eyeglasses, electrical tape, state of California

[Jack]

Hi friends,

I have a question. My eyeglasses are messed up. I can't afford to get a new set of frames, so I have bought some black electrical tape to fix them (they're black-rimmed).

But after I got home I read on the tape this warning:

WARNING: This product contains one or more chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.

What's this? If I tape my glasses, will I get eye/brain/head cancer? I have never heard of this before. I'm not going to be pregnant any time soon, so I don't think I have to worry about the birth defects.

But seriously, I never knew electrical tape was toxic.

Also, this item was manufactured in China, and I'm in the Eastern US, about as far from California as you can get. Why does tape have a warning on it from California?

[mutepointe]

you didn't say what you recently broke on your eyeglasses. i recently broke one of my stems. i went to my local wal-mart to see if they had a replacement pair, which they didn't but they did replace both of my stems for free and i hadn't even bought my eyeglasses their.

i hate to say something nice about wal-mart but i did.

[DCrom]

Short answer: because the California legislature is populated by Chicken Littles.

I love a lot of things about California, but the state requires warning labels for a *lot* of things, most of which would require you to really work at being stupid to run an appreciable chance of harming yourself.

As long as you don't start eating the tape, you should be fine, I'd think. You should see the warning labels on things like cooking spray or matches!

[Jack]

you didn't say what you recently broke on your eyeglasses. i recently broke one of my stems. i went to my local wal-mart to see if they had a replacement pair, which they didn't but they did replace both of my stems for free and i hadn't even bought my eyeglasses their.

i hate to say something nice about wal-mart but i did.

It's the middle thing that forms a bridge across your nose. It's almost completely broken. I need to reinforce it to keep it from breaking. I thought tape would be a good thing to use, until I read the packaging...maybe I should super glue it...

[Jack]

Short answer: because the California legislature is populated by Chicken Littles.

I love a lot of things about California, but the state requires warning labels for a *lot* of things, most of which would require you to really work at being stupid to run an appreciable chance of harming yourself.

As long as you don't start eating the tape, you should be fine, I'd think. You should see the warning labels on things like cooking spray or matches!

This makes me relieved. I remember when I was young, I never saw these warning labels on tape. I wonder exactly which chemical it is that scares California?

[chas]

I would take any of these warnings that include "the state of California" with a grain of salt. You can buy all sorts of food in "the state of California" with no warnings at all. Yet, if you buy the highest purity chemicals available, they will contain the warning (paraphrase): According to the state of California, some contents of this package are unknown. These are the most analyzed-to-death chemicals on the face of the earth, with some having compositions reported within a few tens of ppb of 100%. But something like Brazil nuts, with their radioactivity and high selenium content (selenium is extremely toxic) don't have warnings.

FWIW I've used electrical tape a lot without paying attention to washing my hands afterward.

[anniemcu]

Disparage California all you want, but it's not just kooks and 'chcken littles', it's folks who think that you ought to be able to trust what you buy, and if some of the ingredients in the process are known to produce cancer you deserve to be warned nowrather than surprised later. Makes perfect sense to me, especially considering that China doesn't have the same safety regulations and manufacturing safeguards that are on the books here. I see similar warnings on water hoses (garden)_ here, and I must say that I won't buy one that doesn't say 'safe for drinking'. You can disparage me too, if you like.

[The Weekenders]

I just wouldn't wear that tape for the next, say, 1,000 years or so, 24/7. You never know what might happen from the molecular out-gassing. For the time period until you can get some new ones, it will probably be okay.

Seriously, if it's rubbing against your skin, I think it might cause some reaction of some sort. Especially in the hot summer.

If you superglue 'em, you could coat it in clear fingernail polish. That is supposed to dry to a non-reactive thing to have against your skin.

[Jack]

Hmm...thanks. That makes sense.

P.S. Annie, why do you drink out of garden hoses?

[lalit]

Products I have purchased with similar warnings (screwdrivers, Christmas lights) usually also say that lead has been used in their manufacture. Hence the warning to wash hands after handling.

[Cynth]

Where the heck did missy go?

[cowtime]

"Black tape" as we always called it, was our "duct tape" when I was growing up. My dad was an electrician and we always had the stuff handy. Practically every drawer, shelf, nook or cranny in the house, barn and car had at least one roll. We even used it as a band aid if one was not handy( because there was always black tape around).

And now it's suppose to be toxic?

[Redwolf]

The California warning does go way overboard. Heck, we were shopping in Ross the other day (you know, the discount clothing store?), and there were signs all over the place announcing that this store sells things known to the State of California to cause cancer, as if you were going to get cancer just by walking into the place.

Redwolf

[missy]

Here I am!!!!

Yes, California, in it's infinite wisdom, has a labeling law that calls for that warning on anything that may possibly have the least little amount of any chemical that might if one totally immersed themselves in it or ate pounds and pounds of it cause cancer in 20 years or so........

For food, it's Prop 65, and may require such things as french fries to have a warning label because of the presence of small amount of acrylamide.

For other materials, it means there may be presence in ppt (part per trillion) of something such as lead, methylene chloride, pcb, you name it.

And labeled chemicals only need to the suspected carcinogens, not proven.

I'm all for warning labels, heck - it's part of what I do for a living. I am NOT for unnecessary labeling because it causes complacency - and when something really DOES need warning labels, people ignore them because they no longer "mean" anything. The NFPA system that we use here in the US isn't that great anyway (what the heck DOES a 4 mean?). The R/S phrase system in use in Europe is much better - if it says "may absorb through the skin" it makes better sense and gives you an idea what to do to protect yourself.

[brewerpaul]

Cran--- you need to be aware that wearing glasses fixed with electrical tape will mark you as the quintessential nerd. I'm just sayin'...

If it will stick your particular variety of glasses, crazy glue would be the way to go. As far as I can tell, it's non-toxic when it dries. There is a surgical adhesive known as Dermabond which is also a cyanoacrylate adhesive, so it's gotta be pretty non-toxic, even before it dries. In any event, the bridge of the glasses shouldn't actually be touching your nose anyway since the glasses rest on those nose pads. The only problem may be that not all plastics will accept glue easily.