CPSC Votes to Ban Lead In Kids’ Jewelry
WCCO, MN
(WCCO) The Consumer Product Safety Commission has begun the process of banning lead in kids jewelry. This is the latest development to a story the I-TEAM first broke in May 2004.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has only banned a handful of items in its history — lawn darts, dive sticks, lead in candlewicks, lead in paint.
This ban would allow the CPSC to punish companies that make and sell jewelry that contains more than .06-percent lead, the amount allowable in paint. Two and a half years ago the I-TEAM found dangerous levels of lead in 80-percent of the jewelry we tested.
Since then more than 160 million necklaces, rings and bracelets have been pulled from store shelves, including the item blamed for the death of 4-year-old Jarnell Brown from Minneapolis.
Since Jarnell’s death, health officials found two kids from Chicago with high levels of lead. It is believed those children did something a lot of kids do: they put the jewelry in their mouths.
When Will The Ban Take Effect?
The CPSC says it could take a year before these new rules are in place. The agency must define “children’s jewelry” and figure out the punishment for companies that continue to sell jewelry with high levels of lead.
The Fashion Jewelry Trade Association points to other items that contain lead like Christmas lights. You may have already noticed the warnings on your lights, which are due to California law requiring items with lead to be labeled.
That law didn’t keep jewelry with lead from being sold in California. So state leaders say a federal ban is clearly needed to ensure the products we all buy for our kids are safe.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
