Lead Testing Results You Need to Know
WISH, IN
INDIANAPOLIS – We all know the dangers of lead to young children. That’s why the government sets standards for lead content in everything from toys to jewlery.
But as we’ve learned from months of recalls those standards aren’t always met and lead laden products have been found on store shelves. So we went shopping, this time putting jewelry to the test. And what we found caught us by surprise.
An earring from a jewlery store tested at 52 percent lead, more than 860 times the amount the government deems safe. So, if a toddler swallowed this earring?
“It could kill the toddler. That’s an incredible amount of lead for a child to ingest,” said Karla Johnson the Program Manager of the Marion County Health Department’s Lead Division.
24-Hour News 8 purchased the jewelry at a K-Mart on East Washington Street in Indianapolis. In fact, about $120 worth of costume jewelry was purchased to be tested.
Johnson said she bought some costume jewelry for her daughter labeled lead free, but to be sure she tested it.
“So, just right off the bat we’ve got 52 percent,” said Johnson.
The same high levels were found in a similar necklace 24-Hour News 8 bought that was not marked lead free. In fact, the health department tested 20 jewelry sets, some of which were marked lead free.
“We should get a reading in about five seconds each time. It failed,” said Johnson.
Despite the the lead free label, lead was found in nearly every set.
“It’s gonna pass. It’s not lead free though. That’s what’s interesting about this,” said Johnson.
Interesting and confusing. Does a lead free label mean lead free? Not according to these findings.
Of the 20 jewelry sets tested, 8 had dangerous lead levels failing the government standard. Three of those were marked lead free. Eight jewelry sets had lead levels within the government limits and the findings on four others were inconclusive.
The health department’s lead prevention leaders say buyer beware.
After 24-Hour News 8 learned of the findings, the leaders of Sears holdings – the owner of k-mart were alerted.
In a written statement they said, “Out of an abundance of caution, K-Mart is pulling the product mentioned in your segment from our shelves to have it re-tested. If we determine there’s an issue, we’ll pull the product from the shelves immediately and work with the CPSC to determine next steps.”
Many of the pieces that showed high lead levels were sets a consumer might buy for a child. The Health Department will test your child’s jewelry at no charge. Call them for an appointment at 221-2155.
