Alert: U.S. stores sell kids' jewelry made of toxic cadmium

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U.S. stores sell kids' jewelry made of toxic cadmium

U.S. product safety authorities plan to launch an investigation into

the presence of the toxic metal cadmium in children's jewelry imported

from China after lab tests showed some pieces were made almost entirely

out of the dangerous substance.

The promise for action is the result of an Associated Press

investigation that found some Chinese manufacturers have been

substituting cadmium for lead in cheap charm bracelets and pendants

being sold throughout the United States and possibly Canada.

It comes just days before the head of the U.S. Consumer Product

Safety Commission was to deliver a speech to Asian manufacturers

lauding them for effectively abandoning the use of lead in children's

products.

In the most contaminated piece analyzed in lab testing performed for

the AP, cadmium made up a startling 91 per cent of the metal content

(measured by weight). The testing also showed that some items easily

shed the heavy metal, raising additional concerns about the levels of

exposure to children. This Best Friends bracelet was purchased at 's, a

jewelry chain with 3,000 stores in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. (Associated

Press) Wolfson, a spokesman for the commission, said the agency would study

the test results and take the necessary action. One of most hazardous substances

Cadmium

is a known carcinogen. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention ranks it No. 7 on a list of the 275 most hazardous

substances in the environment.

Like lead, cadmium can hinder brain development in the very young,

according to recent research. Children don't have to swallow an item to

be exposed. They can get persistent, low-level doses by regularly

sucking or biting jewelry with a high cadmium content.

In its investigation, The Associated Press purchased 103 items from

stores in New York, Ohio, Texas and California. Lab results indicated

14 items contained at least 10 per cent cadmium.

Jewelry with the highest cadmium content came from three sources:

Wal-Mart, dollar stores and the jewelry chain 's, which, like

Wal-Mart, has numerous outlets in Canada.

" There's nothing positive that you can say about this metal. It's a

poison, " said Bruce A. Fowler, a cadmium specialist and toxicologist

with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Jewelry industry veterans in China say cadmium has been used in domestic

products there for years. Regulations don't apply to jewelry A

patchwork of U.S. consumer protection regulations does nothing to keep

these nuggets of cadmium off of U.S. store shelves. If the products

were painted toys, they would face a recall. If they were industrial

garbage, they could qualify as hazardous waste. But since there are no

cadmium restrictions on jewelry, such items are sold legally.

Two charms on a Best Friends bracelet bought at 's, which has

nearly 3,000 stores in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, consisted of 89 per

cent and 91 per cent cadmium, respectively. Informed of the results,

's issued a statement pointing out that children's jewelry is not

required to pass a cadmium leaching test.

" 's has its products tested by independent accredited

third-party laboratories approved by the Consumer Product Safety

Commission in compliance with the commission's standards and has

passing test results for the bracelet using these standards, " the

statement said.

Three flip-flop bracelet charms sold at Wal-Mart contained between

84 per cent and 86 per cent cadmium. The bracelet was purchased in

August 2008. The company that imported the bracelets, Florida-based

Sulyn Industries, stopped selling them to Wal-Mart Corp. in November

2008, the firm's president said.

Wal-Mart would not comment on whether the charms are still on store shelves or

how many have been sold.

Sulyn's president Harry Dickens said the charms were subjected to

testing standards imposed by both Wal-Mart and federal regulators but

were not tested for cadmium.

In separate written statements, Dickens and Wal-Mart said they consider safety a

very high priority.

" We consistently seek to sell only those products that meet safety

and regulatory standards, " Wal-Mart said. " Currently, there is no

required cadmium standard for children's jewelry. " Canada checks complaints A

Health Canada spokesman said the agency is checking to see if there

have been any complaints or reports of cadmium levels in children's

jewelry in Canada.

Last month, a Health Canada report revealed that half of the

children's jewelry it had tested in 2009 was made of almost pure lead,

according to Canwest News, which obtained the internal report.

According to the report, Health Canada oversaw the targeted testing

of 67 suspicious pieces and found 39 had illegal levels of lead. The

results show most items contained lead levels nowhere near the legal

limit, set at 0.6 per cent.

Twenty of the metallic pieces had lead levels ranging from 80 per

cent to 95 per cent. These levels, comparable to lead-acid car

batteries, were found in such things as an apple-shaped pendant and a

key-shaped pendant with a heart, according to Canwest.

The worst offender, a plastic wristband with various metallic charms

made of 95 per cent lead, was labelled lead-free, according to the

report.

regards,

Raghavendra