Please click here if you would like additional information
Lead in Jewelry
Several major recalls of children’s jewelry have occurred in the last year. Most of these have been the result of the presence of lead in the jewelry and the potential effects on young children. There have been many cases of children being injured and even two cases where the child was killed by contact with the lead containing jewelry.
The most vulnerable individuals are children under three years of age. In these children blood lead levels above 15 micrograms/deciliter are considered dangerous. Thus, even small exposure to available lead is critical.
The State of California has recently enacted a law which effective September 1, 2007 limits the lead content in jewelry to less than 0.06% (600 ppm). After August 30, 2009 this limit will be decreased to 0.02% (200 ppm) for all plastic, beads and stones. This law includes a $2,500/day fine for each occurrence (e.g., each piece which violates the regulation). While this law is aimed at all jewelry it is especially important in children’s jewelry.
XRF is a simple, non-destructive method of screening any jewelry for lead content. Given the portable nature of the X-MET3000TXR+, it can be taken to any location – a store, a warehouse, an incoming port – to test the jewelry. In a very fast measurement the instrument can determine the presence or absence of lead in the jewelry. Given the liability of the seller to ensure that the jewelry is safe, XRF screening is a wise investment. In addition, the test for lead can also identify other possible hazardous materials in the toy including: arsenic, cadmium, mercury and other hazardous metals.
