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Library Categories > Environmental Issues > New Worries Over Lead

 
Library Item Name:

New Worries Over Lead 		   
Summary Statement:

Our latest tests find the toxic metal in more products:

Christine and Erik Johnson of Minneapolis got rid of old lead paint in their house, only to find lead was still lurking in Nora's and Coen's toys.


Christine and Erik Johnson of Minneapolis were thrust into the role of detectives when they learned in November 2006 that their 9-month-old son, Coen, had a blood lead level about five times the national average for children under 5. His 2-year-old sister, Nora, had a lead level that was almost triple the average.

The Johnsons were mystified because earlier that year their house got a clean bill of health. Their county housing department verified that the couple had cut lead exposure hazards in their 84-year-old home by taking steps such as replacing old windows covered in lead paint, a major source of lead poisoning in the U.S.

After the toddlers' blood tests came back, a health department official referred the Johnsons to Bill Radosevich, a national expert on lead in consumer products. He helped inspect their home with a lead-screening device, an X-ray fluorescence analyzer.

They were astonished at what he found. More than 15 items screened positive for lead, including a pasta bowl, a decorative belt on Nora's jeans, the vinyl lining of a diaper bag in which she carried her toys, and some of the toys themselves. Particularly high in lead content were the tires on a toddler-sized wagon that Coen played with daily, turning it on its side so that he could grab its wheels and delight in watching them spin.
Submission Date:

11/06/2007by: shannonj
Current rating:


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