Slashdot Mirror
Rudolph the Cadmium-Nosed Reindeer
theodp writes "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 US, an AP investigation shows. Charms from 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' bracelets were measured at between 82 and 91 percent cadmium, and leached so much cadmium that they would have to be specially handled and disposed of under US environmental law if they were waste from manufacturing. Cadmium, a known carcinogen, can hinder brain development in the very young. 'There's nothing positive that you can say about this metal. It's a poison,' said the CDC's Bruce Fowler. On the CDC's priority list of 275 most hazardous substances in the environment, cadmium ranks No. 7. Jewelry industry veterans in China say cadmium has been used in domestic products there for years. Hey, at least it doesn't metabolize into GHB when the little tykes ingest it."
There's nothing positive that you can say about this metal
It's sulfide makes for a good photoresistor. Combined with nickel, cadmium makes for a good rechargeable battery. It's also used in the heat sensitive trigger in fire suppresion sprinkler systems. In short, cadmium has probably saved more lives than it's taken.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
It is a little annoying when people trot out these scary stories without completely understanding the true threats involved. Cadmium is only considered to be carcinogenic when inhaled as a vapor. You can safely touch it without any adverse effects. While not commonplace today, there was a time when tools were frequently cadmium plated. These are safe to use provided you don't do anything to remove the plating or try to polish it up.
I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
Actually there is another nice thing you can say about cadmium. It makes lovely yellow and orange pigments. Sort of like lead white. Van Gogh may have absorbed or ingested enough to cause or exacerbate his mental disorders.
Cadmium melts at about 600 F. Iron melts at about 2,800 F.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
You mean 315 C and 1540 C right? Then those numbers start making sense for the rest of the world.
Sorry, copy and paste fail. I intended to link to these:
you had me at #!
If that country won't take responsibility for the poisons they export to us, why are we dealing with them?
Because it's cheap.
Citation needed.
I know cadmium is very commonly used in plastics because of the bright and weather resistant colors that can be made with it, not because it's cheap. Bright yellow, red or orange plastic items that have to spend a lot of time outdoors without fading are often colored with cadmium. Plastic beer crates for example, or company logos.
Now it seems obvious that it's less suitable for children's toys, because kids of a certain age tend to put everything in their mouth, but remember that scandal a couple of years ago when lead based paint was used in children's toys manufactured in China? Everyone seems to have conveniently forgotten that the problem then wasn't in China, but in the specifications sent to them by the American company that had the toys made. I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happened again.
You clearly have no idea how a graduated income tax even works. Do you even pay taxes?
Let's suppose we have a three-tier system: 10% on income of $0-$50,000, 40% on income from $50,000 - $5 million, and 90% above $5 million.
Now let's say you're a banker who's paid $6 million per year.
10% on the first $50,000 = $5,000
40% on $50,000 through $5 million = $198,000
90% on $5 million through $6 million = $900,000
Total tax burden: $2,885,000, or 48%
Take-home income: $3,115,000
That's enough for anyone.
Of course, in the real world, we have more taxation tiers (or "brackets") with finer graduations, but you get the point.
How many people know that cadmium is a poison? Do you think that the jewelry in question had a warning label on it that said something to the effect of "this product is toxic and will cause brain damage"? Do you even think there was an acknowledgment that the products contained cadmium at all? Of course not. No one is going out and "buying cadmium based products." That's ridiculous. You're trying to excuse what is either criminal fraud or criminal negligence.
Why can't retail goods be searched? Scale, my friend, learn to get a sense of proportion (hint: do some math)
Since rules are already in place for this sort of thing, you can't cry out "regulate it!" because it already is regulated.
No.
RTFA
There are no regulations for cadmium in jewelry.
In addition, final assembly of Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Kia cars != building cars in the US.
Actually yes it does. Your assumptions about where parts are made are wildly out of date. In many cases it's just not economical to produce parts overseas, especially if you are producing in a Just In Time system like Toyota uses.
I've been an engineer in the auto industry and have been in parts plants throughout the US for virtually every major auto manufacturer myself. Most of the cars assembled here in the US have most of their parts made here too, even for the "foreign" brands. Those Hondas they make in Ohio usually have well over 50% and sometimes over 80% of the parts made here in the US or in Canada. I own a Honda that was assembled in Alabama and over 70% of the parts were made domestically.
A car is just the sum of its parts. If all the parts are made outside the USA, then the car can't really said to be, "Made in the USA."
Good thing the parts usually aren't made outside the US then.