The lead-toy recalls may have had one positive result—people are starting to see some hidden hazards they had not noticed before. While I’m not a journalist who wants to freak people out with articles such as “How your cat is trying to kill you! Tonight at 11,” I do want you to see where there may be other lead dangers that can be fixed.
It’s true that some old toys were made of lead. If you’re a collector, or even someone who just likes the fond memories these toys hold, you may have these items around the house. It’s best to remove these items from areas where young children play. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), children under age 5 are particularly vulnerable to the effects of lead mainly because their bodies and brains are still developing. The NIEHS says two-year-olds have the highest blood level concentration because of how often they put items into their mouths.
While right now the concern is focused on toys from China, the most common source of lead exposure for children in the United States, says the NIEHS, is in the deteriorated lead paint that remains in older houses. Children in urban and underprivileged areas are most at risk, because much of this old paint has not been safely removed. Do not try to remove this paint yourself as it could just end up as dust in your house, an equally dangerous situation. Call your township or county health departments to see if they check for lead and how it can be safely removed.
Remember that the main problem is not how much lead is an item, but how much lead is released from it. That is, if the item is just handled and no part of its surface is broken, the hazard is low. But if the toy’s surface can be broken from chewing or if a part of the item that contains lead can be swallowed, the hazard grows dramatically.
Ask yourself, what items do you have in your home that may have lead in them?
December 03, 2007
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