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Masks distributed in Canada with microscopic graphene potentially toxic
- zozin 6y agoA quick Google search suggests that SNN200642 masks are advertised as having graphene in them. Googling "biomass graphene" yields a bunch more links, including this one: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0371/0792/5125/products/3_1024x1024.jpg?v=1586952210 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0371/0792/5125/products/3_... A Chinese patent for a potentially toxic mask material?
- me_me_me 6y agoGraphene has a potential to be the asbestos of our era. Damaged strands can be inhaled in same way and end up in your lungs. I have never looked into that and only glanced at papers on the impact of inhalation of graphene. It seems like graphene will build up in the lungs but not shred them like the asbestos does. Still its a new material I would be cautious of using it.
- jcims 6y agoRelated, mesothelioma from CNTs (in mice/rats): https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)31171-5 https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)...
- ehnto 6y agoWe haven't even fully borne out the research for plastic polymers breaking down and getting into lungs. I have all but conceded to a drastically increased likelihood of cancer in my lifetime thanks to how flippant we are with particulates.
- interestica 6y agoDoubly Related: Quebec's Asbestos (city) recently got renamed in part due to the stigma.
- dukeofdoom 6y agoWow, this seems like 4chan conspiracy theory becoming reality. Will the worm one turn out to be true too? On a side note, what kind of idiot puts graphene in masks, when its so widely known that graphene is a carcinogen. How can this not be maliciously done.
- hmd_imputer 6y agoexactly. I have even seen a video where they found one on a test kit that you push all the way thru your nose.
- trutannus 6y agoThey're manufactured in China, where quality control can be low to non-existent. My best guess is that somehow the batches got contaminated in the factory. The current admin in Canada has spent the majority of the pandemic failing to vet companies properly, so this is very unsurprisingly to me.
- passerby1 6y agoMasks being discussed were made in Canada: > ..SNN200642 masks made by a Quebec-based manufacturer are being recalled..
- flyingfences 6y ago> Radio-Canada has obtained documents showing Health Canada warned of the potential for "early pulmonary toxicity" from the SNN200642 masks which are made in China and sold and distributed by Métallifer, a Quebec-based manufacturer.
- throwawayfrauds 6y agoThe article says that they are made in China, the company is based in Quebec.
- sudosysgen 6y agoIt's not a question of quality control. The masks were advertised as containing graphene. It was supposedly used for filtration.
- traceroute66 6y agoIf the photo is accurate, I can't imagine anyone seriously using those masks ! If I got a box of masks that looked like it was previously worn by a chimney-sweep, I would either return them to the seller or dispose of them. They look filthy !
- mhb 6y agoNeither would I, but it seems like a thing for some masks to include charcoal so maybe people are thinking it's that and some just leaked out?
- leereeves 6y agoAlso, according to the article, "some daycare educators had been suspicious of these grey and blue masks for a while because they felt like they were swallowing cat hair while wearing them." People must have been ordered to wear them; who would wear these by choice?
- reedjosh 6y agoThis is why Governments shouldn't be allowed to force these sort of things. Governments can be and often are wrong. Also add to this potential influence by malicious actors.
- eplanit 6y agoAnd governments are also largely immune (pun intended) from prosecution once their error is revealed.
- pyinstallwoes 6y agoWho governs the government!? Surely a disarmed population.
- krapp 6y agoGive an example of an armed population which has effectively governed its government.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- yabones 6y ago> Some daycare educators had been suspicious of these grey and blue masks for a while because they felt like they were swallowing cat hair while wearing them, Radio-Canada has learned. Really? If they were this bad, why the hell did they let people keep using them?? By now we all know how wearing a mask is supposed to feel, that sensation alone should have been enough to at least pause distribution.
- api 6y agoPeople assume something sold as a protective mask is safe.
- sudosysgen 6y agoMy brother wore that mask, he didn't feel this way from it, actually he didn't feel any difference from normal masks. Maybe they did, or maybe it's a coincidence and something else made them feel this way.
- rhacker 6y agoWe got to start manufacturing everything locally.
- minikites 6y agoHow would that address issues like this?
- ta988 6y agoNot! it was just a troll. They are numerous these days trying to get people into their political discourse traps...
- throwawaysea 6y agoI think it allows locality of decision making. So imagine if your state/provincial government had authority to set tighter regulations on these goods, or physically inspect facilities, or whatever else. They may not have the same reach or ability to control manufacturing elsewhere. Likewise, some other jurisdiction might decide this is NOT important to regulate or invest their time/resources on, and if so, that would be their choice.
- minikites 6y ago>tighter regulations on these goods Why can't we do this for imports? >physically inspect facilities Why not just inspect the finished product like we could do with imports? I'm not against domestic manufacturing and in fact I think many governments should be creating more incentives for domestic manufacturing for economic reasons. Insisting on domestic manufacturing in this context has hints of Sinophobia.
