that I buy very little stuff. It's a rationalization to be sure, but there you have it. I really don't see how it dimishes my earlier point that Americans demand a lot of cheap crap, and the Chinese are all too happy to supply it.

[ShivaX]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100112/ap_on_re_us/cadmium_jewelry_factories

YIWU, China – For China's low-cost jewelry makers, it was an open trade secret: The metal cadmium is shiny, strong and malleable at low temperatures, regardless of its health hazards. And it's cheap.

Despite the risks, manufacturers in factories ringing this city on China's east coast say their top priority is profit. So offering cut-rate goods often means using lower quality materials, including cadmium, which is known to cause cancer.

"Business is business, and it's all up to our client," said He Huihua, manager of the Suiyuan Jewelry Shop at International Trade City in Yiwu, a sprawling wholesale mecca where sellers pitch their wares in hopes of landing a lucrative export contract.

"We just make what our clients order. If they pay more, we use the better raw material, and vice-versa. From a few cents to a few dollars, we can make the same style of jewelry product with a different raw material."

Asked what he thought about the health risks associated with cadmium and other toxic metals, He said: "I can't be overly concerned about that."


I can't worry about selling poisons to children, I've got money to make pal.

China really is like the worst of all worlds. Its got all the lack of freedom and disdain for human life of Communism combined with all the greed and selfishness of Capitalism. Its like the anti-utopia.

[MagGnome]

That quote says it all. "We just make what our clients order."

I think it's terrible that these companies are using heavy metals to make anything, but apparently there's a high demand for it. That's unfortunate.

[Ox]

People scream and cry about the government "interfering in their lives/business" until people start getting sick or dying, and then they scream and cry about the government "doing nothing".
Even libertarians generally believe the government should ensure companies disclose any dangerous side-effects of using their products. If kids' jewelry had surgeon general's warning stickers, they at least would be cool with this story.

2)This is what happens when people demand that all of the shit that they buy be ridiculously cheap. You get what you pay for, folks. Of course "free trade" has a lot to do with it as well, but if people were to stop shopping at stores like Wal-Mart this type of thing wouldn't be nearly as common. Stop buying cheap plastic and metallic crap. Your kids don't need it and neither do you.
This is actually an interesting aspect of economic theory: where consumers have imperfect knowledge of the quality of various products (like, say, which jewelry will kill you), they sometimes use price as a proxy. This is why my mother is convinced that filet mignon is the best meat to use for barbecue. As you can see, it's not a perfect proxy.

[boratika]

This is why my mother is convinced that filet mignon is the best meat to use for barbecue. As you can see, it's not a perfect proxy.

Well, if it's a choice between filet mignon and cadmium steak, she's choosing well.

[torrefaction]

Even libertarians generally believe the government should ensure companies disclose any dangerous side-effects of using their products. If kids' jewelry had surgeon general's warning stickers, they at least would be cool with this story.


This is actually an interesting aspect of economic theory: where consumers have imperfect knowledge of the quality of various products (like, say, which jewelry will kill you), they sometimes use price as a proxy. This is why my mother is convinced that filet mignon is the best meat to use for barbecue. As you can see, it's not a perfect proxy.

As a relative libertarian (Minarchist seems to be the most appropriate term for me these days, but I've really given up.), I absolutely agree with your first point. Well, not really, because I'd be busy shooting parents in the face who would buy products that could kill their children, but whatever....

Completely OT, but this reminds of Fog Creek software who used this aspect of economic theory to make a metric fuckton of money based on job postings.
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090101/how-hard-could-it-be-thanks-or-no-thanks.html

[Vigil80]

People scream and cry about the government "interfering in their lives/business" until people start getting sick or dying, and then they scream and cry about the government "doing nothing".
International trade standards that include "products should not be poisonous in their intended use" fall under basic governmental purview, I believe, and hardly constitute a nanny-state. I think this conclusion is a bit of a stretch.

I really don't see how it dimishes my earlier point that Americans demand a lot of cheap crap, and the Chinese are all too happy to supply it.
I won't say you don't have a point. Americans in general can be rather wasteful, and not terribly prudent about their spending. However, shifting blame to America in this particular case is petty.

Hopefully American authorities will be called to action, and take the necessary steps to address the situation. And hopefully, American consumers are paying attention, too. But Chinese irresponsibility and general disregard for other humans' wellbeing is at the heart of the situation.

[Xerxes]

I wonder how many of the factory workers have gotten cancer.