n January, 2013, the online retailer Asos, based in the UK, voluntarily recalled a batch of leather belts embellished with brass studs that were found to contain radioactive material in the metal. U.S. Border Control tested a shipment of the belts and found that it contained the radioactive isotope Cobalt-60. Forty-nine belts sold in 14 countries around the world were recalled. The recalled belts have been contained in a radioactive storage facility. The Guardian news source reviewed the retailer's internal report that stated "None of these belts are suitable for public use or possession." Furthermore, The Guardian reported the belts "could cause injury to the wearer if worn for more than 500 hours." The internal company report also stated, "Unfortunately, this incident is quite common occurrence. India and the Far East are large consumers of scrap metal for their home and foreign markets. During the refining process of these metals, orphaned radioactive sources are sometimes accidentally melted at the same time. This in turn (contaminates the process) and traps the radioactive in the metal as an alloy or in suspension." It is unknown how many of the recalled belts were actually returned.

1. Did the retailer act responsibly in initiating a recall of this item?

2. Do you think the retailer's reputation has been hurt by this recall?

3. What could this retailer have done to prevent the belts from being sold and then recalled?

4.At what stages could testing have been conducted?

5. What additional measures could have been taken to provide customers with a safe

product?