South Korea bans sale of
medical goods containing asbestos
SEOUL, April 9, 2009 (AFP) - South
Korea's drug safety agency Thursday banned the sale of 1,122
medical goods which contain talcum powder contaminated with
asbestos, and ordered their recall from stores.
An ambulance in Seoul (Photo:
AFP/File/Str)
The government separately banned
imports of talcum powder containing asbestos, a toxic mineral that
can cause serious illnesses such as malignant mesothelioma and lung
cancer.
Talcum power is widely used in
items ranging from surgical gloves to drug capsules and cosmetic
products. The European Union since 2005 has ordered manufacturers
to refine the powder thoroughly to remove asbestos.
The Korea Food and Drug
Administration said it had banned the sale of 1,122 medical
products suspected to be contaminated with asbestos.
It said 1,111 products would be
immediately removed from the market and 11 others a month
later.
The administration has come in for
criticism for failing to protect public safety after announcing
last week it had detected the harmful material in 11 brands of baby
powder and cosmetic products.
"I sincerely apologise for causing
public anxiety," its chief Yoon Yeo-Pyo said, adding his office
would also screen all cosmetic products.
The prime minister's office said
the government placed an import ban on talcum powder containing
asbestos. It promised to conduct asbestos screening for rubber,
paper and other industrial products using talcum powder.
The JoongAng Daily has urged the
government to work out safety standards on asbestos.
"There are now fears that
medicines and household goods might also be affected," it said in
an editorial Wednesday.
"We're now in a situation where we
don't know which household goods we use every day are contaminated
by this dangerous material," it said.
refer to initial
report:
2009-04-09
SKorea recalls cosmetics contaminated with
asbestos
SEOUL, April 7, 2009 (AFP) - A South Korean safety watchdog said
Tuesday 7 April it has banned a local cosmetics company from
selling five products which used raw materials contaminated with
cancer-causing asbestos.
The products from L'Ocean
cosmetics company including face powder and make-up base were being
taken off the shelves, the Korea Food and Drug Administration
said.
The products were made using talcum powder imported from China,
which was found to have been contaminated with asbestos, it said in
a statement.
The agency last Thursday announced that it had found asbestos in
baby powder made by eight manufacturers. It banned their sale and
ordered a recall.
Asbestos can cause lung cancer when inhaled.