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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Lead Recalls: Jewelry and Accessories

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death. CPSC announces all recalls on their website http://www.cpsc.gov/.

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/Recalls/allhazards.htm

Lead Poisoning Prevention Tips

Prevention Tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site:
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/tips.htm#

* How are children exposed to lead?
* Who is at risk?
* What can be done to prevent exposure to lead?
* Reduce a child’s exposure from non-residential paint sources


Lead poisoning is entirely preventable. The key is stopping children from coming into contact with lead and treating children who have been poisoned by lead.

The goal is to prevent lead exposure to children before they are harmed. There are many ways parents can reduce a child’s exposure to lead. The key is stopping children from coming into contact with lead. Lead hazards in a child’s environment must be identified and controlled or removed safely.

How are children exposed to lead?

Lead-based paint and lead contaminated dust are the main sources of exposure for lead in U.S. children. Lead-based paints were banned for use in housing in 1978. All houses built before 1978 are likely to contain some lead-based paint. However, it is the deterioration of this paint that causes a problem. Approximately 24 million housing units have deteriorated leaded paint and elevated levels of lead-contaminated house dust. More than 4 million of these dwellings are homes to one or more young children.

Who is at risk?

All children under the age of 6 years old are at risk because they are growing so rapidly and because they tend to put their hands or other objects, which may be contaminated with lead dust, into their mouths.

However, children living at or below the poverty line who live in older housing are at greatest risk. Additionally, children of some racial and ethnic groups and those living in older housing are disproportionately affected by lead.

What can be done to prevent exposure to lead?

It is important to determine the construction year of the house or the dwelling where your child may spend a large amount of time (e.g., grandparents or daycare). In housing built before 1978, assume that the paint has lead unless tests show otherwise.

Talk to your state or local health department about testing paint and dust from your home for lead.

Make sure your child does not have access to peeling paint or chewable surfaces painted with lead-based paint.

Pregnant women and children should not be present in housing built before 1978 that is undergoing renovation. They should not participate in activities that disturb old paint or in cleaning up paint debris after work is completed.

Create barriers between living/play areas and lead sources. Until environmental clean-up is completed, parents should clean and isolate all sources of lead. They should close and lock doors to keep children away from chipping or peeling paint on walls. You can also apply temporary barriers such as contact paper or duct tape, to cover holes in walls or to block children’s access to other sources of lead.

Regularly wash children’s hands and toys. Hands and toys can become contaminated from household dust or exterior soil. Both are known lead sources.

Regularly wet-mop floors and wet-wipe window components. Because household dust is a major source of lead, parents should wet-mop floors and wet-wipe horizontal surfaces every 2-3 weeks. Windowsills and wells can contain high levels of leaded dust. They should be kept clean. If feasible, windows should be shut to prevent abrasion of painted surfaces or opened from the top sash.

Prevent children from playing in bare soil; if possible, provide them with sandboxes. Parents should plant grass on areas of bare soil or cover the soil with grass seed, mulch, or wood chips, if possible. Until the bare soil is covered, parents should move play areas away from bare soil and away from the sides of the house. If using a sandbox, parents should also cover the box when not in use to prevent cats from using it as a litter box. That will help protect children from exposure to animal waste.

To further reduce a child’s exposure from non-residential paint sources:

avoid using traditional home remedies and cosmetics that may contain lead;

avoid eating candies imported from Mexico;

avoid using containers, cookware, or tableware to store or cook foods or liquids that are not shown to be lead free;

remove recalled toys and toy jewelry immediately from children. Check Lead Recalls lists.

use only cold water from the tap for drinking, cooking, and for making baby formula (Hot water is more likely to contain higher levels of lead. Most of the lead in household water usually comes from the plumbing in your house, not from the local water supply.);

shower and change clothes after finishing a task that involves working with lead-based products such as stain glass work, bullet making, or using a firing range.

Walmart Pulls Jewerly With Cadmium Off Shelves

Walmart Pulls Jewerly With Cadmium Off Shelves

Reported by: WROC-TV
Tuesday, Jan 12, 2010 @11:25am EST

The nation's largest retailer Walmart has taken a type of children's jewelry from China off its shelves.

A report found that the jewelry contained cadmium - a toxic metal.

It's been reported that cadmium can cause cancer.

Manufacturers were forced to stop using lead in their products, so cadmium, an inexpensive dangerous metal, was substituted in the jewelry and going undetected.

There has been no formal recall.

Schumer: Ban Toxic Metal From Toys

Schumer: Ban Toxic Metal From Toys

Reported by: WROC-TV
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 @04:50pm EST

Senator Charles Schumer was in Rochester on Wednesday, pushing a bill to ban the sale of children's products that contain a toxic chemical. The products are sold here in Rochester, and across the country.

An investigation found that some play jewelry, made in China, had the toxic metal cadmium in it. Exposure to cadmium is known to cause cancer and developmental problems. Manufacturers in China began using the metal when they were forced to stop using lead in their products.

Sen. Schumer was at a dollar store on Mt. Hope Avenue in Rochester, where the toys containing cadmium have been pulled from the shelves.

"It is just despicable that a manufacturer anywhere, in this case China, would use something that's known to be poisonous to children and put it in children's jewelry to save a few bucks," said Schumer.

Schumer said if legislation he penned passes, it will remove the toxic metal from children's products once and for all.

Be Aware of Toxic Children's Jewelry



AP: Cadmium Found in Children's Jewelry
By: Amy Young - YNN.com


An Associated Press investigation revealed Chinese manufacturers switched to using the heavy metal cadmium in children's jewelry after they were banned from using lead.