- sudosysgen 6y agoThe government ordered their goods. The presence of graphene wasn't a secret at least to the importer, and at least the box I saw advertised the presence of graphene.
- sudosysgen 6y ago
- dqpb 6y ago> Patrick Baillargeon, who is charge of purchasing Quebec's laboratory supplies, warns in a letter that Health Canada has not received any data to support the safety and efficacy of face masks containing graphene particles and therefore considers the risks associated with these medical devices unacceptable. This makes it sound like the graphene is there on purpose?
- auxym 6y agoYes, it is. I work in a university and we were given these masks. The inside is dark grey instead of white, and it even advertises on the box that they are made with graphene. I have worn them for long periods and so have many of my colleagues. I have not felt any throat scratching as described in the news, however.
- transtrain 6y agoLiberal party donor will be behind this as usual. All scams in Canada go back to Justin trudeau. Perfect example of why monarchy doesn't work. Son is a vegetable compared to father.
- belval 6y agoNo one will be held accountable here, but there really should be consequences to this level of sloppiness. Since these were resold by a third-party, it means that someone looked at this without any kind of health background and said "That one has graphene in it! The seller said it was better so it must be true.", bought it, and then FORCED educators to wear them.
- deepsun 6y agoFinally real application of graphene! /s
- andrelaszlo 6y agoNo need for this new stuff, my old asbestos mask is practically indestructible.
- cronix 6y agoFirst, China asked citizens around the world to buy up local supplies of PPE and ship it back to China at the earliest stages of the pandemic (Jan 2020). > In Nagoya, Japan, volunteers drove to pharmacies and bought 520,000 masks in three days, according to an account carried by Xinhua, China’s official news agency. By Jan. 26, the head of a Chinese chamber of commerce in Toronto, just back from a trip to Beijing, started making calls to members telling them they needed to join the effort, the report said. Almost 100 people drove to Toronto—some overnight, on icy roads—and were dispatched to buy supplies. Planes out of Kenya and Milan were packed with boxes and suitcases filled with PPE bound for China. An overseas Chinese association in Argentina sent some 25,000 masks within a week of receiving the request. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-17/behind-china-s-epic-dash-for-ppe-that-left-the-world-short-on-masks https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-17/behind-ch... Then they sold defective PPE and Covid Tests to the world. Friday, June 5, 2020 > “The charges alleged in this complaint show a blatant disregard for the safety of American citizens,” Acting FBI-Newark Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski said. “Had it not been for the actions of the investigative team, this defendant would have put first responders, hospital employees, and other front line workers directly in harm’s way with faulty equipment just to make a buck. The defendant tried to bypass the government's regulations by misbranding the quality of the equipment being peddled. The FBI remains vigilant in the pursuit of criminals trying to exploit the current crisis.” https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/chinese-manufacturer-charged-exporting-misbranded-and-defective-masks-falsely-purporting https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/chinese-manufacturer-char... > AA growing list of foreign complaints about faulty medical gear and testing kits imported from China has upset Beijing's designs. Within the last few weeks, scientists and health authorities in Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey and Britain have complained of faulty antigen or antibody coronavirus tests purchased from Chinese companies — in some cases, costing these governments millions of dollars. https://news.yahoo.com/faulty-masks-flawed-tests-chinas-171818787.html https://news.yahoo.com/faulty-masks-flawed-tests-chinas-1718...
- fortran77 6y ago> Some daycare educators had been suspicious of these grey and blue masks for a while because they felt like they were swallowing cat hair while wearing them, Radio-Canada has learned. Cat hair!
- sudosysgen 6y agoFwiw, no one I know that used them felt anything, even an asthmatic. Which doesn't make it any less dangerous, but yeah if everyone felt that way it would be even worse to take so long to act.
- sudosysgen 6y agoMy brother was given this mask. The graphene wasn't contaminated there or anything, it was actually put there on purpose. Shame on the manufacturer, the importer and the government. This issue was brought to the attention of the government agyer a citizen was concerned over the presence of graphene and contacted the authorities.
- dennis_jeeves 6y agoThe whole ridiculousness of the Covid paranoia... People get the governments they deserve.
- ksaj 6y agoI'm willing to bet someone thought that because of how extremely fine graphene is, it would be even better than activated charcoal for filtering tiny particles. That of course ignores that it is a super-fine particle of the kind you should be filtering instead. It all reminds me of how coal miners used to purposely inhale McIntyre Powder, which was pulverized aluminum, to protect their lungs, only to end up with different medical problems. Unflatteringly, this also happened in Canada. Apparently we never learn.
- d13 6y agoI had no idea graphene could be used in products like this. I always thought it was expensive and fragile, could only be made in small quantities, and that there were no cheap and efficient and ways to mass produce it?