Since the start of the school year, the masks provided by National Education to teachers come from the Sun brand. However, these masks could prove to be toxic to the health of those who wear them. Since then, the government has been forced to backpedal.
-1603277166.png "Suspected of being toxic, Dim masks should no longer be used by teachers")
- Dim’s fabric masks are treated with silver zeolite.
- This compound, supposed to make masks antimicrobial, is also toxic to humans and can affect reproductive functions.
- Alerted by this information, the government decided to recommend that teachers and civil servants wear them, until a reassessment of their toxicity is made.
It was, however, a good gesture. At the start of the school year in September 2020, in an attempt to put an end to the controversy over whether or not masks are free for children, the government provided National Education teachers with five fabric masks from the Dim brand, for the entire school year. However, according to our colleagues from Reporterrethe masks provided by the company would be treated with silver zeolite, a biocide considered toxic for human beings.
Not considered a medical device
When Reporterre journalists take a closer look at the masks supplied by the company, it is clearly stipulated on the packaging that these masks are “neither a medical device within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (surgical masks ), or personal protective equipment within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 (FFP2 type filtering masks)”. Even so, they are able to act as a barrier to the coronavirus if they are used correctly.
These masks, which can be washed up to thirty times, are insufficient in number to last an entire quarter. Teachers are supposed to change them every four hours, and at the rate of nine masks used per week, they are considered unusable after two months.
It is at this precise moment that silver zeolite comes into play. Zeolite is a mineral way that our body knows how to synthesize and serves to imprison certain molecules. The silver present in the composition of the zeolite serves as an antimicrobial impregnated on the fabric in the form of ionic silver. The risk, however, is that silver ions are toxic to humans, especially when worn as close to the entryways into the human body as the nose and mouth. Inhaled for a long time and regularly, silver ions can attach themselves to different organs (liver, kidneys, intestine, spinal cord) and accumulate over time. Silver zeolites would even be, according to the European Chemicals Agencylikely to alter reproductive functions.
Application of the precautionary principle
Since the release of Reporterre’s investigation last week, the government has decided to react. These masks also equipped many other public service professions, and even the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron. The Ministry of National Education has called on teachers to no longer wear these masks until work on the reassessment of the toxicity of these products is completed, and other ministries have followed suit. For its part, the State has undertaken to provide school staff with new masks, not treated with silver zeolites this time. The Dim company, for its part, ensures that its masks are not dangerous to health.
Our masks comply with Oeko-Tex Standard 100® requirements, which means that each of their components has been tested “without harmful substances” and, therefore, they do not pose a risk to human health.
— DIM Paris (@DIMparis) October 14, 2020
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