After it was uncovered that the masks contain the nanomaterial graphene, French health authorities decided to recall them. Although findings around the dangers of the substance are inconclusive, French public health institutions are prohibited from using it.
The oversight was discovered by the French Medicines Authority, after they noticed that the substance was listed on the package instructions of the masks. At that point, 28% of the 60.5 million FFP2 masks had already been distributed.
Two months ago, a similar product flaw was discovered in Canada, after which public health officials advised the public to seek medical counsel should they experience issues after wearing one of the respective masks.
As of 6 April, several non-profit organisations have issued demands that the European Union recall all masks that contain graphene. The European Chemicals Agency is currently establishing a risk assessment.
The Luxembourgish Ministry of Health has meanwhile issued a statement to announce than none of the FFP2 masks by Chinese manufacturer Shandong Shengquan are in the national mask stock.
