Healthy Toys

[Guest guest]

This Holiday Season Check Out HolidayToys.orgI commented yesterday on Autism and Lead Poisoning and the possibility that lead may be associated with the autism

crisis, the startling increase in cases of autism for which most North

American states and provinces remain woefully ill prepared.While lead poisoning MAY be connected with autism development further research

is required to confirm any such connection. There is no doubt, however,

that lead is harmful, it is dangerously harmful, particularly to young

children, and it is still contained in many children's toys and jewelry

items. Parents this holiday season will find it very helpful to check out HealthyToys.org a project of the Ecology Center. I found these sites via One Special Place for Parents of Kids and Adults with special needs a blog site which I also recommend.The EcologyCenter and HealthyToys.org issued a press release on December 3 which states in part:The Ecology Center determined that one-third of the toys they tested had "high" or "medium" levels of chemicals of concern this year. Lead was found in 20 percent of the toys tested,

including 54 products (3.5 percent) that exceeded the 600 parts per

million (ppm) state legal limit set last year and 164 (10.7 percent)

above the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended ceiling of 40 ppm.

Children's jewelry remains the most contaminated product category. ... Researchers tested for chemicals that have been associated with reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities,

hormone problems and cancer, and that have been identified by

regulatory agencies as problematic. Babies and young children are the

most vulnerable populations because their brains and bodies are still

developing, and because they frequently put toys into

their mouths. The testing was conducted with a screening technology —

the portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer — that identifies the

elemental composition of materials on or near the surface of products. Highlights from the HealthyToys.org 2008 findings: * Lead is Still in Toys — HealthyToys.org found lead in 20 percent of all the products tested this year. When children are exposed to lead,

the developmental and nervous system consequences can be irreversible.

The Healthy Michigan, Healthy Kids platform calls for implementing the

American Academy of Pediatrics threshold level of 40 ppm for toys sold in Michigan. * It's Not Just Lead

— HealthyToys.org found that 2.9 percent, or 45 products, had bromine

at concentrations of 1,000 ppm or higher. This indicates the likely,

unnecessary use of brominated flame retardants — chemicals that may pose hazards to children's health. HB 4465, pending in the state House, would severely restrict the use of one type of brominated flame retardant. Arsenic was

detected at levels greater than 100 ppm in 22, or 1.4 percent, of

products; 289 (18.9 percent) of products contained detectable levels of

arsenic. Mercury

was found above 100 ppm in 14 (1 percent) of products; 62 (4.2 percent)

of products contained detectable levels of mercury. The Healthy

Michigan, Healthy Kids platform calls for no more than 40 ppm of

mercury or arsenic in children's products. ... Jewelry — Jewelry remains the most contaminated product category tested. Children's jewelry was five-times more likely to contain lead above 600 ppm than other products tested by HealthyToys.org.HealthyToys.org has several pages of helpful information for people buying toys and jewelry this holiday season including several pages of toy rankings by brand, type, best toys and worst toys. Toys listed on the best toys page had no detectable traces of Lead, Cadmium, Chlorine, Arsenic, Mercury, Antimony, Tin, Bromine, or Chromium in any components tested. Toys listed on the worst toys page are those found to contain lead, brominde, cadmium, arsenic or mercury.