Halloween Just Got a Little Scarier
Posted
October 21, 2006 at
3:00 am by
Cristina
Lead. If you’re into chemistry, you might know it as Pb or atomic number 82 on the periodic table. When ingested in high levels by humans, it can cause neurological problems, gastrointestinal problems, kidney problems, and even reproductive problems. In extreme cases, it can even cause death and is particularly dangerous to children.
According to Wilkipedia, lead is commonly found in things like?? car batteries, coolant, paint (prior to 1978), high voltage power cables, and roofing material. Not really things that your child will be playing with, right? So I guess we can all heave a huge old sigh of relief and move on, right?
Wrong.
It seems like every time I turn around,?? I’m hearing about yet another?? seemingly innocuous?? item that contains lead. Your artificial christmas tree? Full of it.?? ?? The plastic?? Halloween costumes?? for sale at stores nationwide??? Lead, baby.?? The candy that our neighbors could be handing out for Halloween? Mmmm, yummy lead. The lunch bags we’ve been using for the past five years…uh, lead sandwiches anyone??? The toy jewelry that your child got from a vending machine and that cute little?? bracelet you bought your daughter at the Disney?? Store??? Yep, you guessed it - lead and more lead.
I could go on, but I won’t. You get the picture.
What I want to know is: what the heck is going on? You’d think that since we know that lead is poisonous, that at the very least, we wouldn’t find it our children’s toys.
I guess we can find some solace in the fact that in some states, like California, business are required to provide warnings when a product is known to contain toxic chemicals. That is, unless there is no such law in your state. In which case, some people apparently feel free to ignore the public health risk just so they can sell their products, as reported in this news story:
California law requires businesses to provide warnings when they expose the public to hazardous chemicals, like lead. But that’s not the case everywhere. Some costumes found in California are being sold in other states with the warning labels blacked out.
Blacked out, people. The?? labels warning us that?? our children’s Halloween costumes contain toxic levels of lead are being blacked out.
What is this world coming to?
??
Tags: Halloween, Health, lead, lead-poisoning, toxic, toys |
19 Responses to “Halloween Just Got a Little Scarier”
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1. Kristen said:
October 21, 2006 @ 6:49 am
Thanks for this. Great stuff.
Um. The post - not the lead
2. Bananarama said:
October 21, 2006 @ 10:33 am
Most products are atually tested for lead content. You’ll only find it in products that use it in the manufacturing process or have a surface coating, such as things that are painted. And in such cases there are limits in terms of the amount of lead that can be present. California has the lowest lead content limits in the country.
3. Rachael said:
October 21, 2006 @ 12:01 pm
That’s IT!! I’m MAKING their costumes this year!
4. Cristina said:
October 21, 2006 @ 12:04 pm
Moreover, most of the products that I am talking about are not made in the U.S. anyway. Many, if not most, are made in China and other foreign countries where there are no lead content standards. I don’t think we’re testing those products for lead before they are put on the market. Or if we are, we are not prohibiting their sale.
5. Jessica Carlson said:
October 21, 2006 @ 12:16 pm
Do these costumes contain “toxic” levels of lead, or just trace amounts? Lead isn’t really dangerous unless ingested, especially into your lungs. I know, I have had lead experts in my house since we have a passion for old homes and I always like to know what I’m dealing with.
All I’m saying is, if you can safely live in a house with lead windows, depending on the integrity of the paint and window, and it’s not dangerous to touch the window to open it or whatnot, then is it possible to be safe around lead? I mean, my hairdryer and my pillows have warnings on them but that doesn’t mean we can’t co-exist or use them for their intended purposes.
I’m not a lead expert, I guess I’m just asking…does anybody know if trace amounts on a costume is toxic or inherently dangerous? I know that within 2000 sq. ft. of space, it is not safe to have more than 1/2 a packet size of an Equal worth of lead, but that is lead particles.
Again, just asking so that I am informed. I’m guessing those costumes are the cheap, platic ones we grew up with and I see those less and less.
6. Much More Than A Mom said:
October 21, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
That’s just sick.
7. Andrea said:
October 21, 2006 @ 1:11 pm
Yeah–we all grew up with lead pencils, and from what I remember, it was safe as long as you didn’t eat it or poke yourself with it.
And I my work involves hazardous materials surveys in buildings from time to time. Lead is included, in paints etc., but it is not considered to be a problem unless the paint is flaking off the wall or is being removed, in which case, precaustions are taken during removal and disposal.
But when it is flaking off or being removed–it is airborne, and can be breathed in. That’s why it becomes a problem. Intact, it’s not necessarily dangerous.
