Cadmium Ban In Children’s Jewelry

July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment




 childrens jewelery with cadmium

Cadmium, used as a cheap substitute for lead in inexpensive imported jewelry, is considered more harmful than lead if ingested through the swallowing or prolonged licking or sucking of a jewelry piece. It is a known carcinogen and can also wreak havoc on the kidneys.

Jul 25, 2011 – 7:00 AM ET | Last Updated: Jul 24, 2011 11:55 PM ET

By Sarah Schmidt

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq is proposing an effective ban on cadmium in children’s jewelry after government tests revealed pieces packed with the toxic chemical were sold in Canada, Postmedia News has learned.

The move, to be announced Monday at a local daycare, comes after Postmedia News reported last October that internal Health Canada tests showed children’s jewelry made of almost pure cadmium were on the market.
Of 91 random pieces of children’s jewelry tested in 2010, nine contained high levels of cadmium, ranging from nine to 93% cadmium. Health Canada results from 2009 identified another eight items with high levels, ranging from 18 to 81% cadmium.
Even though many items were made with what Aglukkaq called “dangerous” levels of the toxic metal, only three were ever recalled.

That’s because until last month, when Canada’s new consumer product safety law came info force, the Health Minister did not have the power to order the mandatory recall of consumer products. And in these cases, companies declined to recall the jewelry pieces voluntarily unless another dangerous metal — lead — was present in high enough levels

Unlike lead, which is banned in children’s jewelry in Canada at levels exceeding 600 milligrams per kilogram or 0.06 per cent of the total weight, there is no set limit for cadmium in kids’ jewelry.

On Monday, Aglukkaq will propose an even tougher guideline for cadmium in children’s jewelry — no more than 0.013 per cent of total weight.

Cadmium, used as a cheap substitute for lead in inexpensive imported jewelry, is considered more harmful than lead if ingested through the swallowing or prolonged licking or sucking of a jewelry piece. It is a known carcinogen and can also wreak havoc on the kidneys.

Industry will have until October to comment on the proposed guideline regarding total cadmium concentration in children’s jewelry, after which formal regulations could follow.

As a first step, Aglukkaq appealed to the industry last October to stop the production, importation and sale of children’s jewellery made with cadmium or cadmium-containing materials following revelations of Health Canada’s test results. She also vowed to move quickly to get children’s jewelry pieces known to be packed with cadmium off shelves as soon as she had the power to do so.

Monday’s announcement comes a month after Canada’s new product safety law took effect.

Under the old consumer product safety law, there was no general prohibition against importing or selling a dangerous product, and Health Canada could only ask companies to recall unsafe products from the marketplace. It was ultimately the company’s call to remove products under Canada’s old Hazardous Products Act, put in place more than 40 years ago — long before imported goods blanketed toy stores and other retail outlets.

For example, in the case of the three recalled jewelry pieces tested by Health Canada showing elevated levels of cadmium, none of the recall notices makes any mention of cadmium levels.

Technically, the items were recalled for exceeding the lead limit of 0.06%, including the April 2010 voluntary recall of cupcake shoe tags made of 93% cadmium and 2.27% lead and the May 2010 recall of a foot pendant made of 84% cadmium and 1.84% lead.

Filed Under: Other Heavy Metals Tagged With:

Dangerous Protein Powders

June 22, 2010 By 2 Comments




(NaturalNews) Many common brands of protein powders and protein drinks contain high levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury according to the most recent issue of Consumer Reports magazine. All fifteen different powders and drinks tested contained measurable amounts, some quite high. Consumer Reports also argued that most people in the United States including athletes get ample protein in their diets. Heavy metal toxicity and excess protein consumption are both dangerous for one`s health.

Proteins, whether from plants or animals, are broken down by the body into amino acids which are then used to form our cells and tissues. In the United States it is almost impossible to get too little protein.

Protein requirements set out by the World Health Organization range from a minimum of 0.45 grams of protein per kilogram of ideal body weight to 0.8 grams protein per kilogram. It may increase 1 gram for endurance athletes. One pound equals 0.45 kilograms, so a 150 pound person would weigh about 68 kilograms. Excess protein can cause severe health issues such as dehydration and kidney failure.

Good vegetarian sources of protein include beans, grains such as quinoa, eggs, seeds such as hemp seeds, and even leafy green vegetables; they can give substantial amounts of protein when eaten in high enough amounts. One cup of cooked quinoa contains about 14 grams of protein. One egg contains about 6 grams of protein and one cup of raw spinach contains 1 gram of protein.

Whereas protein deficiency is not a common problem in this country, lead and other heavy metal poisoning is. Heavy metals get into tissues including the brain, heart and kidneys and are extremely difficult for the body to eliminate. Children are especially prone to heavy metal poisoning but everyone is at risk. Symptoms of heavy metal toxicity include fatigue, nausea, depression, decreased thyroid and adrenal function, and even seizures.

Blending hemp seeds, green leafy vegetables or cooked grains like quinoa into a home-made smoothie of fresh and frozen fruit and water is a much healthier way to get protein than supplementing with questionable store-bought powders and drinks.

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Shrek Glasses Contain Toxic Cadmium

June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment




June 4, 2010 McDonalds recalls 12 million Shrek glasses because the paint on them contains poisonous cadmium. DMSA removes cadmium quickly and safely in children and adults.

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20100604/mcdonalds-shrek-glasses-recalled-due-to-cadmium

This news article is reprinted below:

June 4, 2010 — Fast food giant McDonald’s Corp. announced today it is recalling 12 million of its new “Shrek Forever After” glasses because dangerous levels of the metal cadmium have been detected in the decorative paint used for the images.

McDonald’s said it is ordering the voluntary recall in collaboration with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) as a precautionary measure.

The CPSC said consumers should stop using the glasses immediately and said it is illegal to resell or try to resell a product that has been recalled.

“When the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission approached McDonald’s about cadmium in their current movie-themed drinking glasses, the company responded quickly,” McDonald’s spokesman Scott Wolfson says in a news release. “The glasses have far less cadmium than the children’s metal jewelry that [the Consumer Product Safety Commission] has previously recalled.”

The company said the glassware was evaluated by an independent third-party laboratory, accredited by the CPSC, and determined to be in compliance with federal and state requirements at the time of manufacture and distribution.

However, the company said that in light of the CPSC’s “evolving assessment of standards for cadmium” in consumer products, McDonald’s decided “in an abundance of caution” that a voluntary recall was appropriate.

The Shrek Forever After glassware was offered in four glasses at McDonald’s restaurants starting May 21.

The four designs include Puss ‘n’ Boots, Shrek, Princess Fiona, and Donkey.

McDonald’s said people who purchased the glasses should visit its web site at www.mcdonalds.com/glasses starting June 8 for instructions on how to return the glassware and obtain a refund. Customers also may call its toll-free number at 800-244-6227.

The glasses, which sold for about $2 per glass, were manufactured by ARC International of Millville, N.J. McDonald’s says previous McDonald’s glassware was not involved in the recall.

The CPSC said it was “made aware” of issues with the glasses through the office of Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif. She said on her web site that her office had been alerted by an anonymous source and that cadmium “is a toxic substance that is extremely dangerous to the developmental health of children.”

She said children’s health “should not depend on the consciences of anonymous sources” and that “stronger testing standards” are needed for all children’s products before sale.

Speier said she alerted CPSC Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum last week, who agreed to expedite testing of the glasses.

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