ASOS withdraws belts found to be radioactive

Online fashion retailer ASOS has withdrawn a batch of metal-studded belts from sale after they were found to be radioactive.

The leather belts could cause injury to the wearer if worn for more than 500 hours and are being held in a radioactive storage facility after testing positive for Cobalt-60, according to an internal report by the retailer.

The report, called Project Purple Flower and seen by the Guardian, said one of the brass-studded belts was pulled by US border control and tested positive.

It led to a worldwide recall of the items, with 49 sold across 14 countries, but it is not known how many have been returned.

An ASOS spokesman has said the belts were recalled at the beginning of the year and all those who had bought them had been contacted.

A spokesman for ASOS said: "A product supplied to ASOS did not meet UK health and safety standards. ASOS worked with all relevant authorities and undertook a precautionary product recall, in line with our high standards of quality and customer care. No other ASOS product lines are affected."