Lead-Laden Toys Found at Wal-Mart, Sales Continue

It's bad news in the toy aisle: independent lab testing reveals toxic levels of lead in children's products sold at Wal-Mart and Target.

The Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Environmental Health (CEH) reports that five children's products purchased at the stores contain levels of lead exceeding federal standards. Two toddler chairs sold at Target contained illegal levels of lead, one of them with more than 70 times the legal limit. Over at Wal-Mart, bean bag chairs, youth boxing gloves and toy foam beads used for kids' jewelry all contained high levels of lead, ranging from three to 45 times the legal limit.

Though Target says they will remove the chairs from their stores, Wal-Mart is only removing the products online and from its California stores.

“We cannot understand how Wal-Mart can continue to sell these lead-tainted products to children in any state, or any country,” said Caroline Cox, Research Director at CEH, in a press release. “It’s been more than two years since federal law established strict limits to protect children from these kinds of lead threats. Clearly Wal-Mart needs to do better for our families.”

The Center conducted the study in conjunction with the California Attorney General's office. Although the state can't force Wal-Mart to remove the products from stores nationwide, retailers often do so voluntarily when they are notified of high lead levels.

But apparently Wal-Mart doesn't feel the need to act all that fast. A spokeswoman for the retailer told the AP that the company was not issuing a recall on the items and would "investigate this matter further."

Lead is toxic if ingested by children and can cause adverse health effects. Federal standards limit the lead in children's products to 300 parts per million, though the Consumer Product Safety Commission has suggested lowering the permissible level to 100 ppm next year.

Toy recalls due to high levels of lead are, unfortunately, common. On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Lead Recall website, six toys in as many months have been recalled due to lead hazards. In 2007, Wal-Mart had to recall lead-laced baby bibs from China.

It's not just toys, however. The report also found high levels of lead in three adult jewelery items purchased from Wal-Mart. The illegal levels of lead prompted the Attorney General to request that the company stop sales of the products.

The CEH report brings up larger issue of retail inspection. Why do we have to wait for an independent agency to test products for dangerous materials after they've already reached the market? Why does Wal-Mart continue to stock its shelves with dangerous products and refuse to issue a nationwide recall once they're discovered?

Sign this petition urging Wal-Mart to take the responsible action and remove toys containing high levels of lead.

Photo credit: Fortyseven