Chinese Jewelry Cadmium Scare

I remember in the 1980s when we first began to receive notifications that the tiny amount of cadmium present in most gold solders at that time would become illegal. We bought in our gold wires at that time from Johnson Matthey in Vittoria St, Birmingham, England.

We began making our own wires in 1991, and mixing our own alloys, as we built Phase 1 of our new factory at Caia Lane. We started from the beginning without cadmium. The guys working in the wire department were not going to need to worry about quite so much protection and extraction. The worst they faced now was zinc and copper, other than gold and silver. These two are not known for toxic effect on humans.

It saddens, but does not surprise me to hear that in China Cadmium has come back in. It is a highly toxic metal even in tiny quantities. Different people have different susceptibilities, but the human nervous system is already under heavy load in most modern environments from all kinds of pollutants, cars, industrial burning, water contamination and even cosmetics, which don't to reveal their ingredients under international agreement. Each known toxin that is eradicated helps to stop the onslaught of nervous system disorders, such as Parkinsons, Alzheimers, paralysis and so on.

The Chinese industrial boom is not known for its humane considerations, and other lesser toxic metals like Nickel, associated with dermatitis, have crept back in. That is bad enough, but allowing Cadmium back in is a step too far, in my opinion. In the 1970s, we at least had the excuse of ignorance, but no one can say that now. The lethal effects of the toxic metals are well known.

Play safe, and buy from manufacturers who aren't selling you a known poison, is my honest advice. Maybe some Chinese manufacturers are OK. I don't know them all. But be careful, OK.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/09/cadmium-jewelry-california-china.html

EXTRACT -

The Los Angeles Times' Lily Kuo reports on the cadmium trade from our Beijing bureau:

The cupcake-shaped pendants came in shades of blue and pink, studded with rhinestones. Meant for little girls, they hung on simple faux-silver necklaces and cost as little as $8.

And they were potentially deadly, according to consumer advocates.