Nukewatch Quarterly Fall 2013
LONDON, England — Exclusive leather belts made with contaminated studs and sold online by Asos, Inc. have been recalled and stocks quarantined in a radioactive storage vault. Asos’s fashionable belts were found to contain brass studs contaminated with cobalt-60, a highly dangerous source of gamma radiation. Placement of the studs was done by hand for Asos by the Royal Ascot Leather factory in northern India where workers earn less than $80 a month. The factory has since been shuttered. US customs officials discovered the hot merchandise, which had been sold to about 50 people in 14 countries. Customers were contacted through online sales information. Haq International Corp. of India contracted with Royal Ascot Leather to produce the belts and is contesting the allegation of radioactive contamination. — The Guardian, May 27; The Daily Beast & Huffington Post, May 28; Telegraph, May 29, 2013
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