Toxic Chinese Jewelry Poisons NY Children

AP/Weidenhamer

Cheap-o jewelry sold at Walmart, Claire's and at NY-area dollar-stores contains a dangerous metal that could harm children, according to recent investigations. After Chinese toys were outed for containing lead last year, overseas manufacturers were forced to find different building blocks for their products. Some settled on cadmium, a metal that is extremely toxic, even in low doses. And kids don't even have to swallow the jewelry to see its ill effects!

"They can get persistent, low-level doses by regularly sucking or biting jewelry with a high cadmium content," says the AP report. The investigation showed that out of 103 pieces of costume jewelry it bought at stores in New York, Ohio, Texas and California 12 contained at least 10% cadmium, which like lead, can cause brain damage in young children.

Cadmium poisoning can also be caused by smoking and can lead to flu like symptoms sometimes called "the cadmium blues." The metal is seventh on the CDC's most hazardous substances list. Exposure at high levels causes cancer.

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By Sabrina Jaszi in News on January 11, 2010 11:10 AM

Comments [rss]

chad

these are acts of war! this is the worst kind of terrorism possible! its unbelievable this country will allow attempts to poison and infect our countrys future we must as citizens demand an end to these attacks!

slny

Phew! At least its not lead.

Cadmium is much better. We always demand the best.

snickerdoodle

PROUDLY MADE IN CHINA!

ilovejapgirls

it's funny though, that these are American companies that are China making these stuff.

blakewallington

Cadmium is a great Superchunk song.

dkim2015

Don't buy Chinese. In Korea, some supermarkets have separate signs which mark items as Chinese products due to such related fears. I avoid everything that is made in China now.

nohateparade

Then why do they even bother selling them?

Snoopy

"CADMIUM" would have been a great name for a heavy metal band.

Snoopy

You must be buying very little then. Try as hard as I can to buy USA, there isn't much being made here anymore.

Sommelier

The republicans in Congress are claiming that a Consumer protection agency with a budget to check things like this before they come into our nation and sicken & kill our children is dangerous to America because....... ?

youngpro

does anything safe or legitimate come out of china? their american-made aircraft crash due to shitty maintenance on their part, their imports are lead-based because they're cheap, they overstate how great their economy is doing...what's next?

Clarice City

Drywall...baby formula...toothpaste...

hotstepper

another example of the corrosive influence of shitty chinese made goods in the USA. they have lowered the bar on consumer products for too long and now we have no choice but to buy that crap.

al oof

lots of stuff comes from china with no problem. your microwave and blender probably came from there. the real problem is retailers like walmart, who say 'we won't pay more than X for the jewelry you make', and their manufacturers have to cut corners, which the goverment lets them do. if walmart cared more about quality than price, the stuff wouldn't be toxic.

walmart can probably afford to test that stuff too and they don't.