Cheap Jewelry: Hazardous to Children’s Health
Consumer Affairs
Parents shouldn’t rely on government inspectors
While the Consumer Product Safety Commission continues to recall children’s jewelry containing lead almost every week, consumer advocates are urging parents to use caution when purchasing any cheap jewelry and to consider discarding any that may already be in the home.
A sample testing by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) revealed that 20 percent of children’s jewelry contains unsafe levels of lead. Other tests by state officials in Maryland, Ohio and Massachusetts suggest even higher percentages.
A June 29 article by ConsumerAffairs.Com revealed 96 percent of the toys recalled from January 2007 to July were Chinese imports and most were lead-laden trinkets.
“Parents should stay away from cheap jewelry, absolutely. And I would advise parents to throw away any cheap jewelry unless they are sure it comes from the U.S. or a more developed country,” Sally Greenberg, Senior Product Safety Counsel for the Consumers Union, the nonprofict publisher of Consumer Reports, wrote in an e-mail.
Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety for the nonprofit consumer advocacy group, Consumer Federation of America, suggested parents obtain a home lead test if they want to purchase and keep any cheap jewelry.
“I don’t like to make blanket statements, but certainly, there’s been a lot of relatively inexpensive jewelry that does contain high levels of lead,” Weintraub said. “A parent needs to think very, very carefully if they do want to purchase such a product and what I would suggest is that if they do decide to purchase, you could buy lead test kits and you could swipe it and test it to see if there’s a high level of lead.”
Lead test kits can be purchased online for about $10.
“Parents need to get on the CPSC website and see if the product has been recalled or not,” Weintraub continued. “If it does turn out that the jewelry does contain high levels of lead, they should confiscate it immediately and wipe down other toys or other jewelry that may have come in contact with it because it’s possible that there is lead dust.”
