Lead In Children's Jewelry Sparks Recall

May 17 - KGO (KGO) -- A 7 On Your Side investigation of children's jewelry tainted with a high levels of lead has lead to a product recall. It is an issue attracting growing attention. The recall comes just days after 7 On Your Side contacted a company about the results of our lead test -- tests that raise serious concerns about the safety of our children.

Go to any grade school, and you'll see children who love to wear costume jewelry. Unfortunately, it can be toxic.

Lara Cushing, Center For Environmental Health: "The cheaper, fake-looking jewelry does contain dangerous amounts of lead."

The federal government has connected lead poisoning to behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and growth retardation in children. So i>7 On Your Side tested two dozen pieces of jewelry using a lead testing kit sold in hardware stores.

Dr. Gina Solomon, National Resources Defense Council: "If they turn pink, there's a pretty indication there's a problem."

Two of the pieces tested positive. We decided to do further testing and sent those pieces to a certified lab in Dublin. Lab results indicate a bracelet made by Element tested 390-times above limits set by a recent law suit.

Another bracelet by Jordache tested more than 1,000-times over those same standards.

Alexa Engelman, Center For Environmental Health: "The lead levels are high. This kind of lead poisoning can be dangerous to children, even at low levels. Children put things in their mouths."

Jordache had no comment. But Element says its product would be recalled immediately, and a thorough investigation conducted.

A settlement between more than 70 companies and the Center for Environmental Health, the group As You Sow, and the state attorney general's office, sets standards for levels of lead in costume jewelry. Those standards measure total lead content, and are much stricter than standards used by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which measures for what it considers "accessible lead."

Judy Vallese, Consumer Product Safety Commission: "We really need to be talking about accessible levels of lead. The dose of accessible levels is the poison."

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled about a dozen pieces of jewelry in the last two years. Among the items recalled, a charm bracelet given away by Reebok. A four-year-old boy swallowed the bracelet, and a coroner ruled he died of lead poisoning.

Juanna Graham, victim's mother: "He just was ill, just hollering and screaming all the time. We just did not know what was causing this."

Among the companies that have agreed to the tougher California lead standards is Disney, the parent company of ABC7. Advocates here in California say its standards could be accepted nationwide. That's because companies may be reluctant to manufacture different products for different states.

Find out more about lead testing kits, the retailers involved in the settlement and the types of jewelry most likely to be tainted with lead in The Back Story.

For More Information:

California Lead Jewelry Settlement: http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/cms06/06-009_0a.pdf

Consumer Product Safety Commission policy on lead enforcement: http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml05/05097.html

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