AG to toy jewelers: Get the lead out Life Portal BR

AG to toy jewelers: Get the lead out

More than 71 retailers agreed Friday to stop selling lead- tainted costume jewelry, marketed chiefly to children and teenagers, after Attorney General Bill Lockyer threatened a lawsuit under the state's Proposition 65 consumer safety measure.

The settlement requires retailers and distributors to meet new standards for lead-free and low-lead jewelry as quickly as possible, but no later than 2008. After that date, any product not meeting the new standards cannot be legally sold in California.

The 71 defendants also agreed to pay $1.875 million, including $250,000 for a jewelry testing fund and $325,000 to educate consumers.

The agreement came after the Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health found jewelry for sale in such outlets as Target, Kmart, Nordstrom, Sears and Toys-R-Us had coatings contaminated with significant amounts of lead.Some plastic parts, for instance, contained almost 2 percent lead, which is added as a softener. Follow-up testing by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and others found metal components on some jewelry contained 95 percent lead.(Continue Reading)

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