Showing posts with label arsenic poisoning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arsenic poisoning. Show all posts

Thursday, May 28, 2009

China-made children's products unsafe: state media


Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 28-May-2009 15:18 hrs 

A worker stitches teddy bears in a factory in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Guangdong village, in 2008. Nearly half of the clothing and a third of the furniture made for children in China's top manufacturing province is unsafe, with many products containing harmful chemicals, state media said. 

Nearly half of the clothing and a third of the furniture made for children in China's top manufacturing province is unsafe, with many products containing harmful chemicals, state media said.

The discovery was made in an official investigation by authorities in the southern province of Guangdong, the centre of China's manufactured export industry, the China Daily reported.

It said just 53.5 percent of garments surveyed met safety standards, with many containing excess amounts of formaldehyde, a chemical that can cause skin or respiratory infections.

As for children's furniture, 67.7 percent of it was deemed safe, with some of the questionable products containing too much formaldehyde or health-endangering heavy metals including lead, cadmium and chromium.

"The main reason for the excessive content of formaldehyde and heavy metals is the use of substandard raw materials and paints," Lin Ruixi, spokesman for the province's product safety administration, was quoted as saying.

The reputation of China's poorly regulated and corruption-plagued manufacturing industry has been deeply tarnished in recent years by safety scandals involving dangerous foods, toys and other products.

The investigation found that 95 percent of the toys made in Guangdong were safe, the report said.

Millions of toys made in China -- the world's largest producer of toys -- have been recalled globally in recent years amid fears they were made with toxic lead paints or had design flaws. — AFP


From TODAYOnline.com, Health – Thursday, 28-May-2009; see the source article here.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

H1N1 flu covered under most health plans

English: 2,500 people line up in a mall in Tex...
English: 2,500 people line up in a mall in Texas City, Texas to receive a dose of the H1N1/Swine Flu vaccine from the Galveston County Health Department (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
05:55 AM May 09, 2009


Medical costs related to pandemic flu are covered by most health insurance policies in Singapore, the Life Insurance Association (LIA) said yesterday.

“Coverage of Influenza A (H1N1) applies to Medical Expense (or Hospital and Surgical) policies including Integrated Shield Plans. As such, hospital and medication costs incurred as a consequence of H1N1 flu will be covered, up to the limits, sub-limits as well as any applicable terms and conditions stated in the policy.”

The LIA’s statement comes after Raffles Medical Group and its insurance arm, International Medical Insurers, launched last week the Raffles FluProtect plan at a cost of $36 for six months of coverage, or $60 for a year.

The LIA, which comprises the major life insurers in Singapore, nonetheless advises policyholders to review the coverage in their plans to make sure they are adequately protected. While most health policies cover medical costs related to pandemic flu, policyholders should note that clauses in some plans can exclude H1N1, pandemic conditions, as well as impose geographical restrictions, the LIA said.

From TODAY, Home – Weekend, 09/10-May-2009

Sunday, April 26, 2009

HOAX: Vitamin C (AA) + Shrimp/Prawn = Arsenic Poisoning

I got a mail just today, and it was telling of a case where a woman died after eating, with bleeding on the cavities, blah, blah, blah. And after autopsy, the medico-legal proclaimed: DEATH DUE TO IGNORANCE!

And it was stated that she ate prawns/shrimps, while taking in vitamin C. And this (deadly) combination, according to the medico-legal, resulted to arsenic poisoing when they mixed and combined in the stomach! It is like saying that "she ate herself to death."

The verdict? This is a HOAX!

Primarily, Arsenic is not a compound; it is an ELEMENT by itself. Therefore, if it is an element, it exists by itself, and only the amount that you ingest will determine whether or not it is poisonous. Well, there are so many poisonous or hazardous materials and minerals that we ingest everyday, we actually "eat them", as they are part and parcel of the food that we eat, but we don't pay them any attention. We simply eat, and tomorrow, we diet! If we diet, then it carries that we live the next day, isn't it???

So arsenic is NOT FORMED by combining Vitamin C and prawn/shrimp. It comes by its own, and doesn't need the help of anything else to make it the poison that it is. And it has to come in the right amount to kill you!

See this site about Arsenic and Arsenic Compounds, a very exhaustive and informative explanation indeed.

