LEAD LEVELS
Keeping your kids safe
How much lead is too much?
Last Updated: Monday, September 21, 2009 | 12:52 PM ET
CBC News
Lead is a soft, naturally occurring metal used in many products. It can be found in contaminated soil or water, old paint, inexpensive jewelry and other consumer items, such as blinds and leaded crystal.
A store attendant arranges toys made by Mattel. The toymaker announced the recall of toys with small magnets or lead paint on Aug. 14, 2007. (Pat Roque/Associated Press)Too much exposure to the metal can cause serious illness. In young children, it can impair neurological development.
In its lead strategy, Health Canada identifies four categories of consumer products that children are likely to come into contact with and ingest in significant quantities, some of which may contain lead:
- Products intended to be or likely to be placed in or near the mouth, such as pacifiers, baby bottle nipples, crib toys, mouthpieces of musical instruments.
- Children's equipment, furniture, toys and other items intended for use by a child in learning or play, such as strollers and high chairs.
- Products intended for use in preparing, serving or storing food or beverages, such as cutlery, tableware and cooking utensils.
- Consumer products intended to be or likely to be melted or burned in enclosed spaces, such as candles and fuel for indoor lanterns.
When is lead poisonous to children?
Children are most vulnerable to lead exposure because they absorb it more easily than adults. Due to their low body weight, any amount of lead is more dangerous to children than it would be to adults. Children aged six and under are particularly vulnerable to lead contamination because of their instinct to put objects in their mouth.
The ingestion of about one mg a day on a continued basis can severely affect children but such exposure rarely comes from infrequent handling of toys made or coated with lead, according to McGill University chemistry professor Joe Schwartz.
Toys coated with lead paint can be dangerous when the paint is ingested. Children are not at risk from simply playing with toys made or painted with lead, even if they mouth them once or twice. However, parents should have their children's blood lead levels tested if they notice the paint on their toys has been stripped off.
Health Canada considers lead levels in your blood below 10 micrograms per decilitre safe. If levels rise above 25, doctors will monitor them. At about 40, treatment becomes necessary to reduce the lead load in the body.
However, in November 2007, researchers at Cornell University released a study that found that kids exposed to "safe" lead levels had reduced IQ scores. The researchers called for stricter regulations. Less than a year later, the U.S. passed legislation banning lead from children's toys, imposing the toughest standard in the world. The law prohibits lead, beyond minute levels, in products for children 12 or younger. Lead paint was a major factor in the recall of 45 million toys and children's items in 2007. Most of those toys were imported from China.
The RC2 Corp. in June withdrew about 1.5 million Thomas & Friends wooden railway toys, including about 90,000 in Canada, due to high levels of lead. (William B. Plowman/Associated Press) A British study conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol, found that children with blood lead levels between two and five micrograms per decilitre performed significantly better in their Scholastic Aptitude Tests than children whose levels were above five micrograms per deciliter.
The World Health Organization has set 10 micrograms per deciliter as the international acceptable level of lead in the blood. The British researchers say that level should be cut in half.
Canada currently follows the WHO's standard, but Health Canada has updated its Lead Risk Reduction Strategy.
Dr. Margaret Thompson, medical director of the Hospital for Sick Children's Ontario Poison Centre, says the likelihood of lead poisoning in Canada — especially from toys — is very low.
How does lead affect young children?
Lead accumulation in the body usually occurs through gradual exposure. However, even small amounts can affect children.
Most who have mild lead poisoning do not look or act ill. Symptoms can be confused with general stomachaches, crankiness, headaches or loss of appetite. Learning problems are often some of the first signs to appear, including an inability to process new information and forgetfulness.
High amounts of lead can harm the nervous system, kidneys and other major organs. Anemia, a decline in red blood cells, can occur, as well as damage to the nervous system that may impair mental function. At worst, lead poisoning can cause seizures or death.
The biggest danger lead poisoning poses to young children is brain damage. This can result in lower IQ levels, hyperactivity, developmental delays and aggression. Although brain damage is irreversible, blood lead levels can be lowered to prevent further damage.
What you can do to protect your children
- Avoid purchasing toys from vending machines. In 2004, 150 million pieces of children's jewelry in the U.S. were recalled from vending machines.
- Avoid toys that have small parts that could be swallowed, especially if the parts are metal or metallic.
- Avoid glossy fake pearls that may be coloured with lead paint.
- Test suspicious jewelry. You can buy home lead-testing kits at many hardware and paint stores.
- If you're really concerned, get your child tested, as this is the only sure way to know how much lead your child has been exposed to.
How can you tell if your child's toys contain lead?
While it's difficult to tell if a product contains lead just by looking at it, here are a few tips that may help you identify it:
- Dull, grey-looking metal.
- Pieces that seem heavy for their size.
- If you rub a piece of jewelry against a sheet of paper and it leaves a grey line, it's probably made of lead.
- Bright colours, especially orange and red.
- Soft plastics, as lead is used as a stabilizer to help keep the plastic soft.
Health Canada tests toys and jewelry suspected of lead contamination and encourages consumers to contact the National Capital Region Consumer Product Safety Bureau if they have concerns.