Cadmium is a known carcinogen. Lab tests show one piece of jewelry had as much as 91 percent cadmium by weight.

The jewelry items were purchased in New York, Ohio, Texas and California.

Tests showed some pieces easily shed the heavy metal. Like lead, cadmium can hinder brain development in the very young.

"Children are more susceptible, extremely susceptible. They grow so fast, and it accumulates, the cadmium accumulates in their kidneys. It attacks different organs. And they don't even have to eat it, they don't have to swallow it. They can inhale it. They can just suck on it," said Judy Braiman, consumer activist.

New York State Senator Jim Alesi is introducing legislation to ban the toxic metal.

RECALL ALERT - Pacifiers


RECALL - Pacifiers
Posted by jenn moore at 11/18/2009 4:17 PM PST

Pull that paci out of your baby's mouth and check to see if it is a Bobby Chupete Pacifier.

There is a recall of 641,000 pacifiers because the mouth guard is too small and poses a choking hazard to infants and toddlers.

The pacifiers were sold for about $1 and have a ring-shaped handle and heart-shaped mouth guard with two ventilation holes.The nipple is made of latex. The name Bobby Chupete and a picture of an infant are printed on the packaging. The pacifier would be aqua, red, white or yellow.

Please stop using the binky and contact Grand World at (718)326-7786 (you can call collect) or www.grandworldinc.com.

FYI - Rochester One of 41 Sites Selected for National Program to Fight Childhood Obesity

Rochester One of 41 Sites Selected for National Program
to Fight Childhood Obesity


Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency Receives Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Major Grant to Expand Healthi Kids Initiative


ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 12, 2010 – Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency (FLHSA) has been awarded a four-year, $360,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to improve opportunities for physical activity and access to affordable, healthy foods for children and families in Rochester and Monroe County, N.Y. Based on a rigorous selection process that drew more than 500 proposals from across the country, Rochester is one of 41 sites selected for the RWJF Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative.

Specifically, this grant will fund the FLHSA Healthi Kids Coalition’s activities to increase access to safe places to play and to establish healthier food standards in child-care centers and after-school settings. These are two major policy changes advocated for by the Healthi Kids Coalition, along with healthier school food and increased physical activity among children in school. Currently, 40 percent of children ages 2 to 18 in Rochester, and 25 percent of children in Monroe County, are overweight or obese.

“FLHSA and our partner agencies are delighted that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is investing in the Healthi Kids initiative,” said Wade S. Norwood, FLHSA’s director of community engagement. “Children in Greater Rochester are the true beneficiaries of this funding, which will enable them to play more actively in public areas and to receive more nutritious food in child-care locations.”

“To reverse this epidemic, communities are going to have to rally around their kids and provide the opportunities they need to be healthy,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Through this project, FLHSA and its partners are doing what it takes to make sure children lead better lives.”

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities is a $33 million national program and RWJF’s largest investment to date in community-based solutions to childhood obesity. With nine Leading Sites chosen in late 2008, the program now spans 50 communities from Seattle to Puerto Rico. All are targeting improvements in local policies and their community environment—changes that research indicates could have the greatest impact on healthier eating, more active living and obesity prevention. Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities is a cornerstone of RWJF’s $500 million commitment to reverse the country’s childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.

The 40 other cities and regions just announced as Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities sites are:


Benton County, OR
Boone and Newton Counties, AR
Buffalo, NY
Caguas, PR
Charleston, WV
Chattanooga, TN
Cook County, GA
Cuba, NM
Denver, CO
Desoto, Marshall and Tate Counties, MS
El Paso, TX
Fitchburg, MA
Flint, MI
Grant County, NM
Greenville, SC
Hamilton County, OH
Houghton County, MI
Houston, TX
Jackson, MS
Jacksonville, FL
Jefferson County, AL
Kane County, IL
Kansas City, MO
Kingston, NY
Knox County, TN
Lake Worth, Greenacres and Palm Springs, FL
Milledgeville, GA
Milwaukee, WI
Moore and Montgomery Counties, NC
Multnomah County/Portland, OR
Nash and Edgecombe Counties, NC
New Orleans, LA
Omaha, NE
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
San Antonio, TX
San Felipe Pueblo, NM
Spartanburg County, SC
Watsonville and Pajaro Valley, CA


All were selected because of strong vision, partnership and a commitment to make lasting change in their communities. The new program grants will continue through June 2013.

Visit www.healthykidshealthycommunities.org to learn more about these communities’ work and plans.

###


About FLHSA and Healthi Kids
Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency (www.flhsa.org) is an independent, regional health planning organization working to improve health care in Rochester and the Finger Lakes. The agency analyzes community needs, brings together organizations to solve health problems, and measures results.

Healthi Kids (www.healthikids.org) is a grassroots advocacy initiative to help Monroe County children lead healthier, more active lives. It is an FLHSA initiative, with the support of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Center for Community Health, URMC’s Department of Pediatrics, and the Children’s Agenda. Healthi Kids also receives funding from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation.

About Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities
Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), advances community-based solutions that will help reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. It focuses on changing policies and environments to support active living and healthy eating among children and families. The program places special emphasis on reaching children who are at highest risk for obesity on the basis of income, race/ethnicity and geographic location. It will support RWJF’s efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States by 2015.

The Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities national program office is housed at Active Living By Design, part of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Established in 2001 as an RWJF national program, Active Living By Design now serves funders and partnerships across the country that are fostering community-led change to build a culture of active living and healthy eating.

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.