Getting Real About Risk – Thinking Outside The Toxic Toy Box

September 23, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Everybody is concerned about lead on toys, but lead exposure is more likely from other sources. So you have to think outside the toy box if you want to reduce lead exposure.

First, figure out whether you may have lead paint where you live or where your child spends a significant amount of time (grandma’s house, daycare, preschool, etc.).  If the home (or daycare or school) was constructed prior to 1978, it is likely that lead paint was used.  Lead paint was banned in 1978. 

If you aren’t sure, you can have your home inspected.  Different types of inspections eist.  The first type is a lead hazard screen.  In this inspection, the inspector determines whether a home has a potential for lead hazards.  The second inspection type will sample paint surfaces in the home to determine the presence and location of lead paint hazards  This will tell you whether lead paint exists in the home, but won’t make recommendations as to what to do or how much of a risk there is.  The last type is a risk assessment, which evaluates the risks associated with the lead found in the home.

So you  have lead in your home, or you are pretty sure you have lead in your home, what do you do?  If the paint is in poor condition (chipped, worn, flaking, etc.), then it needs to be addressed.  Don’t do it yourself – you need to have a professional take care of it.  If you can’t take care of it right now, you can still take some simple steps to reduce exposure.  These interim steps can substantially reduce exposure.   Also, depending on where you live, there are some programs that provide financial assistance for lead paint abatement. 

Even if the paint is in good condition, it can be a problem if it is present on surfaces that children chew on, such as railings, or that experience friction, such as door and window jambs where painted surfaces rub against one another can create lead contaminated dust.

Having a new home doesn’t mean you are home free.  Even if your home was built after 1978, you may still have lead in your household dust.  Lead is present in our soils from its former use in gasoline, from weathering or chipping of lead paint from buildings, bridges, and other structures, and from industrial sources such as lead smelters, hazardous waste sites, battery manufacturing facilities, construction sites, and garages working with car batteries, among others.  This dust is blown into our homes, day care centers, schools and work environments.  A study reported in Environmental Health Perspectives found that wind blown contamianted dust may be a significant source of lead poisoning for children living in cities.  The study was able to correlate children’s blood lead levels with certain weather conditions that were positive for blowing dust.

Filed Under: Environmental Health, Kids, Toys Tagged With: , , , , ,

Getting lead out – safe lead levels in children’s toys & the dirty history of lead in paint

September 13, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Is there a safe level of lead in children’s toys?  Perhaps not.  Recent studies suggest that the current standard for blood lead levels of 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood is too high.  The CDC and the EPA have both issue statements that no level of lead in the blood is safe, although the standard has not yet been lowered. 

Dr. Bruce Lanphear, Professor of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center said in an interview reported in the Baltimore Sun that a study he published last year showed that children older than 4 with lead levels as low as 2 micrograms per deciliter had a four fold risk of having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as compared to children older than 4 with lead levels less than 1 microgram per deciliter.  Other studies have shown similar results.  For example, one study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a significant drop in IQ at levels below 10 ug/dL. 

Blood lead levels correspond with the levels of lead in the individual’s environment.  If no blood lead level is safe, then lead should be eliminated as much as possible from all sources.  Lead in children’s toys isn’t the only source of lead.  Lead in our houses is probably the biggest source of exposure.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that 25% of our nation’s housing contains significant lead based paint hazards. 

What is alarming is that the US didn’t regulate lead in paint until 1978 but the hazards of lead in paint were known much earlier.  In 1904, J. Lockhart Gibson was one of the first English-speaking authors to link directly lead based paint to childhood lead poisoning.  In 1905, he wrote, “The use of lead paint within the reach of children should be prohibited by law.”  Others made similar links in published literature, including 2 Americans in 1914.  Kenneth Blackfan and Henry Thomas reported a boy who died of lead poisoning after ingesting leaded paint on his crib railing.  With this information, other countries banned or restricted lead in residential paints beginning in 1909 with France, Belgium and Austria to Great Britain, Sweden and Belgium in 1926, among many others. 

The US didn’t act, even in the face of mounting evidence, because of the strength of lobbying by the lead paint industry.  In fact, the lead paint industry’s advertising in the first half of the 20th century aggressively promoted lead paint for interior use, and focused on children.  Some of the advertising pictures are just frightening – several children’s items and the slogan “lead takes part in many games.”  The lead paint industry aggressively challenged the scientific reports, and dismissed the scientific evidence.  So we are left with a toxic legacy. 

Okay, so this isn’t information you can use to reduce exposure.  And that is what this website is supposed to be about.  But I’ve been following the progress of AB 1108, a bill in California that would ban/limit phthalates in products intended for use by children under the age of 3 years.  The bill has been passed out of the California Legislature and is awaiting the Governor’s signature, but he has threatened to veto it.  The lobby against the bill cites scientific surveys that show how safe phthalates are . . .and I keep thinking of the history about lead in paint.

Filed Under: cpsia, Environmental Health, Plastics, Toys Tagged With: , ,

Are there any toys NOT made in China? Are there any safe toys?

August 22, 2007 By 1 Comment

The Los Angeles Times reported on August 31, 2007 that 58% of American consumers are “not at all” or “not too much” confident that Chinese–made products they buy are safe.  More compelling is that a study by eBeanstalk found that 30% of moms surveyed said that they will not buy any goods manufactured in China. 

Safety standards do exist for toys imported into the U.S.  Under federal law, total lead in paints and other coatings used on toys cannot exceed 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead.  But, as is clear from the recent recalls, toys with coatings with higher lead concentrations are making their way onto toy shelves. 

Also, lead may be present in toys made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic.  Lead is sometimes used as a stabilizer in PVC (without a metallic salt such as lead compounds, PVC would break down and lose its strength).  Lead can migrate to the surface and be picked up by children, especially those that engage in mouthing activities (putting their hands or any objects into their mouths).

So, what can a parent do?  It is hard to know what to do.  You would expect that the toys on the shelves would be safe.  But, as is abundantly clear, some of them are not.

Now that holiday season is just around the corner, are there any toys NOT made in China?  Yes.  There are some options out there.  A few are listed here, and I’ll add more.  With very limited exceptions, Playmobil of Germany is not manufactured in China.  The exceptions – a few electronics part, like the flashing police light.  (Although Playmobil did have a recall for lead paint in 1982 with parts made by an American contractor).

Less than 3% of Lego's production comes from China.  

What about some other alternatives?  For a variety of toys, try ImagiPlay, Nova Natural Toys & Crafts or Natural Pod.  For tea sets, sand play sets, and cookware and dining sets, try the bioplastic (yes, they are made of corn!) toys at Green Toys.  For wood trains, try Whittle Shortline Railroad  advertises itself as using lead free paints.  As a bonus, its toy trains are compatible with Thomas™ and Brio©.   Oompa toys is a great source for a variety European made toys.   The website eBeanstalk advertises that all of its learning toys adhere to or exceed American and European safety standards.

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Filed Under: Kids, Toys Tagged With: , , ,