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Consumer Reports: Store Shelves Somewhat Safer From Lead Products Than Last Year
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Consumer Reports advises consumers not to let their guard down this holiday season, despite progress
YONKERS, N.Y., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Some products identified to be high in lead are largely gone from big retailers, according to a Consumer Reports investigation, but consumers can't let down their guard yet.
In total, more than 6 million products were recalled for lead in the first nine months of 2008. Lead-laden products cast a pall over holiday shopping last year and prompted recalls of almost 14 million items as varied as toys and slipcovers. Although stores might pull unsold recalled items off their shelves, many other recalled products continue to be resold in thrift shops, at yard sales, and online at sites such as eBay and Craigslist.
"The good news is that products identified in CR's 2007 investigation to contain lead seem to be less widely available than last year," said Andrea Rock, senior editor, Consumer Reports. "But just because there are fewer recalls this year, it doesn't mean items with lead aren't still on store shelves or in other places."
The full report is available in the January issue of Consumer Reports on sale December 2 and at www.ConsumerReports.org/giftguide.
Signs of improvement
A new federal law strongly supported by Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, imposes tougher limits for lead in all products primarily intended for children age 12 and younger, who are especially vulnerable to the metal's toxic effects on the brain and other organs. Starting in February 2009, total lead content in any children's product cannot exceed 600 parts per million. That limit drops to 300 ppm six months later.
Previously, federal limits of 600 ppm applied only to paint or surface coatings on products. That created a regulatory loophole allowing the sale of vinyl, metal, and plastic products with worrisome amounts of lead. Among them were two that Consumer Reports identified in its December 2007 report: samples of red toy blood-pressure cuffs sold in Fisher-Price Medical Kits and orange caps on Elmer's Glue Sticks with "Dora the Explorer," "Go Diego, Go!" and "SpongeBob SquarePants" designs.
When Consumer Reports recently checked to see whether those products were still available, the results were encouraging. CR's mystery shoppers searched online and at retailers in seven states and were able to purchase only four of the lead-tainted products: three kits with red blood pressure cuffs sold at a store in Arizona and one kit sold on eBay.
Some manufacturers and retailers say they have already taken steps to improve testing and quality before they are required by law to do so. Toys "R" Us said that all products sent to its stores as of November 2008 must contain no more than 300 ppm total lead, even though the deadline for meeting that limit is not until August 2009. And because of concerns about lead, Dollar Tree, which has stores in 48 states, said it has stopped buying jewelry from its suppliers.
When items are recalled, many end up in warehouses awaiting proper disposal. RC2, manufacturer of the recalled Thomas the Tank Engine and its subsequent recalled items, said the company recovered 75 percent, or 1.3 million Thomas items subject to lead recalls in 2007. They are locked up as RC2 works with the EPA on a disposal method.
But recovering such a high percentage is unusual. More typical are figures supplied by Target stores in September 2007 in response to a congressional inquiry about the fate of recalled toys, including 190,500 Kool Toyz Playsets pulled in November 2006. Almost a year after the recall, consumers had returned only 766 of the toys.
"As a result, recalled products wind up on Craigslist, eBay, and yard sales," said Rock. "It's important if you are buying second-hand items, to check if they have been recalled." Craigslist and eBay provide links to the Consumer Product Safety Commission recall list on their sites.
What you can do
-- The editors of Consumer Reports recommend following these steps to lower
your risk of lead exposure:
-- Keep children away from keys, key chains, cheap beads, artificial
pearls, and kids' metal jewelry, which have been found to contain
lead.
-- Beware of lead in toys and other products with screen-printed or painted
surfaces, including paint on plastic, fabric, or metal. Some inexpensive
items for Halloween, Christmas, and Easter have also been recalled.
-- To test a product for surface lead, consider the Homax Lead Check, Lead
Check Household Lead Test Kit, and Lead Inspector. They can be useful
but limited screening tools that detect surface lead but not total lead
content. Items that test positive shouldn't be used. For a more
exact lead level, an item must be tested professionally.
-- Check for recalls at www.recalls.gov.
JANUARY 2009
Consumers Union 2008. The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for commercial or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports(R) is published by Consumers Union, an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality, Consumers Union accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. Consumers Union supports itself through the sale of our information products and services, individual contributions, and a few noncommercial grants.
SOURCE Consumer Reports
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