Cheap jewellery can harm children
Los Angeles: America's top product safety regulator warned parents and carers last Wednesday to take cheap metal jewellery away from children out of concern they could be exposed to toxic heavy metals such as lead and cadmium.
Cheap Jewelry SitesWriting in a blog, posted last week, the chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission noted that children who chew, suck on or swallow a bracelet charm or necklace may be endangering their health.
"I have a message for parents, grandparents and carers: Do not allow young children to be given or to play with cheap metal jewellery, especially when they are unsupervised," wrote Inez Tenenbaum, the chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. "We have proof that lead in children's jewellery is dangerous and was pervasive in the marketplace. To prevent young children from possibly being exposed to lead, cadmium or any other hazardous heavy metal, take the jewellery away."
In making the recommendation, Tenenbaum cited an investigation by The Associated Press which reported high cadmium levels in items including bracelet charms from Walmart and Claire's stores. Laboratory tests conducted for the AP on 103 pieces of low-priced children's jewellery, nearly all exported from China, found 12 items with cadmium content above 10 percent of the total weight.
Several of those shed very high amounts of the metal when analysed for how much of the toxin a child might be exposed to after swallowing the item.
Like lead, cadmium can hinder brain development in young children, according to recent research. It also causes cancer.Reaction to AP's investigation has been swift and sweeping. Within hours of the release of the original story Sunday, the CPSC said it would investigate the highlighted items, among them charms that contained between 84 and 91 per cent cadmium.
