China-made flip-flops from Wal-Mart causing chemical burn on skin?

[villager]

Judge for yourself:

http://lamanaphotography.com/walmart.htm

[tammywammy]

1. Very strange

I wonder what's in the plastic that caused those burns.

[whistle]

3. Certainly formaldehyde plus a potpourri of various toxic chemicals

<snip>
A Layman's Guide to the Chemistry of Theatre Crafts
by Thurston James
SEMESTER I: PVA AND FOAMS
If you have no background in chemistry, you may find the great number of multi-syllabic chemical names overwhelming. I did. I confess that as the list of chemicals I was using in the construction of properties grew, I was intimidated. The list seemed unending - an insurmountable mountain. I unconsciously rebelled, recognizing only the few terms I found to be absolutely necessary. I became comfortable working with molding and casting materials long before I decided to sort out their various chemical names. When I did, I found that even though the list is long, it is finite, and can be simplified and conquered by grouping the individual entries according to their similarities.
The chemicals used in the prop room fall into six general categories: poly vinyl acetate (PVA), foams, thermosets, thermoplastics, molding and casting rubber, and solvents. We'll deal with them two at a time over the next three issues.

Some of these chemicals are perfectly safe to use. Most are safe when used with precautions. A few are dangerously poisonous. As we take our excursion through the prop-building laboratory we will point out some of the dangers and steer you away from the most toxic.

POLY VINYL ACETATE (PVA)
In this world so filled with toxins, there are very few industrial chemicals that can be used without guarding yourself with goggles, gloves and the garb of a gladiator. Poly vinyl acetates, however, can be safely used without suiting up. PVA is found in at least five different forms. These are adhesives, caulkings, sealers, paints and textured coatings; they are in a class of their own for several reasons, one of which is that they are wonderfully benign. The manufacturers listed below cater specifically to theater technicians and proudly make much of the fact that their products are extremely low in toxicity.
White glue - PVA has been formulated into several well-known white glue products, some water soluble and some that are highly water-resistant. Most of the trade names are familiar: Elmer's, Will-Hold, Weld-Wood, Weldbond, etc.

Flex-glue - An adhesive used in binding books has found a place in the hearts of prop builders and costumers because it remains flexible after it dries. It never hardens. One product that is packaged specifically for the theatre craftsmen goes by the trade name "Phlex-glu", and is used as far more than just an adhesive. It is employed as a paint binder, a texturing agent, an embedding medium and a coating material. Ford Davis of Spectra Dynamics, the manufacturer of Plhex-glu, says he is "in business to help people use the product he manufactures" and welcomes the opportunity to talk to people seeking advice on solving texturing problems.

PVA texture coating - PVA is so good at making textured surfaces that thick formulations are being devised specifically for theatre craftsmen and artists. One such product that has become popular in the last two or three years is "Sculpt-or-coat". It began as a coating to drape and stiffen fabrics, was found to give sculptures carved from foam a tough, smooth surface, and then the product grew in the hands of enthusiastic users to become very versatile. You can write or call Sculptural Arts Coating Inc. for bulletins explaining some of the many ways their products can be used. Rosco Products has recently introduced their own line of PVA coating, and your local Rosco dealer should be able to give you information on it.

PVA sealer - PVA sealer is used by painters to prime coat drywall plaster and masonry before it is painted. This material is now a standard product with painters, replacing polyurethane coatings for making a tough, glossy finish. Sculptural Arts Coatings have come out with a new line of non-toxic scenic paints with a PVA base.

FOAMS
Several plastics can be expanded to form a product available as either rigid or flexible foam. I will confess that in my early years, I lumped all solid foam materials into a single bag and mentally labelled it "styrofoam". If the foam happened to be flexible, I called it "foam rubber". This was, of course, an erroneous simplification.
Foamed plastics are so much a part of the stage crafts in some of our theaters that we are likely to think that they were invented for our benefit. The fact is, the bulk of foamed plastic is used in manufacturing -- for insulation, airtight sealing, flotation devices, packaging and for mattresses and cushions. Compared to the bulk of foams manufactured, the entertainment industry is a small user.

