Recalls – Consumers Union on Lead II Should Parents Test Children, Toys for Lead Contamination?

This is Part II of a three-part series on lead in toys. Below are Consumers Union’s answers to my questions that I suspect are on the minds of many parents.

DadTalk: Just how real of a threat is lead when it is found in children’s products?
Consumer’s Union: This is a very broad question, but the threat is real.  One child died from swallowing a piece of lead jewelry.  Others who may only chew on lead-painted toys may suffer less, but still measurable and permanent damage to their brain and nervous system that could affect how they do in school and relate to peers.

DadTalk: Is it currently legal for lead to be in children’s toys? Or is there just a government standard?
Consumer’s Union: There is a government standard for lead in PAINT that applies to toys, of 600 parts per million.  We believe this 30-year-old standard is out of date and should be lowered.  There is no standard for lead in toys that are not painted, such as jewelry or vinyl products.  We think one should be established.

DadTalk: What kind of short-term and long-term harm can lead cause in children?
Consumer’s Union: Short-term problems in children can include IQ deficits. Long-term effects of lead are still being studied, but there is some evidence that nervous system-based diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s may be associated with high lead levels.  Since we don’t have a good understanding of what causes many of these nervous-system disorders, minimizing exposures to neurotoxicants like lead and mercury is simply a healthy thing to do.   

DadTalk: How does the threat of lead in toys compare to choking hazards or powerful magnets that can be ingested?
Consumer’s Union: Both can be lethal.   But you can’t always tell if a child has high lead levels since they may not display any clinical symptoms.  The only way to know what your child’s lead level is, is to have them tested. 

DadTalk: Should parents test their children for lead?
Consumer’s Union: They absolutely should – ideally at age 1 and again at 2.  Children with elevated levels should be tested every year until age 6.

DadTalk: A common argument is that lead paint in old buildings poses a much greater risk than toys. Is this accurate?
Consumer’s Union: This is a pointless discussion.  Lead in old paint is a problem, and lead in toys is also a problem.  Both can harm children, and which one is the worst for a particular child depends on whether the child has lead toys, or lives in an old house, or both.  Addressing lead in toys does not prevent anyone from addressing lead in house paint.  Both problems should be addressed, and so should lack of medical care for uninsured children and a lot of other problems.  Do we only address one problem at a time that affect kids and ignore all the other ones because they are not the “worst” problem?  Obviously not.  Lead in toys is an easy problem to solve, and we should solve it, not ignore it because some other problem might be worse for some children.

DadTalk: Will lead-contaminated toys become more dangerous as they age, chip and break?
Consumer’s Union: This seems likely especially since vinyl blinds that contained lead can disintegrate over time and were found to create dust that was a source of lead contamination .  Certainly, as paint starts to chip, it is easier for a child to ingest larger pieces of potentially contaminated paint.   

DadTalk: News organizations are often blamed for creating fear and panic in the minds of Americans. Why should we care about this particular threat?
Consumer’s Union: A large body of scientific studies have documented the negative effects of lead on people, especially children.  Even very low-level exposure appears to affect IQ.

DadTalk: We have Cars-themed plates for our children where the paint is starting to come off in places. Should parents be concerned about children eating from plates with colorfully-painted themes, especially as the protective glaze starts to wear off?
Consumer’s Union: While these plates may pose no hazard at all, it might be useful to check them for lead – the test kits CU recommends might show there is a problem.   If the test shows no problem, it is possible that a problem exists that the kit was not sensitive enough to pick up, but if the kit does show a problem, you will know you need to take further action (you will probably want to discard the plates).

DadTalk: Consumer Reports recently revealed that some lead tests work better than others. Why did they work better?
Consumer’s Union: See CR article.

DadTalk: Should parents go around and test all their toys with these products?
Consumer’s Union: Yes.

DadTalk: Do parents need to test each color on each toy to determine if a toy is safe?
Consumer’s Union: This is a good precautionary approach.

Additional

Part I

Comments

[Phil]

There are literally THOUSANDS of items in this house that I will have to test. I can't stomach throwing everything out, and I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to test it all.

It's quite overwhelming! I do think I'll start by getting rid of the Chinese-made plates and cups. But the Hot Wheels, Star Wars figures, Barbies, McDonald's toys, etc... That's going to be a lot to tackle.

[brettdl]

I feel the same way on all counts.

[AW]

It's a real shame that we have to be so careful of what our kids eat, wear and play with today. I'm sure my parents didn't have to worry about these types of things. I have found that www.leadtoyrecalls.com is a good resource to stay on top of these awful lead recalls.

[brettdl]

Thanks for the link!

[BKlein]

To all the dads out there concerned about the lead paint found in toys, jewelry, cribs, bibs, etc. I want to tell you about a business that I started because my wife and I were exceptionally concerned and overwhelmed with all of the toy recalls in 2007. Our company is called Inspect-A-Toy, Inc. and we screen children's toys, jewelry and other consumer products in the home, daycare, schools, toy stores & pet stores for the presence of lead. Since the CPSC recently announced that at-home test kits are both unreliable and innacurate, we utilize state-of-the-art XRay Flouresence Technology, hitting the plastic, metal and wood toys with about 10,500 xrays per second to determine how much lead is present. We are currently serving all of California with plans of expanding soon. We can be reached at 888-ISPYLEAD (477-9532) or online at www.inspectatoy.com. We have found dozens of toys both at client's home and on store shelves that have not been recalled yet, including those yellow rubber duckies my daughter used to chew on in her bath. Feel free to call me anytime with questions. From one dad to another, it's no joke, toys need to be tested. Go to www.CPSC.gov for an automatic email for recalled toys.

[brettdl]

BKlein: I was wondering if anyone would start a business because of lead in toys. I even talked to the manufacturer of a hand-held scanner to see if I could rent one.

By the way, we have the SpongeBob Square Pants suitcase. It came up high in lead, huh? Crud.