Pencils Slandered in Lead Poisoning Case
Hunan province’s local chemical plant wants the world to think that something is in our children’s pencils. Over 300 children in the Chinese province have tested positive for high levels of lead in their bloodstreams, Salon reported last week. Reason points towards the chemical plant’s runoff.
The plant denies responsibility, suggesting students’ habitual pencil chewing as the source of the lead poisoning. The Guardian reports Hunan official Su Genlin as having stated that “Kids use pencils in school, and chewing pencils could also cause the high [lead] levels.”
The statement has Chinese media wondering whether Genlin is ignorant or just misinformed. Either way, it’s false and slanderous to the reliable writing tool. Pencil lead – not excluding the stuff in little yellow 2½’s – is made out of graphite. Graphite is a non-toxic mineral that pencil-makers have relied on for centuries. Pencils do not contain any lead in their cores, and the paint used to finish them is tested to prevent cases such as this. You can learn more about graphite and its history here lead in pencils here.
Hunan’s chemical plant hasn’t been found guilty yet – a study is underway on the chemical plant’s pollution output. A look at some statistics leaves little doubt that the plant is responsible – studies have deemed 2/3 of Chinese soil to be polluted and over 60% of the nation’s ground water undrinkable.
Students will chew, and there isn’t much we can do about it. Look for the ASTM, EN71 and PMA seals to guard against the risk of lead poisoning and resolve to provide our beloved little learners with high-quality wooden-cased pencils that will protect the pencil’s graphite core and keep your student from ruining their teeth.
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Oh well, this could be possible in this age and time. Chemical plants have been operating for quite a very long time now and obviously we could expect as this to happen and even more in the future, and it is heart breaking to know that the most affected ones are the kids. I believe, we could help prevent this to happen. We do have chemicals (used and unused) at our households; we need to dispose them properly so to protect our family’s health and our environment as well. If we can’t manage doing this ourselves, we can always ask the expert like the people in California toxic waste disposal. We could make a difference and we could protect our family even in our little ways.