Consumers warned not to eat mouse

BUYERS OF the Pilot Mouse, made by Kensington, have been complaining that the apparently innocuous desktop rodent comes with a terrifying warning: "The cord on this product contains lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling."

It's not just Kensington that is affected. These warnings are gradually becoming more common on products that are sold (or may be sold) in California. But they're still unusual enough to cause surprise and alarm, and are apparently frightening some consumers into returning the offending products.

The sudden harvest of scary warning labels is a long delayed effect of the California Health and Safety Code's Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly known as Proposition 65. A few years ago, Proposition 65 gained new teeth when a whole basket of consumer electronics manufacturers (among them Dell, HP, Intel, Electrolux, Motorola and JVC) caved to class action suits that accused them of selling products with lead-contaminated PVC cables. The defendants paid the plaintiffs a pittance in shut-up money, and a precedent was established. As a result, the warning labels began to proliferate.

Manufacturers which fail to attach a warning to a product which is found to contain dangerous levels of lead face penalties of US$2500 per day for every non-complying item sold in California. As GPS maker, Garmin, notes here it's safer (and I assume, cheaper) to simply attach the labels to everything 'out of an abundance of caution'.

Minute quantities of lead are often used in PVC cables as an anti-oxidant which protects the plasticising chemicals and prevents the cable becoming brittle. It's certainly possible that lead in PVC-coated cable can constitute a health hazard at the manufacturing or the disposal stage. But as for real risks to the user from occasionally handling the cable: there aren't any, despite what those alarming labels might make you think.

The frightening warning and admonition to wash hands after contact are confusing and misleading. To put things in perspective: fishing weights, which are usually more than 70% lead, are sold in California with the exact same warning as PVC cables which contain perhaps 0.03% lead.

The intake of even very small quantities of lead can cause extremely serious effects, including kidney damage and mental impairment, particularly in the young. The link to cancer is less clear.

And there is a small theoretical danger from some very old PVC cables, where the plasticiser has broken down and the surface begins to produce dust, containing that 0.03% lead - there's a grim irony here, as this can actually happen more rapidly in low-lead PVC which has too little lead to protect the plasticiser.

But, otherwise, you would have to literally eat a considerable quantity of PVC to stand any risk of lead poisoning. And if you chew on cables that could contain dangerous voltages, and certainly do contain sharp metal wires, it seems likely that your mental health has already been impaired somehow - ditto if you allow your children to chew on them.

The likely long term effect of this offshoot of California's Proposition 65 - less lead in PVC cables - is good target to aim for. But the increasing deluge of disproportionate and impractical warnings actually decreases public safety, by inducing 'warning-fatigue' and making people ignore real health risks.

But, of course, if you are still worried about your mouse or keyboard cable, you could always go wireless. µ

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