Get the Lead Out

Posted on August 24, 2007
by Maureen Keene

Tell Your Representatives in Congress to Get the Lead Out of Children’s Products 

There is no amount of lead in children’s products that is safe or necessary. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that “no safe blood level in children has been determined.” The Center for Environmental Health reports that “lead has a profound ability to damage children’s intellectual and behavioral development.  Children who have been exposed to higher levels of lead score lower on IQ tests than children with less exposure.  Children with higher exposures are also more impulsive and have shorter attention spans.”

Lead has no place in toys, furniture, bibs, jewelry or any other children’s product — period.  As long as some lead is allowed, manufacturers will continue to be tempted to use more than the prescribed amount.  The recent recalls of millions of toys, bibs and children’s jewelry is clear evidence of manufacturers’ unwillingness to follow guidelines for limited use of lead. Please urge Congress to pass legislation putting a total ban on the use of lead in children’s products.

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