High Lead Levels In Toys From Walmart, Target
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (CBS/AP) — A consumer group working with the California attorney general's office on Wednesday says tests show unsafe levels of lead have been detected in in children's products sold at Walmart and Target.
The Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Environmental Health, which commissioned the tests, said lead exceeding allowable levels was found in Walmart products such as toy boxing gloves, toy foam jewelry beads and green and yellow beanbag chairs for toddlers.
At Target, the center said it found two chairs with high lead levels, one of which had 70 times the legal limit for lead.
Minneapolis-based Target Corp. didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press, but the center said Target agreed to remove the chairs from its stores.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Melissa Hill said the company is stopping sales of the products in California and from Walmart.com. Hill said the Bentonville-based company would
"investigate this matter further."
The California attorney general's office confirmed it contacted the retailers about the test results.
The Walmart items contained between three times and 45 times the legal limit for lead, the center said. The group said Walmart was wrong to not pull the products companywide.
"We cannot understand how Walmart can continue to sell these lead-tainted products to children in any state, or any country," said Caroline Cox, research director at the center. Cox noted that federal limits on lead content in children's products have been in place for more than two years.
"Clearly Walmart needs to do better for our families," Cox said.
The Center for Environmental Health is funded by a grant from the California attorney general's office to test children's products to see whether they comply with U.S. and California
regulations.
(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
