Instead of boycotting Israeli products we ought to be boycotting Chinese products.
What has China sent us?
CFLs
The U.S. government banned manufacture and import of incandescent bulbs by fiat effective January 1, 2014. See Why people still use inefficient incandescent light bulbs in USA Today.
The hype for the CFL, as presented in the USA Today piece, is:
"An incandescent bulb can cost as little as 70 cents. Meanwhile, a CFL bulb sells for at least a few dollars and an LED starts at $10 but usually runs around $20.
"The problem with incandescents is you end up paying more in electricity costs. Incandescents are inefficient – 90% of the energy goes toward heat and only 10% toward light.
"Incandescents also don't last as long as CFLs and LEDs. The typical incandescent bulb lasts about 1,000 hours, while a 15-watt CFL bulb lasts 10,000 hours and a 12-watt LED bulb lasts 25,000 hours. In other words, incandescents last about a year while CFLs can last 10 years and LEDs up to 25."
Note that none of the above is attributed; no sources cited. As a former newspaper reporter and editor, my suspicions are that the hype came from a PR practitioner's dream.
Unfortunately, the quality claimed in the article has not been my experience. Given the cost of CFLs and the rate of failure - lamps-per-package - the cost is far more than the price paid..
Where do these bulbs originate?
China, of course.
A check at Global Sources lists multiple manufacturers - all in China.
The Michigan Department of Community Health notes that "A CFL bulb is made of glass, a ceramic and metal base, a powder called phosphor, and a small amount of mercury.
"The mercury in the bulb is in the form of an invisible vapor or as part of the phosphor coating on the inside of the glass.
"The amount of mercury vapor that is released from one broken CFL bulb is not enough to make anyone sick. However, to avoid any exposure to mercury, we recommend that you leave the
room for at least 15 minutes before cleaning up the broken bulb. If you can, open a door or window to the outside to let fresh air into the room where the bulb was broken.
"Although CFLs are safe to use, we recommend that pregnant women and children under six years of age are around mercury as little as possible.
"If the light bulb will be used in play areas, such as children’s bedrooms or playrooms, where there is greater risk that a bulb may be broken, you may want to consider using standard light bulbs or LED bulbs.
"LED bulbs, or light emitting diode bulbs, do not contain mercury and offer greater energy savings than both standard and CFL bulbs." (Michigan Department of Community Health)
According to the Scientific American Web site:
"As effective as it is at enabling white light, however, mercury—sometimes called quicksilver—is also highly toxic. It is especially harmful to the brains of both fetuses and children. That's why officials have curtailed or banned its use in applications from thermometers to automotive and thermostat switches. (A single thermostat switch, still common in many homes, may contain 3,000 milligrams (0.1 ounce) of mercury, or as much as 600 compact fluorescents.)
"Jim Berlow, director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Hazardous Waste Minimization and Management Division, recommends starting by opening the windows and stepping outside. "Any problems at all frequently are handled for the most part by quickly ventilating the room," he says. "Get all the people and pets out of the room for 15 minutes and let the room air out. If you have a central heating system or an HVAC [heating, ventilating and air-conditioning] system, you don't want it sucking the fumes around, so shut that down."
"The important thing is not to touch the heavy metal. After airing out the room, the larger pieces of the bulb should be scooped off hard surfaces with stiff paper or cardboard or picked up off carpeted surfaces with gloves to avoid contact. Use sticky tape or duct tape to pick up smaller fragments; then, on hard surfaces, wipe down the area with a damp paper towel or a wet wipe. All materials should be placed in a sealable plastic bag or, even better, in a glass jar with a metal lid."
Drywall that contains high levels of sulfur
Over 3,000 homeowners have reported that drywall imported from China has caused health problems and metal corrosion in their homes. The contaminated drywall has high levels of sulfur, which may be responsible for a rotten egg smell in affected homes, blackened or corroded pipes, failure of air conditioners and other household appliances, and health problems such as asthma, coughing, headaches, sore throats, and irritated eyes. (See NOLO)
Flammable pajamas for children
The CPSC cited "The pajamas fail to meet the federal flammability standards for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injury to children" as the reason for the recall. (CSPC.)
In another case, the CPSC ordered the recall of an additional 6,000 units shipped to another clothier in the U.S.
Flame retardant chemical residue
And when the Chinese DO apply flame retardant chemicals . . .
"The black-and-white notice that a fire retardant has been applied adorns an array of children's products, including car seats, strollers and baby changing mats as well as home furniture. It might as well be a red flag, according to many health experts who caution that the added chemicals likely pose a greater health risk than any flames they might fend off. Common flame retardants have been linked with learning disorders, reduced fertility and cancer, they say, and non-chemical alternatives do exist.
'Protecting children from fire doesn't require exposing them to toxic chemicals,' said Ivy Sager-Rosenthal, campaign director for the nonprofit Washington Toxics Coalition."(Huntington Post)
Tires lacking material to prevent tread separation
Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., based in Hangzhou, China, built the tires for Foreign Tire Sales with inadequate gum strips, used to prevent tread separation, or none at all, Foreign Tire Sales said in a statement to the safety agency.
The Chinese company "unilaterally changed the construction" after its product passed federal tests without telling Foreign Tire Sales about the change, the U.S. company told the government agency, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The flaw is present in about 450,000 tires sold to the New Jersey company and an unknown number sent to other distributors, Foreign Tire Sales said.
The problem is that Foreign Tire Sales says it can't afford a recall. "FTS recognizes that a complete product recall might be in order," the company said in a June 11 letter to the safety agency. "Such a recall would force FTS to file for bankruptcy." (Car and Driver)
Toys with banned lead paint
Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, recalled nearly one million toys in the United States today because the products are covered in lead paint.
According to Mattel, all the toys were made by a contract manufacturer in China.
The recall, the second biggest this year involving toys, covers 83 products including Sesame Street and Nickelodeon.
Mattel says it prevented more than two-thirds of the 967,000 affected toys from reaching consumers by stopping the products in its distribution centers and contacting retailers But more than 300,000 of the tainted toys have been bought by consumers in the United States. (New York Times)
Bottom line
If the product is made in China, or if the origin of the product is unknown, consider buying something else. In the case of CFLs, the U.S. has allowed China to corner the market so we are "stuck" with lamps that burn out long before they should.
Given the country's lack of QA/QC and cavalier attitude toward safety and reliability, any time you buy a product "Made in China" you are taking a risk. For my part, if there is an alternative source, I'll prefer it.
