'Since the beginning of the pandemic, Metallifer has used its vast network of suppliers in China to offer its customers quality protective masks that meet current standards,' said Metallifer president Michel Filion. In a statement, Metallifer said its company does not manufacture the masks, and that when it imported the products from China, they 'were fully qualified at the time.' It's made of graphene, a type of carbon, in its nano form, meaning extremely miniscule particles in a single tight layer.

'Nanoform graphene' refers to the carbon coating on the masks. The notice didn't explain more about exactly what was found, though it added more details in a subsequent statement, saying it reviewed troubling studies on rats. It considers the risk the masks pose to be 'unacceptable.' The agency 'identified a potential for early pulmonary toxicity associated with the inhalation of nanoform graphene,' it wrote. In a notice Thursday, a Health Canada director wrote of 'a potential emerging risk' with face masks coated with nanoform graphene materials. Coronavirus newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox.Complete coverage at CTVNews.ca/coronavirus.Montreal transit workers are the latest to learn they were also given the problematic masks, though not by the province - the city's transit agency says it did its own tendering process. “It is therefore a small portion of the masks distributed to daycare services and schools,” said public health spokesperson Marjorie Larouche. Since January, the province has distributed 116 million masks to the school network, 4.6 million of which were of the SNN200642 line. The grey and blue masks are identified by the code SNN200642 and are from the supplier Metallifer, the province said.Īccording to a statement provided to CTV News, the province distributed 30.6 million SNN200642 masks to networks under the ministry of family, education and higher education. People have even been asked to 'immediately store the boxes of masks in a secure and isolated location' after the alarming warning. The Quebec government is asking school boards, daycares and health networks to stop using a type of mask that Health Canada warned can be toxic to the lungs.

Parents respond to h and m ad