Millions of used medical gloves exported to the US from Thailand.
The story was originally published by CNN News reporting that millions of used medical gloves were exported to The US from Thailand. A Thai company used the opportunity during the pandemic to sell used medical gloves to the US and other nations. As the demand for nitrile gloves continues many unethical companies in Thailand have been sourcing used medical gloves from unknown sources. The gloves are washed and then re-dyed to try and cover the fact that they have been used, many previously covered in blood. CNN invested months to investigate the truth behind where these gloves are coming from, receiving information from distributors and exporters of the gloves.
Officials in Thailand and the US are now on these criminal investigations regarding the reselling of used medical gloves. Since the pandemic has started Thai officials have shut down many secret factories reselling used medical gloves and masks. In December 2020 Thai health authorities inspected a warehouse located on the outskirts of Bangkok and discovered garbage bags filled with used nitrile medical gloves. All show signs of clearly being used already, while some with blood stains. In a separate bag officials found blue dye and more gloves. These factories use foriegn workers to make the gloves look as new as possible before repackaging them in boxes with a famous brand printed on the box.
CNN further reported that there are many more warehouses that are still doing this today. They continue to export used medical gloves to the US and other countries around the world. Douglas Stein, an expert on the topic who has been importing PPE from Asia for decades stated to CNN that there are a lot of bad products being exported to the US and “An endless stream of filthy, second-hand and substandard gloves” imported into the US. A reason why US authorities have a hard time controlling the imports is due to temporarily suspended import regulations for protective medical equipment during the pandemic.
FB Caption: CNN Health published an article on the topic after investigating for months.
Source: Sanook, CNN Health
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