Six Retail Giants Warned Over Lead-Tainted Products

November 17, 2009

Sacramento, California - The state Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday issued a warning to six major retailers which were found selling lead-tainted products that can affect the nervous system and lower the IQ especially of young children.

In a letter sent to the retail giants including Wal-Mart and Target, Attorney General Jerry Brown told them to pull out the products which were found to contain high levels of lead. In California, a product with lead more than 300 parts per million (ppm) is considered excessive.

Brown’s letter also included the list of products with high levels of lead including the Kids Poncho with 667 ppm of lead and MSY Faded Glory Rebecca Shoes with 1331 ppm of lead, both sold at Wal-Mart; Dora the Explorer Activity Tote with 2348 ppm of lead and sold at TJ Maxx; Paula Fuschia Open-Toes Shoes with 3957 ppm of lead and sold at Sears; Reversible Croco Belt with 4270 ppm of lead sold at Target; and Barbie Bike Flair Accessory Kit with 6196 ppm of lead sold at Tuesday Morning.

Meanwhile, the most excessive amount of lead was found in “The Disney Fairies Silvermist's Water Lily Necklace” with 22000 ppm of lead, or more than 70 times the limit. This product is sold at Walgreens.

Brown notified the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about the lead-tainted products. The agency will then decide if a product recall is necessary.

While there has been no recall announcement yet, Brown said parents should stop using the products and immediately return these to retailers to prevent lead-poisoning especially among children.