Taiwan Today

Tests conducted by the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration reveal that seven Crocodile brand mosquito coils contain dioxin levels more than 100 times the acceptable level. “After testing 20 mosquito coils on the market, we found that all seven contaminated coils were manufactured by Chung Tai Sing Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., the makers of Crocodile Coil products,” a spokesman from the EPA said Aug. 5. The EPA said that all the tested mosquito coils were manufactured in Indonesia, mainland China, Malaysia and Vietnam. “We believe that the raw materials used to produce the coils must have been contaminated at some point,” the EPA spokesman said. As for other brands made in Taiwan, mainland China and Malaysia, the EPA found their levels of dioxins to be at acceptable levels. The EPA’s investigation of mosquito-coil dioxin levels came after an unscheduled test last month revealed that four Crocodile mosquito coils made in Vietnam contained high levels of dioxin. According to Yuan Shao-ying, director-general of the Department of Environmental Sanitation and Toxic Substances, the World Health Organization lists dioxins as carcinogens. If exposed to burning coils in closed environments for two or three months, a person’s risk of developing cancer could increase 3.7-fold, he said. Chung Tai Sing Chemical said that the contamination is believed to have originated in wood powders purchased from a Vietnamese firm, which were then distributed to the company’s plants in Indonesia, mainland China, Malaysia and Vietnam. In addition to recalling the affected products, Chung Tai Sing Chemical said it would offer refunds to all customers who had purchased the tainted mosquito coils. (BAD-JSM)