Good news, Macaroni families!
As of August 14 of this year, makers of products marketed primarily to children under the age of 12 years must comply with the new law that mandates lead levels of no more than 100 parts per million (ppm) on the surface of the product. Though manufacturers had balked at the suggestion which is part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted 3-2 that there was no evidence to suggest that manufacturers could not limit the lead in children's consumer products to 100 ppm.
Lead, as we all know by now, is extremely toxic, causing a host of medical and developmental problems, especially in children, whose developing bodies are less able to filter toxins and can more easily be damaged by exposure to toxic substances. Exposure to even small levels of lead can cause brain, kidney, lung, digestive and other bodily damage and can even be fatal. The latest mandate is part of a long-term plan to reduce lead levels in toys and other children's products. Congress required the levels to remain below 600 ppm in February of 2009. That number was reduced to 300 ppm later that year. Though the new law requires less than 100 ppm by this August, it may not be enforced until December or later, giving manufacturers time to comply with the new limits.
According to the CPSC, the new limits will only apply to outer surfaces of items and may not apply to "certain component parts of children's electronic devices, like electronic connectors and plugs, including headphone plugs." So if your child loves to chomp on his headphone plugs, you might want to buy him a pack of gum instead...
For more information on lead in children's products, visit:Web siteFor consumer product safety information, visit the CPSC.
