Lead in toys - Toy recall

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Just thought I would pass this along. My SIL is a librarian and she

indicated that these toys were used across the country. Sorry, the

picture didn't come through. If anyone wants to see what the toys

look like, e-mail me privatly and I will forward the picture.

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N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Date: Aug. 9,

2006

STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN PARENTS ABOUT LEAD-TAINTED TOYS

DISTRIBUTED AT 28 LOCAL LIBRARIES

RALEIGH — North Carolina environmental health officials today are

warning citizens about bendable animal toys that were given away as

part of the " Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales " summer reading program

offered by local libraries after the toys were found to have at

least four times the acceptable levels of lead in Indiana.

" Young children who put objects in their mouths could be

tempted to chew on these toys and are most at risk, " said State

Health Director Leah Devlin. " Children from birth through six years

of age are most at risk of being lead poisoned, which has no obvious

symptoms and frequently goes unrecognized. If you are concerned

about these toys, contact your local health department for lead

testing information. Unless the health department needs the toy for

sampling purposes, I encourage you to return the toys to the library

where it was received. "

The warning came after the Indiana State Department of Health issued

a consumer health alert Aug. 4. In that state, the toys were found

to have .4 and .24 percent of lead. The federal safety limit is

currently .06 percent. The toys, a bendable dog and cat, are roughly

3.75 inches in length. A picture of the items is shown below.

The State Library of North Carolina has requested that local

libraries voluntarily issue a recall of the toys. Approximately

12,000 toys were purchased and distributed by the 28 libraries

below.

Albemarle Regional Library

Onslow County Public Library

Brown Library

Orange County Public Library

Belhaven Public Library

Pender County Library

Central NC Regional Library

Pettigrew Regional Library

Cleveland County Library

Public Library of ston Co.

son County Public Library

Randolph Public Library

Forsyth County Public Library

H Thornton Library

Greensboro Public Library

Roanoke Rapids Public Library

Hazel W Guilford Library

Rutherford County Library

High Point Public Library

Sampson Clinton Public Library

Hickmans Crossroads Library

Scotland County Memorial Lbry

Hickory Public Library

Southeast Regional Library

Mecklenburg Public Library

Wilkes County Public Library

Northwestern Regional Library

–More–

Parents whose children received the toys should return them to their

local library as the distributor will issue a credit for all sales

of this product. Examples of these toys have also been sent to the

State Laboratory for Public Health to identify the lead levels in

the toys distributed in North Carolina.

Lead poisoning can affect nearly every system in the body, and some

children may never show signs of an illness. However, lead exposure

can delay physical and mental development and cause learning

disabilities and behavioral problems, as well as slow muscle and

bone growth and damage the central nervous system and kidneys. There

is no safe level of lead exposure for a child, and it does not take

much to poison a child. A blood lead test is the only way to know

for sure if children are exposed to lead. Parents can get them

screened at local health departments, clinics or by a private

physician.

For information about lead or lead testing, call your local health

department or the N.C. Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Hotline

at 1-888-774-0071. Additional information can be found online at the

Children's Environmental Health Branch Web site at

http://www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/ehs/Children_Health/index.html.

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