From Reactive to Proactive: Redefining Safety Standards in the Promotional Industry (A Four-Part Series)
Sadly, he’s probably not alone. The sheer volume of information out there on product safety, especially for children’s items, is staggering, not to mention bewildering.
The Lead Conundrum
When it comes to issues of lead, some argue the waters are the murkiest. According to Charles Margulis, communications director at the Oakland, California–based Center for Environmental Health, the Center for Disease Control says there is no safe level of lead exposure for kids. Yet, he added, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) continues to default to inadequate testing practices to determine what’s safe. “Unfortunately what we have today, under our federal regulatory system, is a case-by-case basis. The government said, ‘a little bit of lead in a lunch box is okay, a little bit of lead in a baby bib is okay, a little bit of lead in kids’ jewelry is okay,’ because they look at each case in isolation,” Margulis said. However, since lead is a cumulative toxin—meaning, it builds up in a child’s system with each exposure—this line of thinking is especially dangerous. “The Consumer Product Safety Commission has no standard for lead in kids’ products, they only have a standard for lead paint. And this isn’t an issue of paint, it’s an issue of the material itself,” he affirmed. “The problem is, kids don’t live in a case-by-case world. Kids live in a real world … all those exposures add up.”
- Places:
- Oakland, California