France has recalled its line of Olympic-branded water bottles for kids just one week before the event’s opening ceremony in Paris.
Contaminated water bottles ahead of Paris Olympics
The country’s official consumer recall agency, Rappel Conso, said the reusable bottles have been made with excess levels of the chemical Bisphenol A. The chemical can have negative effects on the brain and prostate gland of children. It can also affect their behavior.
The white flasks, which were adorned with the Olympic rings and the Paris 2024 mascot, or the flame, went to retail in August last year and was being sold until June. Officials have been warning people about the chemical excess and are urging buyers to return the bottles to the stores they bought them from.
Bisphenol A is commonly used when it comes to making food containers. However, questions have been raised about its safety, and it has been subject to ongoing examinations.
According to France’s food safety agency Anses, Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor, and, as such, interferes with the body’s hormones, as reported by the BBC. It is thought to be linked to health issues such as breast cancer and infertility.
Bisphenol A is linked to a whole variety of health problems, and the chemical has been banned in France since 2015. Rappel Conso’s website states the bottles made by the Vilac company have “levels of Bisphenol A not in line with regulations” on products designed for contact with foods.
The 2024 Summer Olympics is set to be held in France from July 26th to August 11, 2024.
AI-assisted crowd control
An Al-assisted crowd control and surveillance system could be used during the Paris Olympics to monitor attendees and bolster security, according to a draft law seen by AFP, a French international news agency.
The crowd control system will enhance the capabilities of security services to detect signs of trouble more easily. The system will not use facial-recognition technology, the bill says.
It may prove especially valuable during an ambitious open-air opening ceremony, which is expected to attract a crowd of up to six hundred thousand people.
According to the draft law, the use of an AI-assisted crowd-control system would be an “experimentation” at the 2024 Olympic Games. However, if the surveillance system proves useful, it could be implemented as a security measure at future events.
The system would use “intelligent” security camera software to scan images for suspicious or threatening behavior. It could be an especially useful layer of surveillance and protection during busy events vulnerable to crowd control problems or terrorist attacks.
The draft bill mentioned the implementation of other security measures. Full-body scanners may also be used, and harsher sentencing for hooliganism could be introduced to deter lawbreakers.