Only three products are of major interest to the theater craftsman:

Polystyrene Foam - Dow Chemical owns the trademark "Styrofoam" but several manufacturers are producing expanded polystyrene. This foam is available in two basic forms, easily identified by their colours: white and blue. White styrene foam will burn and is doubly dangerous in a fire: it not only flames but in the process it produces a black smoke containing toxic styrene vapour. Blue foam is flame resistant. A somewhat denser beaded foam of the "styrofoam cup" variety is also available.

Urethane Foam - One factor that adds to the confusion of understanding plastics is that the same plastic may appear in many different forms. Urethane is one such product. It is available as a foam, as an unfoamed solid, as a liquid coating and as a thermoset rubber compound. (The rubber compound will be explained in a future article on mold-making plastics.) Urethane is probably the most useful foamed product to the theater technician. It can be purchased in a wide variety of sizes and densities, in both flexible and rigid form. Two-part kits, to be polymerized and expanded by the consumer are also available.

Rigid urethane foam (often sold as "florist's foam") is widely used in the theater for constructing lightweight stone work and cornice mouldings, in sculpting figures, and making turned balustrades.

Flexible urethane foam (the familiar "foam rubber") is used in the prop room, as it is in in industry, for making cushions, mattresses and padding for upholstery.

The two-part urethane kit consists of two parts which are mixed to make a rapidly expanding foam in a variety of densities. When the mixture begins to foam, it can be poured or spread to make free-form rocks, tree bark and bread stuffs. Or the foaming liquid can be poured into a mould to make very controlled, lightweight castings.

The two-part urethane kit must be used with strict safeguards. In the liquid state these chemicals are dangerous to eyes and skin, so you must protect yourself by wearing gloves and goggles. The vapour produced when you mix the components is toxic, so you must protect your lungs by wearing a respirator and working in a properly ventilated environment.

Polyethylene foam (Ethyfoam) - This foam comes as a round rod in a wide range of diameters from 1/4" to 6". It is flexible and is used in industry as an insulator and sealant. Because of its flexibility, the scene technician finds this product very useful in making curved decoration. He splits the rod down the middle and uses it to make half-round mouldings. It can be split a second time and used to make flexible quarter-round mouldings. A slightly less flexible polyethylene foam is available in sheets of various thicknesses up to 4". It is used for sculpture or scenic construction in situations where the more brittle polystyrene or urethane might be too fragile.

Other plastic foams - I will mention in passing that several other plastics - vinyl, epoxies, silicones, cellosics and phenolics - can be expanded to make foams, each having its own properties. But let's not allow these to clutter our minds. They may be of some interest to the experimental theatre craftsman, but most of us can consider these to be just a little too exotic to bother with.

Parts II and III of Propchem 101 are continued in issues #2 and 3 of Proptology. They will be appearing on this site soon. Information on some of these products can be obtained from:

Ford Davis Sculptural Arts Coatings
Spectra Dynamics PO Box 13113
Albuquerque, NM Greensboro, NC
USA 87102 USA 27415
phone: [phone] phone: [phone]

Rosco Laboratories Ltd. Rosco Laboritories Ltd.
1271 Denison St, Unit 66 36 Bush Avenue
Markham, ON Port Chester, NY
Canada L3R 4B5 USA 10573
phone: [phone] phone: [phone]
fax: [phone] fax: [phone]

http://home.eol.ca/~props/propchem.html

[tammywammy]

4. Interesting

I also see a huge class action law-suit in the near future.

Man, I'm glad I always buy my flip flops at Old Navy. :)

[villager]

6. No skin burns then?

;-)

[whistle]

13. You know even natural materials such as leathers and hinds used

...in footwear can potentially harm the wearer. These organic materials must be chemically treated to prevent them from decay, mold, moisture and so on. Some quality high fashion Moroccan leathers are actually treated in a bath of camel urine along with various other chemicals. Leather goes through an intesting process before it beomes suitable for placing next to ones skin. You can understand why Tarzan and Jane wore so little leather.

<snip>

Leather Work

Animal skins and hides are treated to preserve them and make them suitable for use.

