Tianjin, 8 July (Xinhua) -- "Science toys" should be treated scientifically
Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Fangda
"Inspire creativity", "Play with science", "Let children be interested in chemistry from an early age"... A series of extremely "eye-catching" advertising slogans for parents correspond to the current emerging "science toys".
However, behind the colorful "bottles and cans", various safety risks such as injuries and poisoning after contact with children frequently appear. Industry insiders and relevant experts said that the construction of standards should be improved, source management should be strengthened, and children's scientific enlightenment education should be safe and secure.
"Science toys" became popular in the market
Summer is coming, not only want to add joy to children's holiday life, but also hope to cultivate children's interest in science. Aiming at parents' expectations, some "science toys" quietly became popular.
Search for the keyword "science toys" on online shopping platforms, and a large number of toy products in the name of science education will appear. Most of them imitate all kinds of teaching aids or equipment in schools and scientific research institutions, and sell chemical raw materials with various glass products, common including alum, baking soda, sodium acetate, and even borax, etc., and some are also equipped with some experimental equipment, the price usually ranges from tens to hundreds of yuan.
"Science builds creativity" and "play with Newtonian mechanics", the advertising slogans of merchants' products bind such toys to science education. Click on a product casually, and most of its monthly sales are close to four figures, and consumer reviews are not few.
A product that claims to contain most of the reagents of common chemical experiments, including strong acidic and alkaline raw materials. (Network screenshot)
The reporter asked a merchant about the safety of the product, and the merchant assured that all raw materials have been tested by national standards to ensure that they are non-toxic and harmless. However, when the reporter asked whether the test report could be presented, the merchant did not follow up and reply.
Another online store lists various experimental metal elements, including sodium and lithium, which have a violent combustion reaction. Xia Yang, general manager of a chemical raw material company, told reporters that active metals such as sodium are very easy to spontaneously combust, and improper storage and use can easily produce the risk of fire.
During the visit, the reporter found that in some offline toy stores and even bookstores, there are specially opened "science toys" sales area, the sales staff said, "Summer vacation is coming, these products sell very well." ”
In fact, many of these toys are "three no" products, and the safety of some chemical raw materials is difficult to guarantee, and children are likely to cause poisoning after contact or misuse. On the black cat complaint platform, some consumers complained that the child was extremely unwell due to accidental ingestion of experimental materials with unknown ingredients. Previously, there have been several cases of acute poisoning caused by children mistakenly ingesting chemical raw materials with borax and other ingredients in toys. Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a consumption reminder, which specifically mentioned products such as children's chemical experimental toys, reminding consumers to avoid "three no" products and use them in strict accordance with safety instructions.
How can toy safety be "repeatedly broken"
The reporter's interview found that the safety problems of "science toys" mainly focus on the following aspects:
——The raw material channels of some products are unknown and may contain harmful ingredients. Xia Yang told reporters that generally speaking, the ingredients of products used in universities and scientific research institutions are relatively more secure. For children's toys, on the one hand, its overall consumption is small, the market volume is not large, and many formal businesses do not have similar business; On the other hand, many raw materials are handed over through multiple links and eventually flow into toy factories, and there may be "cat greasy" in the middle.
"Children's toys generally do not involve toxic raw materials, but there are also some experimental materials that may have effects on the human body after swallowing." Xia Yang said that some of the raw materials produced by some small workshops may also have other impurities that have not been treated, and in the process of manufacturing and using toys, irregular storage and transportation may also change the properties of some chemical raw materials, resulting in harm.
A product designed to showcase a "flame color reaction" that may pose a fire risk due to its high temperature. (Network screenshot)
——There is still a lack of unified safety standards for specialized categories. Zhang Yuhua, a lawyer at AllBright (Tianjin) Law Firm in Shanghai, said that the current toy safety standards in mainland China have certain requirements for the chemical and physical safety performance of children's toys, such as GB6675 "Toy Safety" national standard clearly mentions, usually used by children under 6 years of age, the maximum migration of migratory elements such as lead and mercury in the materials and components accessible cannot exceed 90mg/kg, 60mg/kg, etc.
However, for scientific toys, there are currently no special provisions, and the Consumer Rights Protection Law only makes macro responsibility provisions, and there are no specific standards. Therefore, in actual implementation, many small and medium-sized manufacturers may avoid scrutiny in the name of other categories of goods, or use non-standard raw materials to reduce costs, especially offline stores, which is a regulatory vacuum.
——Insufficient safety and security of toys increases the risks during use. Industry insiders said that the general chemical experiment site should have good ventilation, away from food storage, stable and heat-resistant experimental desktops, but family scenes are often difficult to meet. At the same time, some chemical reactions are more violent, which may be accompanied by liquid splashing, combustion and heat release, etc., and it is easy to cause harm to the human body without protective equipment.
"Science toys" should be treated more scientifically
In recent years, the relevant supervision of scientific toys has been increasing. Not long ago, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice to deploy the 2023 children's and student supplies safety protection action nationwide, focusing on the chemical and physical hazards of toys. Hebei, Jiangxi and other provinces have also successively launched targeted supervision measures, focusing on physical and mechanical safety, chemical safety and other safety indicators closely related to children's health, and rectified and cleaned up a number of illegal production and sales of products.
Being a "chemist", doing a physics experiment and cultivating children's interest in science is undoubtedly a good expectation. To make "science toys" more scientific and safer, and to ensure children's physical and mental health, all parties in society need to work together.
Zhang Yuhua suggested that relevant departments can strengthen special management for scientific toys, increase the frequency of spot checks and tests, and establish a "blacklist" system. It can explore the detailed standards of related categories of commodities to provide a legal basis for future law enforcement and industry production. Gao Nan, a professor at Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, believes that online shopping platforms have the obligation to urge platform merchants to strengthen the special marking of such chemical products, and explain in detail the specifications and dosages of products. If in the process of use, children are injured due to unqualified products, etc., the e-commerce platform shall also bear corresponding joint and several liabilities.
Xia Yang believes that effective experimental protection can greatly reduce the accidents that may occur during operation. He suggested that toy manufacturers should be forced to remind consumers in the form of operation manuals, product packaging labels, etc., such as wearing gloves, goggles and other protective equipment during experiments. "The safety specifications for common small experiments can also be integrated into popular science education for the public." Xia Yang said.
In addition, industry insiders also suggest that parents should choose products printed with "3C certification" printed by regular manufacturers when purchasing such toys, and at the same time, in the process of accompanying their children to experiment, they should strictly follow the operation manual and relevant safety specifications to avoid various risks.
Source: Xinhuanet