The federal government is calling on manufacturers and distributors to stop selling children's jewelry containing the toxic chemical cadmium.

Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq is calling on manufacturers and distributors to stop marketing children's products containing the toxic chemical cadmium. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)"Today we are calling on the industry to voluntarily stop manufacturing, selling or importing children's jewelry products that contain cadmium," Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq told a news conference in Ottawa.

Cadmium is a soft metal used in batteries and has increasingly replaced lead in costume jewelry. Lead has been banned from most consumer products, and cadmium is easy to work with, which makes it attractive to manufacturers.

However, cadmium can also cause damage to the liver and kidneys if ingested and also causes nausea and diarrhea.

'The science is there. It makes people sick.'— Paul Glover, Health Canada

"The use of cadmium in children's jewelry is new, and that is why we are asking industry to stop the flow of these potentially dangerous products right now, within our market," Aglukkaq said.

"Cadmium, OK, you need it in batteries, we understand that," said Paul Glover, the assistant deputy minister in the consumer safety branch of Health Canada. "But it doesn't belong in children's jewelry. The science is there. It makes people sick.

Workers polish jewelry at a small factory in Yiwu, China, where the toxic metal cadmium is a common ingredient in earrings, bracelets, charms and other baubles being churned out by local factories and piled high in wholesale markets. (Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press)"We're hoping that industry will do the right thing."

The government is opting for a voluntary ban because it doesn't have the legal power to do mandatory enforcement. Under the 40-year-old Hazardous Products Act, the only way to force manufacturers to stop using cadmium would be through the introduction of a new regulation. That would take up to 18 months. Aglukkaq said the problem is happening now, which is why she's appealed for private-sector co-operation.

The minister said proposed new consumer protection legislation, Bill C-36, would allow the government to move, but it hasn't been passed.

Tests find high levels of cadmium

The federal government has found levels of cadmium as high as 93 per cent in some children's products.

Chemistry professor Jeff Weidenhamer of Ashland University in Ohio displays many of the earrings, charms and pendants he's tested in his lab and found to contain cadmium. (Phil Long/Associated Press)"These are high amounts of cadmium that the manufacturers should be aware of, and should be taking efforts to remove from their products," Glover said.

"It's not in all products, it's in some products and its in products at exceedingly high levels."

Aglukkaq said it's in the industry's interest to listen to the government's concerns and to act.

"We will be monitoring the marketplace in the months ahead," she said. "If things don't improve then I will consider what further actions may be necessary to protect children, such as mandatory limits set to the regulatory process."

In the meantime, Aglukkaq is calling on parents to ensure children don't put any sort of costume jewelry in their mouths and to keep an eye out for consumer warnings about cadmium in children's products.