The term hide is used to designate the skin of larger animals (e.g., cowhide or horsehide), whereas "skin" refers to that of smaller animals (e.g., calfskin or kidskin). The preservation process employed is a chemical treatment called tanning, which converts the otherwise perishable skin to a stable and non-decaying material. Although the skins of such diverse animals as ostrich, lizard, eel, and kangaroo have been used, the more common leathers come from seven main groups: cattle, including calf and ox; sheep and lamb; goat and kid; equine animals, including horse, mule, and zebra; buffalo; pig and hog; and such aquatic animals as seal, walrus, whale, and alligator.

The hides of mammals are composed of three layers: epidermis, a thin outer layer; corium, or dermis, the thick central layer; and a subcutaneous fatty layer. The corium is used to make leather after the two sandwiching layers have been removed. Fresh hides contain between 60 and 70 percent water by weight and 30 to 35 percent protein. About 85 percent of the protein is collagen, a fibrous protein held together by chemical bonds. Basically, leather making is the science of using acids, bases, salts, enzymes, and tannins to dissolve fats and nonfibrous proteins and strengthen the bonds between the collagen fibers.

Leather making or leather work is an ancient art that has been practiced for more than 7,000 years. Primitive man dried fresh skins in the sun, softened them by pounding in animal fats and brains, and preserved them by salting and smoking. Beginning with simple drying and curing techniques, the process of vegetable tanning was developed by the Egyptians and Hebrews about 400 BC. During the Middle Ages the Arabs preserved the art of leather making and so improved it that morocco and cordovan (from Córdoba, Spain) became highly prized leathers. By the 15th century, leather tanning was once more widespread in Europe, and, by the mid-19th century, power-driven machines that performed such operations as splitting, fleshing, and dehairing were introduced. Toward the end of the 19th century, chemical tannage--in particular, the use of chrome salts--was introduced.

The modern commercial leather-making process involves three basic phases: preparation for tanning, tanning, and processing tanned leather. As a preliminary step, a hide must be carefully skinned and protected both in storage and transportation before reaching the tannery. A hide will begin to decompose within hours of an animal's death; to prevent this from happening, the hide is cured by a dehydrating process that involves either air-drying, wet or dry salting, or pickling with acids and salts before being shipped to a tannery.

At the tannery the hide is soaked to remove all water-soluble materials and restore it to its original shape and softness. Hair is loosened usually by a process called liming, accomplished by immersing the hides in a mixture of lime and water; the hair and extraneous flesh and tissue are removed by machine. The hide is then washed, delimed, bated (the enzymatic removal of nonfibrous protein to enhance color and suppleness), and pickled (to provide a final cleansing and softening).

The tanning process derives its name from tannin (tannic acid), the agent that displaces water from the interstices of the hide's protein fibers and cements these fibers together. Vegetable tanning, which is the oldest of tanning methods, is still important. Extracts are taken from the parts of plants (such as the roots, bark, leaves, and seed husks) that are rich in tannin. The extracted material is processed into tanning liquors, and the hides are soaked in vats or drums of increasingly strong liquor until they are sufficiently tanned. The various vegetable-tanning procedures can take weeks or months to complete. The end result is a firm, water-resistant leather.

Mineral tanning, which uses mineral salts, produces a soft, pliable leather and is the preferred method for producing most light leathers. Use of this method can shorten the tanning period to days or even hours. Chromium salt is the most widely used mineral agent, but salts from aluminum and zirconium are also used. In mineral tanning the hides are soaked in saline baths of increasing strength or in acidic baths in which chemical reactions deposit salts in the skin fibers.

Oil tanning is an old method in which fish oil or other oil and fatty substances are stocked, or pounded, into dried hide until they have replaced the natural moisture of the original skin. Oil tanning is used principally to make chamois leather, a soft, porous leather that can be repeatedly wetted and dried without damage. A wide variety of synthetic tanning agents (or syntans), derived from phenols and hydrocarbons, are also used.

After the basic tanning process is completed, the pelts are ready for processing, the final phase in leather production. The tanned pelt is first thoroughly dried and then dyed to give it the appropriate color; common methods include drum dyeing, spraying, brush dyeing, and staining. Blended oils and greases are then incorporated into the leather to lubricate it and to enhance its softness, strength, and ability to shed water.

