OPINION:
Are Chinese gadgets
deadly, too?
Mike Elgan
(Computerworld) -- It
seems that nearly
everything is made in
China these days. We
enjoy the low Wal-Mart
prices Chinese
manufacturing makes
possible. But there's a
dark side. It has
emerged through
thousands of news and
government reports that
food and other goods
made in China can prove
toxic, poisonous -- even
deadly.
Dog and cat food
ingredients made in
China killed dozens of
pets in the U.S. this
year. Toxic Chinese
cough syrup killed at
least 94 people in
Panama. Chinese tires
sold in the U.S.
spontaneously shredded
on the freeway.
"European" toys made in
China and sold in the
U.S. were made with
poisonous metal (in
fact, every one of the
24 toys recalled for
safety in the U.S. last
year were made in
China). Jewelry made in
China and sold in the
U.S. was found to be
made with "recycled"
toxic "eWaste" -- the
components of computers
and other electronics.
The list goes on and on.
It should be no surprise
that Chinese goods are
problematic. The country
has launched into such
rapid economic growth
that it hasn't had time
to develop the culture,
institutions or
regulatory environment
the West and some Asian
countries spent decades
building up to protect
consumers from shoddy
goods.
The Chinese government
has in place only the
bluntest of instruments.
As a result of
international pressure
over Chinese food
safety, for example,
Beijing executed the
leader of the country's
Food and Drug
Administration. The
government also
occasionally storms
factories with police
and arrests management.
But these high-profile
measures serve only as
publicity stunts to
demonstrate how serious
the government takes
complaints. In reality,
Beijing has almost no
real control over
product quality.
And the U.S. has very
little control over
imports. The government
relies heavily on
assurances from the
exporting country. The
"honor system" works
great for goods imported
from Japan or Finland.
But China?
The inconvenient truth
is that nobody is
monitoring the safety of
most products coming
into the U.S. from
China. You're on your
own.
U.S. consumers have
already learned to avoid
Chinese toothpaste. But
what about cell phones?
Unlike, say, toothpaste,
which you put in your
mouth, cell phones seem
safe enough. In reality,
however, it's hard to
make a safe cell phone.
A typical cell phone
contains heavy, toxic
metals such as lead and
beryllium, poisonous
flame retardants like
bromide and enough
cadmium to contaminate
thousands of gallons of
water. It's difficult
and expensive to use
these ingredients
without exposing the
user to toxins.
The big cell phone
manufacturing countries
-- the U.S., Finland,
Sweden, Germany, South
Korea and Japan -- go to
great lengths to control
and monitor the safety
of cell phones. National
governments, consumer
and industry groups,
magazines and journals,
and other players all
monitor, test and
comment on the safety of
phones.
Few such controls exist
in China. The Chinese
government recently
announced plans to set
up three centers to
fight "electronic
pollution," meaning
they'll test electronics
for safety, and figure
out how to make gadgets
less toxic to recycle or
dispose of. Until they
get those facilities up
and running, there is
currently no real,
sustained official
control or monitoring of
the toxicity,
flammability or
radiation production of
cell phones and other
devices made in China.
China doesn't have its
own version, for
example, of the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety
Commission, which among
other things notifies
consumers about recalls
and dangerous products.
And what little
monitoring does go on
raises concerns.
Chinese news media
reported recently (and
vaguely) that inspectors
in southern China found
that about 80% of cell
phone chargers failed to
"pass tests," and a
whopping 40% of the cell
phone batteries for sale
there fell "below
standards." Below whose
standards. China's?
Yikes!
In the past two years,
at least six cell phones
have exploded in China.
One man was killed just
last month, and the
other five people were
wounded. The phone
carried by the man
killed was reported as a
Motorola phone, but it's
likely that the phone --
or at least the battery
-- was counterfeit and
made in China.
About three years ago, a
semiofficial
organization called the
China Consumers'
Association (CCA) warned
Chinese cell phone
buyers that their tests
of domestically
manufactured phones
found some with
radiation spikes as high
as 10,000 microwatts per
square centimeter, which
is far higher than any
cell phone currently
manufactured in the
U.S., Europe or
elsewhere in Asia. It's
unknown whether the
CCA's report prompted
changes to cell phone
manufacturing in China,
or even if the
organization's testing
was accurate. But it
does suggest an
unregulated potential
problem.
The U.S. cell phone
market is dominated by
handsets from the U.S.,
Europe, Korea, Japan,
and, most recently,
Cupertino. Of course,
many of these devices
contain components made
in China. But
manufacturing is tested
and monitored by the
brand companies and the
countries where these
companies are based.
Phones from the big
brands are probably very
safe, even if they
contain parts made in
China.
Recently, however,
Chinese handset makers
have made a big push to
enter the U.S. market.
Alcatel Mobile Phone and
Haier Group, both
Chinese companies that
make cell phone
handsets, publicly broke
into the U.S. market
this year at CTIA
Wireless 2007 with
"unlocked" handsets
compatible with AT&T and
T-Mobile USA devices.
Other Chinese handset
makers plan to follow
suit.
Getting one's hands on
an exotic Chinese
handset has long been a
source of pride among
electronics enthusiasts.
The big gadget blogs,
like Engadget and
Gizmodo are packed with
reports of users
coveting unlocked
Chinese phones for use
on U.S. carriers.
Counterfeit phones are
an even bigger risk.
That "BlueBerry" smart
phone you bought on eBay
for $100 had a great
list of features, but
will it explode in your
face, give you cancer or
cook your brain? We'll
find out when we read
about you in the paper.
My advice: Just say no
to Chinese cell phones
until someone -- anyone
-- starts testing and
regulating these
devices. Before you buy
an exotic "off-brand"
cell phone, check the
country of origin. And
always buy from a
reputable source that
isn't likely to
"accidentally" sell you
a counterfeit. (And that
goes for the battery,
too.)
Oh, and stick to
American toothpaste,
while you're at it. |
