Just in time for Easter, the Associated Press has a report on toxic lead levels in plastic Easter eggs.
The report was the result of testing on toys done by Jeffrey Weidenhamer, a chemistry professor at Ashland University, who has his students test Easter items each spring. According to the report, 13 of the 45 items they purchased had paint made with lead.
At Ashland, the biggest lead hazards were found in Easter egg spinning tops, plastic Easter eggs that typically are filled at home with treats, bunny hair clips and chick-style sipper cups -- all exceeding the government paint standard of 0.06 percent lead content.
Weidenhamer said the toys with lead-based paint would pose only a small risk, if the paint doesn't chip and the item is discarded before it deteriorates.
Still, this is a persistent problem for the plastics industry -- particularly for processors in China, since many of the products are made there.
Who in the world thinks it's a good idea to use lead-based paint on a children's toy? There's no excuse -- it has to stop.
Comments (1)
The presence of lead (Pb) does not automatically mean there is a hazard. Having said that, and having some familiarity with this issue, I believe any firm hiring a contract manufacturer to produce its products needs to have enforceable terms and conditions not only for quantity, price and delivery but also be much more rigorous with QA/QC, raw material specs, etc., as well. And said firm must install some means of monitoring and enforcing those terms (even cancelling or walking away from the business arrangement) if the finished products turn out to be flawed or otherwise defective. In the end, it's "on" company management to fix it.
Posted by Mark Sofman | March 20, 2008 1:42 PM
Posted on March 20, 2008 13:42