Lead in Toys
With all the recent toy recalls due to unsafe level of lead, I’ve to admit that whenever I see Kaitlyn put something into her mouth it gets me thinking twice. It turns out that the Consumer Product Safety Commission only has 15 full-time field inspectors inspecting products that enter the country through its 300+ ports of entry. That means most of the contaminated & unsafe imports get into the country anyway.
So I was happy to hear an NPR’s “Your Health” podcast yesterday about lead test kits currently available on the market. In contrary to what the Consumer Product Safety Commission says, Consumer Reports concluded that the kits are reliable. The reason the commission disagree is because the kits point out toys with any amount of lead, while the toys can still meet the current (but outdated) law & regulations. However, experts & health professionals agree that any traces of lead is still unsafe for kids when ingested.
The only “drawback” is these kits only test for lead on product surfaces. But for concerned parents, that’s all you need know.
Two of the lead test kits mentioned on NPR were the Lead Inspector (8 tests for $12.99) & the Lead Check (8 for $18.45).
You can also read & listen to the stories on NPR here:
– Testing Toys for Lead
– Do Home Lead-Testing Kits Work?
Consumer Reports’ result: Lead Test Kits
If you are looking for some practical stocking stuffers for people with infants & toddlers, you certainly may want to consider one of these.
Ugh i think it’s so terrible that corporations can get away with poisoning children! I’m just glad that there’s a way u can check now…i was beginning to think u had to stay away from toys altogether.
Funny how we are always short on inspectors. It’s all the same story – food safety, product safety. You would think we would be have moved beyond the same shocking revelation that Rachel Carson revealed back in the 60s about pesticides and chemical in foods and consumer products. And now lead in Christmas light wires too?
Still, we are fortunate we live in a country that has the luxury to complain about these things and to do something about them. Trying to be positive.