Markets Peddle Toys, Jewelry Laced With Toxins, Study Finds

Cambodia Daily | 7 October 2016

Cambodia’s markets are likely littered with lead-laden necklaces and toys coated in mercury-laced paint, according to a new study by a Phnom Penh-based Canadian scientist.

Over 35 percent of toys and jewelry tested in the study exceeded E.U. guidelines for heavy metals, with some jewelry clasps exceeding the maximum recommended concentrations of lead 5,000 times, said Thomas Murphy, a retired government scientist from Environment and Climate Change Canada who led the research.

Jewelry is displayed at a shop near Central Market in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. (Brian Leli/The Cambodia Daily)

“It was quite a surprise,” Mr. Murphy said.

In a child’s mouth, the products “can kick up enough lead to impair their mental development.”

The study, published last month by the Journal of Health and Pollution, a New York-based research quarterly, included the testing for toxic metals of 89 pieces of jewelry and 71 toys purchased from markets around Phnom Penh. Most items cost less than $5.

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