More than 12 U.S. environmental health organizations have claimed that numerous children's toys, jewelry, and backpacks were found to contain excessive amounts of lead after testing. This investigation began following a recent recall of lead-containing toys due to safety concerns, and the survey covered more than 1,200 products from chain stores and company-owned stores. The results showed that 17% of the 1,200 products tested exceeded the federal government's lead content limits.
Tracey Easthope, director of the Environmental Health Program at the Environmental Research Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said, "The findings do not indicate an immediate danger to consumers, but they do show that the government has not fulfilled its oversight role in testing products containing toxic chemicals, and that too many manufacturers do not self-regulate the products they produce."
Of the products tested, children's toys and jewelry accounted for one-third of the total. The primary test for these toys and jewelry was whether they contained lead, as young children are particularly vulnerable to exposure to lead. The other two-thirds of the tested products were tested for lead, as well as eight other potentially hazardous chemicals such as antimony, arsenic, bromine, cadmium, chlorine, chromium, mercury, and tin. The test results revealed that the tested products also contained relatively high levels of cadmium and arsenic.
However, it should be noted that this survey did not further assess the direct impact of the tested products containing chemicals on human health, nor did it measure the degree of human exposure to these products containing chemicals.
This report was a joint production of the Ecology Center and the Washington Toxics Coalition. Other environmental groups were responsible for handling coverage of domestic news and conferences on December 5, including a meeting with the Washington, D.C. Department of the Environment.
Joan Lawrence, vice president of the Toy Workers Union for Standards and Government Affairs, issued a statement on Tuesday expressing her concerns about the methodology used in the report and the value of reports produced by environmental groups. Her questions included the requirement that "a product's threat to human health must arise under conditions of exposure." Lawrence stated that toy manufacturers should comply with voluntary guidelines for chemical products set forth by environmental groups and other organizations. She also noted that the toy industry has expressed its commitment to conducting more frequent product testing before products leave the factory and to improving the reliability of tested samples.
This market testing report, conducted by an environmental group, used XRF instruments. XRF instruments can identify material composition and have a high degree of accuracy.
The report did not find any products made in the United States, but Tracey Easthope, director of the Environmental Health Program at the Environmental Research Center, expressed concerns that the U.S. government had failed to fulfill its oversight responsibilities regarding both imported and domestically produced products. The country of origin for toys found to have the highest lead content was Italy, followed by China.
Furthermore, a finding supporting this environmental group's report is that its findings echo those of a recent investigation in California by the Public Interest Research Group. Last month, California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed charges against 20 major toy manufacturers and retailers for knowingly producing and selling illegal or excessively lead-containing products.
Environmental groups have also raised concerns that the implementation of toy safety regulations appears to be a "regressive" process. Product recalls should be a last resort, not a response taken only after a product is discovered on the market.
This full report, conducted by an environmental group, can be obtained at the following website:www.healthytoys.org
– Reference source: San Jose MercuryNews newsletter, December 5, 2007
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