The snopes site offers also some very good debunking explanation. See it here. It was indicated to have started back in May 2001. 8th year anniversary 'renewal', eh?

The e-mail is below, just in case you want to see it for yourself.

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 台灣,一名女人突然無無故的七孔流血暴斃,一夜之間,就奔赴泉大家下回可要多多注意囉!經過初驗屍?.?斷定為因砒霜中毒而死亡。那砒霜從何而來?
Taiwan, a woman suddenly died unexpectedly?with signs of bleeding from her ears, nose, mouth & eyes.?After a preliminary autopsy it was diagnosed death due to arsenic poisoning death. Where did the?arsenic?come from??
   警員展開了深入而廣泛的調?查。一名醫學院的教授被邀趕來協助破案。?The police launched an in-depth and extensive investigation. A medical school professor was invited to come to solve the case.?
   教授仔細地察看了死者胃中取物,不到半個小時,暴斃之謎便?曉。教授?說:「死?者並非自殺,亦不是被殺,而是死於無知的『它殺』」!?The professor carefully looked at?the contents from the decease's stomach, in less than half an hour, the?mystery was solved. The professor said: 'The deceased did not commit suicide and?neither was she?murdered, she died of accidental death due to?ignorance!'?
  ?大家莫名其妙,何為『它殺』!?那砒霜又是從?韟茖荂?H? ?教授?說:「砒霜是在死者???產生的。」死者生前每天也會服食「維他命?C?」,這完全沒有問題!問題出在她??餐吃了大量的蝦,吃蝦本身也是沒有問題的,所以她的家人吃了都沒有事,但死者卻同時服用了「維他命?C?」,問題就出在這裡?!?
Everyone was puzzled, why accidental death? The arsenic is?of the U.S. military for carrying rice seedlings H Gao.? The professor said: 'The arsenic is produced in?the stomach?of the deceased.' The deceased used to?take?'Vitamin C' everyday,?which in itself is not a problem. The problem was that she ate a large portion of shrimp/prawn during?dinner. Eating shrimp/prawn?is not the problem?that's why nothing happened to her family ever though they took the same shrimp/prawn. However at the same time the deceased also took 'vitamin C', that is where the problem is!??


美國芝加哥大學的研究人員,通過實驗發現,蝦等軟殼類食物含有大量濃度較高的?-五鉀砷化合物。
Researchers at the University of Chicago in the United States , found through experiments, food such as soft-shell shrimp/prawn contains a?much higher concentration of - five potassium arsenic compounds.??
  ?這種物質食入體?內,本身對人體並無毒害作用!但是,在服用「維生素?C?」之後,由於化學作用,使原來無毒的-五鉀砷?(?即砷酸酐,亦稱五氧化砷,其化學式為?As205)?,轉變為有毒的三鉀砷?(?即亞砷酸??)?,又稱為三氧化二砷,其化學式為?(As203)?,這就 是人們俗稱的砒霜?!?
Such fresh food?by itself has no toxic effects on the human body! However, in taking 'vitamin C', due to the chemical reaction, the original non-toxic - five potassium arsenic (As anhydride, also known as arsenic oxide, the chemical formula for As205) changed to a three potassium toxic arsenic (ADB arsenic anhydride), also known as arsenic trioxide, a chemical formula (As203), which is commonly known as?arsenic to the public!
    ?砒霜有原漿毒作用,能麻痺細血管,抑制?巰基梅的活性,並使肝臟脂變肝小葉中心壞死,心、肝、腎、腸充血,上皮細胞壞死,毛細血管擴張。故中其毒而死者,常是?七竅出血。?
  ?所以;為慎重起見,在服用「維生素?C?」期間,應當忌食蝦類。?
Arsenic poisoning have magma role and can cause paralysis to the small blood vessels, "mercapto Jimei"??, inhibits the activity of the liver and fat necrosis change Hepatic Lobules Centre, heart, liver, kidney, intestine congestion, epithelial cell necrosis, telangiectasia. Therefore, a person who dies of arsenic poisoning will shows signs of bleeding from the ears, nose, mouth & eyes.?
Therefore; as a precautionary measure,

DO NOT not take shrimp/prawn when taking?'vitamin C'.

   看完後;請不要吝嗇的轉寄給您的親朋好友吧?!!
After reading this; please do not be stingy. Forward to your friends and family!!

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