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."

Comments

Cadmium Positives

[camperdave]

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.

Re:Cadmium Positives

[wxjones]

It's also a great neutron absorber.

Re:Cadmium Positives

[theheadlessrabbit]

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.

It also makes a very, very nice red pigment.

As an artist, I use tons of cadmium red because it has properties that no other red pigment can match. it's got great intensity, great opacity, and unlike 90% of the other reds used in paint, cadmium is actually permanent. It doesn't fade after a few months exposure to sunlight. Unlike every other red pigment out there, when you mix cadmium red with white, you don't get pink, you get light red. When mixed with other colours, it gives you very natural tones.
Classical portraiture and landscapes would be impossible without it. Ever noticed how when high school kids paint portraits, it often looks like the men are wearing pink lipstick? it's cause the kids aren't using cadmium. The synthetic pigments just don't mix right.

The thing that surprised me about this story: cadmium pigment is bloody expensive compared to all the other reds. ($75/tube vs $20/tube) why the hell aren't they using one of the much cheaper, safer reds?

Re:Scaremongering

[Nemyst]

And you've never seen a little child putting stuff into his/her mouth and happily chewing?

Re:Scaremongering

[hey!]

Ingestion is a serious danger with cadmium. There was a case of mass Cd poisonings in Japan in the first half of the 20th century, caused by contaminated rice irrigated with water downstream from mines. Any application where Cd comes into contact with the hands -- especially children's hands -- is suspect.

With respect to Cd plated tools -- I don't remember them. I do remember fasteners with Cd plating. I suppose if you don't disturb the plating it's not likely to leach. However that says nothing about the items in the article which *did* leach. You can't compare plating to something like paint, which is an entirely different thing. If it weren't, you'd never have to plate anything, you'd get by with paint.

In any case I don't buy the whole "we used to use such and so and it ain't harmed me none" argument. When I was young people still carbon tetrachloride to clean circuit boards. Let me tell you it was da bomb. It was cheap, worked like a charm, left no residue, and you could put out fires with it. I knew lots of people who used it and never saw any adverse reactions. That doesn't mean it didn't hurt some people. For one thing I haven't followed those people for thirty years and don't know how many ended up with liver damage.