Taipei, April 29 (CNA) One of 10 drinking water faucets sold in Taiwan failed a government safety inspection and was found to contain an excessive amount of lead, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) said at a press conference on Thursday.
The 10 types of faucet were purchased online and at local stores from April 7 to May 6, 2020, according to the Consumers' Foundation and BSMI, which jointly conducted the inspections.
Tests were undertaken to determine whether the products contained excessive levels of heavy metals, including lead.
One of the 10 products -- LOLAT's two-way kitchen faucet -- failed to meet related safety standards and was found to contain more than 0.25 percent of lead by total weight, said Consumers' Foundation Secretary-General Hsu Tse-yu (徐則鈺).
Meanwhile, four other products were found to be improperly labeled, he said.
BSMI section chief Wang Chun-chao (王俊超) said the drinking water faucet that was found to contain excessive lead has been ordered removed from shelves while manufacturers of the four products that were incorrectly labeled have been instructed to make corrections or face a maximum fine of NT$1 million (US$ 35,460) in accordance with the Commodity Inspection Act.
Anyone who purchased the faucet in question is urged to contact the manufacturer as soon as possible.
According to information made public by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to lead can be harmful to health, especially that of unborn babies and young children.
In children, low levels of exposure has been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells, the EPA said on its website.
Since 2017, Taiwan's government has listed drinking water faucets as subject to compulsory inspections, according to the BSMI.
As such, materials used to make such faucets must contain less than 0.25 percent of lead by weight and the water coming out the faucet must not contain more than 5 parts per billion (ppb) of lead, according to the BSMI.
Meanwhile, drinking water faucets should be labelled with an "LF (lead free)" mark so customers can identify them. The outer packaging must also contain the Chinese characters for "drinking water" for identification purposes, it said.
