Testing for lead in toys/ceramics?

Soo... here I am having my daily attack of paranoia about the environment around me ... or more to the point, around my baby girl. How do I know if the toys I'm giving her are safe?

Is there some at-home testing kit for lead and other contaminants that a toy may contain?

According to this article, even rubber duckies are dangerous ...

[b]Toxin in toyland[/b]
The risk of lead poisoning from toys may be small, experts say, but it's one children should avoid

By Felicia Mello, Boston Globe Correspondent / December 3, 2007

As an affordable housing consultant, Laura Spark knew about the dangers of lead paint in homes. So when the Jamaica Plain mother of twin girls learned at a meeting of a local environmental group about recent recalls of lead-tainted toys, she went home and immediately tossed out an imported ceramic tea set and several soft plastic toys.

"But then of course I go to school the next day and everyone's got a vinyl backpack on," she said, noting that vinyl also may have small amounts of lead. "I'm thinking, 'Am I being a nut for throwing all this stuff away, or am I being a responsible mom?' "

Parents across the country have faced similar dilemmas in the past few months as federal regulators announced a wave of discoveries of children's products containing high levels of lead - from dolls to trains to jewelry. Of the 61 toy recalls the Consumer Products Safety Commission oversaw in the last year - affecting some 25 million toys - close to one-third involved lead.

More [url=http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2007/12/03/toxin_in_toyland/]here[/url]

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Re: Testing for lead in toys/ceramics?

Yes, there is a home testing kit. Swabs available for testing presence of Lead, Mercury, Nickel, etc. Even water testing kits.

http://www.leadcheck.com/

I love their Metal-Ex soap. Fragrance free. Binds to metals and specially removes them from the skin (like residues of CCA--that's Arsenic-- from wooden outdoor play structures.) Buy in bulk and they're not very expensive, they last a long time.

Liora Pearlman Moderator, Beiing Organic Consumers' Association (BOCA) http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/beijing_organic_consumers
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Re: Testing for lead in toys/ceramics?

Phthalates, too, in soft plastics--they should absolutely be avoided children mouthing.

A few companies have committed to making safe toys, though I'm not sure who actually have and who have just promised to clean up, someday...We certainly do not allow the young one access to soft plastics and we threw out the rubber duckies (sadly) a long time ago.

Good book to recommend: Chemical-Free Kids: How to Safeguard Your Child's Diet and Environment

http://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Free-Kids-Safeguard-Childs-Environment/dp...

Liora Pearlman Moderator, Beiing Organic Consumers' Association (BOCA) http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/beijing_organic_consumers
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