I think the value of California’s legislation is more in allowing people to make the decision to have zero lead in their lives, if they want to, more than eliminating all lead.
8. chelle said:
October 21, 2006 @ 1:51 pm
It is disturbing that children’s products still use lead as an ingredient, however it was not that long ago that there was much more. We are ok and I am sure our toys etc were much more toxic! I agree we need to be vigilant yet at the same time there has to be a balance too.
Great post!
9. Cristina said:
October 21, 2006 @ 2:55 pm
However, in this post, I was talking less about lead-based paint and more with regards to other items that contain lead that we might not know about. So to your question - how toxic are these things really? I agree that the Halloween costumes are probably of less concern because they are only worn once. But from what I read we have reason to at least be cautious - especially for those items that children might suck on, eat (candy - mainly from Mexico) or ingest accidentally. For example, in March 2006,
a four-year-old died from swallowing a lead-filled charm. Here is the article: http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/PublicHealth/tb/2966
Also, according to one of the articles I linked to above, the dangers of lead in toy jewelry are serious enough that “Target, Kmart, Macyรขโฌโขs, Nordstroms, Claires, Mervyns, Sears, Toys R Us, Disney and dozens of other companies have agreed to eliminate lead exposure risks from jewelry marketed to children and adults.” Interestingly, but not surprisingly, Wal-Mart did not agree to settle. These companies were sued in California due to numerous cases of serious lead poisoning from jewelry exposure.
Finally, I would quote a CDC MMWR report that cited an LA Study which “determined that 34% of children aged <6 years with lead poisoning in Los Angeles County had been exposed to items containing lead that had been brought into the home. These items might include candy, folk and traditional medications, ceramic dinnerware, and metallic toys and trinkets. Exposures to some of these items can result in life-threatening BLLs of >100 รยตg/dL (elevated BLLs are >10 รยตg/dL for children and >25 รยตg/dL for adults).”
Now, I’m guessing that the chances of dying in a car accident are much higher than dying of lead poisoning, but I do think we should be informed of the risks out there and that we should demand safe products for our children without compromise.
10. redroller said:
October 21, 2006 @ 10:59 pm
It seems like a lot of the questions here have to do with exactly how much lead is safe, and if it is OK to have lead in certain products that will probably not be ingested by children (like pillows and intact paint). But in children’s items? It seems pretty obvious that we don’t even need to wonder about this. Kids suck on everything and have been known to swallow their toys… Why take a chance? Lead in jewelry, halloween costumes, candy? This was a very informative post, and I’m glad to have been made aware of this.
11. Catch said:
October 21, 2006 @ 11:36 pm
Nothing….and I do mean NOTHING suprises me anymore!
12. Kyla said:
October 22, 2006 @ 10:41 am
Is ANY risk of exposing your child to something that can cause neurological defects and in rare cases even death worth it? I’m surprised that there are parents who aren’t concerned about the risks. For me personally, because I am dealing with a child who has neurological problems without a reason we can pinpoint….the thought of people being okay with lead levels in their children’s play things floors me…why would anyone willingly risk this to their child?
We survived a lot of things “back in the days” but I’m sure there were many kids who were not so lucky, would you risk your child being one of those? Just because we survived “worse” doesn’t mean our kids will.
Great post!
13. PunditMom said:
October 22, 2006 @ 9:14 pm
Uh-oh. Does that mean we need to lose the Jasmine costume?
More seriously, this is right up there with the high fructose corn syrup issue.
14. Tracie said:
October 22, 2006 @ 11:30 pm
Wow……that is crazy. Now I wonder if Florida has any laws about lead……?
15. celebrate woo-woo said:
October 23, 2006 @ 8:11 am
What disturbs me more than the fact that lead can be found in children’s items is that the warning labels are being blacked out. If the label is there because one state requires it, then just leave it visible! That, to me, is the scariest thing about this post…the information about the product is purposely hidden from the consumer simply because they don’t have a legal obligation to tell us.
16. Jenny said:
October 23, 2006 @ 8:56 am
God. I’m sick just from reading this.
But important information just the same.
17. Mom101 said:
October 23, 2006 @ 9:14 am
Excellent (and terrifying) post. I think a lot of the issue is that the effects of lead don’t seem as immediate or scary as say…fire. Which is why there’s such a big deal about fire-retardant pjs as opposed to lead in lunchboxes or mercury in our food and water sources which actually impact more children and to a far greater degree.
The Tipping Point has a great chapter about it in fact if you haven’t already read.
18. Cristina said:
October 23, 2006 @ 9:21 am
19. Beth said:
October 23, 2006 @ 11:24 am
Thanks for posting this. I’m totally shocked and sadly knew nothing about it. Time to get informed.