What is the carcinogenic substance widely used in your home?

Cadmium is the culprit and it’s used in many home electronic goods, including lighting, computers and televisions. It causes cancer and targets cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, neurological, reproductive and respiratory functions.

However, the majority of consumers surveyed in a recent study across Britain, Germany and the United Sates were unaware of the existence of this carcinogenic material in their homes and the fact that safer, viable alternatives exist like zinc alloys.

The survey was conducted by Regina Corso Consulting for Nanoco, specialists in the manufacture of heavy metal-free nanomaterials.

It concluded that nearly 80% of consumers were not aware of cadmium’s current use in consumer electronics and between 60% and 80% of consumers were unaware of cadmium being a highly toxic material.

However, when the consumers where informed of the dangers of cadmium three-quarters of them in each country said they would reject cadmium-based products and would be willing to purchase safer electronic goods that did not contain the material

What’s being done about it?

Because of the potential health risks of toxic materials their use in consumer products is becoming increasingly regulated. The EU directive “Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances” (RoHS) limits the amount of cadmium, lead and mercury, as well as hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl and polybrominated diphenyl ether - that can be used in electrical and electronic equipment.

But it must be remembered that RoHS is a directive, not a regulation. A regulation is a law that is immediate and universal across all participating entities in the EU. A directive is a legislative act which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result.

Putting safety first

Of those people surveyed, German consumers in particular put safety first with 60% of them rejecting products using cadmium. They also expressed a view that governments have a responsibility to tell consumers about the dangers of cadmium. Many felt this was a necessity because generally speaking manufacturers prefer not to tell consumers about their use of carcinogenic materials.

However, many manufacturers may have to rethink their use of cadmium by the middle of this year which is when the European Commission is scheduled to further consider banning the use of the substance.