The CED is warning consumers about possible lead in antique toys and other products made before 1978 or items manufactured outside the United States.
Contributed photo | CDC
CDC NOTES
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an advisory for consumers to be aware that lead may be present in products made in other countries or in items that are no longer produced in the U.S.
“You can test products for lead by submitting a sample to a certified laboratory,” the CDC state in a recent report. “Contact your child’s healthcare provider if you think they have been exposed to a product containing lead.”
According to its report, “lead can be found in some consumer products made in other countries and imported into the United States.”
Lead can also be found in collectible items such as antique toys that may have been passed down through the generations.
Highlights from the report:
– Imported toys: Toys made in some countries are more likely to contain lead than toys made in the United States, Canada or the European Union. Lead paint was banned for use in house paint, on products marketed to children, and on dishes or cookware in the United States in 1978. However, it is still widely used in many other countries.
– Antique toys: Toys made before the ban on lead paint in 1978 may contain lead-based paint. Therefore, painted antiques or collectible toys that are passed down through generations may contain lead. Additionally, older toys made of tin, brass, or pewter alloys may contain lead.
– Jewelry: Lead is often used in jewelry, including children’s jewelry, to make the product heavier, brighten colors, and stabilize or soften plastic. Jewelry labeled as made in the United States is less likely to contain lead compared with jewelry made abroad. There is an increased risk for buying lead based if it was purchased through informal and unregulated sources.
Children should not be allowed to wear jewelry that may contain lead because of exposure from chewing, sucking on, or swallowing jewelry.
– Plastic toys and other products: The use of lead in plastics has not been banned. Lead is used to soften plastic and to make it more flexible so that it can go back to its original shape. It may also be used in plastic toys to stabilize molecules from heat. The chemical bond between the lead and plastics breaks down and forms a dust when the plastic is exposed to sunlight, air, or detergents. A young child may touch the plastic toy and then ingest the dust when putting their fingers in their mouth.
– Other elements: Lead is used in making alloys with other elements such as antimony, tin, arsenic, and calcium that may be used in toys.
– Lead in antique and vintage items (other than toys): Lead may be found in antique and vintage products purchased at thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, antique shops, or online. It may also be found in items that are passed down through generations. These items were often made before current federal regulations on lead went into effect in 1978.
The following antique and vintage items may contain lead:
Dishware
Painted tin panels
Lead crystal pieces
Ceramic items
Silverware
Jewelry
Furniture
Prevention
“The good news is that childhood lead poisoning is preventable,” stated the CC report. “Do not let children play with recalled toys, toys manufactured before 1978, and vintage and antique products because older toys and other products may contain lead-based paint.”
David Kennard is the executive editor of the Robesonian. Reach him by email at dkennard@robesonian.com.
