The amount of lead allowed in toys will be reduced from 300 parts per million to 100 parts per million next month. This follows a 3-2 vote by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, split along party lines.
Lead poisoning causes “impaired intellect, memory loss, mood swings, infertility, nerve, joint and muscle disorders, cardiovascular, skeletal, kidney and renal problems and possibly cancer” (link).
I suppose the new standard is good news, but still I am frustrated. There is no known safe level of lead exposure. Why should we accept any amount of lead in children’s toys?
I'm a writer and the mother of William and Fergus. Before dedicating my work to children's environmental health, I earned an MA in Cultural Reporting and Criticism from New York University and was a photography editor at The New Yorker. My family is preparing to move to New Orleans, where my husband, an architect, is building us a non-toxic home.
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