The leather is then dried to about 14 percent moisture, either in the air or in a drying tunnel or by first stretching the leather and then air or tunnel drying it. Other less frequently used methods include paste and vacuum drying. The dried leather is finished by reconditioning with damp sawdust to a uniform moisture content of 20 percent. It is then stretched and softened, and the grain surface is coated to give it additional resistance to abrasion, cracking, peeling, water, heat, and cold.

The leather is then ready to be fashioned into any of a multitude of products. This leather work includes shoes and boots, outer apparel, belts, upholstery materials, suede products, saddles, gloves, luggage and purses, and recreational equipment as well as such industrial items as buffing wheels and machine belts.


http://www.chopperstoys.com/CatalogArticlesLeather.html

[Warpy]

14. Hippie sandals in the 60s were cheap things from India

presumably made of water buffalo hide. Every freak was wearing them, and because I wanted to look like the freak I already was, I got some.

I was phenomenally allergic to something they used in the curing of those hides and developed a contact dermatitis that was almost as bad as the one in the link. I do have some very mild scarring from it.

The bottom line is that you can be allergic to just about anything in your environment. If something in contact with your skin causes it to turn red, then stop wearing it!

Only time will tell if there is a contaminant in the plastic that affects a lot of different people, or if only a few are allergic to the plastic, itself.

[SoCalDem]

15. Hey you!! I lived in water buffalo sandals

and the old unlined mocassins.(the real ones..not the funky rubber soled things they make today )

water buffalo sandals were awesome..I'd love to have some again :)

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. LOL Those bothered my feet too

To this day, I avoid wearing leather sandals.

[whistle]

2. Does Wal-Mart not believe in product safety testing before they

...import such products into the U.S. for selling to consumers? The retailer who markets this shit is responsible for product safety. I smell a huge class action law suit!

[Deja Q]

5. Walmart only sells them; like a gun shop selling guns...

It's not Walmart's responsibility to do QC. That task belongs to the company who makes the gear. They are the ones who should be sued.

Walmart could learn from this and avoid the manufacturer, however...

[whistle]

11. Is that the way the laws are written? I think WalMart issues the specifications

...for the products they handle to the manufactures, plus they dictate the prices at which they will be sold and the cost of the product so they can make their margins. WalMart purchasers are involved throughout the manufacture and distribution. If they are legally not responsible for the safety of the products they sell, then they have corrupted the process. Lawyers are about to step up to the feeding trough

[NYC]

12. Apparently not.

People need to be warned about harmful products. Spread the word. It may not happen to everyone, but I wouldn't want to be the one it happened to.

[whistle]

7. Hold onto your crotch guys, this is a real shocker

<snip>
Men are flip-flop in bed
Popular ... summer flip-flops
By STEVE KENNEDY

FLIP-flops can make men impotent and damage internal organs, a survey claims.

And the most expensive beach shoes fared WORSE in tests than cheap ones.

Researchers found the shoes contain toxic phthalates — chemicals which can cause men to flop in bed.

Phthalates are also suspected of acting like hormones and causing damage to the liver and kidneys as well as reproductive organs.

The German Association for Environmental Protection also found high amounts of lead and poisonous zinc and phosphororganic compounds in flip-flops they tested.

Levels of the chemicals were much higher than those shown to affect the immune and hormonal systems of animals in tests.

Of 25 flip-flops tested, 14 were found to have dangerous levels of chemicals.

Among those to fail the safety check were the most expensive — £30 Miss Sixty Kitten Shoes.

But the cheapest pair tested — £3.50 striped H&M flip-flops — passed with flying colours.

High levels of toxins were also found in 14 out of 18 inflatable swim toys tested by German consumer magazine Oekotest.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004301297,00.html

[villager]

9. good lord...

n/t

[devilgrrl]

8. I'll stick to wearing Birkenstocks

plastic and my skin just don't get along.

[madrchsod]

10. my daughter bought some shoes from Vicky`s Secret

and they smelled so bad she put them back in the bag and sent then back. i`ve been around a lot of industrial smells in my life but this was the worse i have ever experienced. anyone who put these on would have burns of some kind...