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  Awards Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Ctr. Boston Medical Center Boston University Brigham and Women's Hospital Broad Institute Cambridge Health Alliance Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Ctr. Children's Hospital Boston Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Grants Harvard University Joslin Diabetes Center Lahey Clinic Mass. General Hospital Mass. Health Law McLean Hospital MIT New England Baptist Hospital Personnel Moves Public Health Research Short White Coat Tufts-New England Medical Center Tufts University UMass Memorial Medical Center University of Massachusetts VA Medical Centers    A Healthy Blog Running A Hospital Nature Network Boston SciBos - Corie Lok's blog Kevin, M.D. Blog, MD Nurse at small Dr. Gwenn Is In Healthy Children blog WBUR's CommonHealth Other Globe Blogs
Elizabeth Cooney is a health reporter for the Worcester Telegram &
Gazette.
Boston Globe Health and Science staff:
Scott Allen Alice Dembner Carey Goldberg Liz Kowalczyk Stephen Smith Colin Nickerson Beth Daley Karen Weintraub, Deputy Health and Science Editor, and Gideon Gil, Health and Science Editor. Short White Coat blogger Ishani Ganguli Short White Coat blogger Jennifer Srygley  Week of:
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« Hearing put off in nursing mother's suit against medical exam board | Main | Dry summer has been bad news for mosquitoes » Wednesday, September 12, 2007Ban proposed on toy jewelry containing leadBy Stephen Smith, Globe Staff State health regulators this morning called for a ban on necklaces, bracelets, and other toy jewelry containing dangerously high levels of lead. Tests performed by the state Department of Public Health found that some of the trinkets, which investigators purchased in stores across Massachusetts, possessed lead levels thousands of times higher than permitted. High lead levels in children have been linked to learning problems and other medical conditions. State law forbids lead in paint applied to toys and jewelry but neither Massachusetts nor federal regulations cover lead in the metal and plastic contents of toy jewelry, leaving children vulnerable, Suzanne Condon, director of the state's Bureau of Environmental Health, said during a meeting of the state Public Health Council. "I can remember as a child putting my necklace in my mouth," Condon said. "It's a rare thing if you don't see children with these things in their mouth." Condon said 79 pieces of toy jewelry were tested and more than 10 percent had high rates of lead. That finding led health regulators to draft the proposed ban, which must be approved by the Public Health Council. Members of the panel this morning expressed enthusiasm for the prohibition and suggested that regulators consider expanding it to other products potentially containing lead. If the ban is adopted, the state plans regular spot checks to make sure dangerous products aren't being sold, Condon said. Posted by Gideon Gil at 02:09 PM
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