ABC Tests 100 Children's Products and Finds 10 With Lead

Nov. 1, 2007 — -- As children across the country begin to compile their holiday toy lists, their parents are facing a major predicament. At at time when millions of toys have been recalled due to lead contamination, just how safe are the current selection of toys?

In a quest for answers, ABC News bought 100 popular children's products from 10 different stores and tested them for lead. The verdict? Good news, and some not very good news.

We'll start with the good. Out of the 100 toys tested, 90 were lead-free, certain to be a comfort to parents.

But 10 of the items tested did contain lead. Plus, the investigation found the Consumer Product Safety Commission's own test methods may be missing or understating lead in children's products.

ABC consulted a licensed lead risk assessor who used a Niton X-ray device made by Thermo Fisher Scientific to quickly screen all 100 children's products for lead. The products with the highest lead levels were then submitted to another laboratory to verify the results.

First, ABC found lead in a set of lotions and potions for girls made by Tween brands -- a pearl on the packaging contained lead. Getting an exact reading on such a tiny painted specimen is difficult. Lab tests found 500 parts per million, but the Niton X-ray device detected 2,000 parts per million. Lead paint over 600 parts per million is illegal.

Next up was a sport sipper bottle. Babies are meant to drink from it, yet we found it contained 300 parts per million of lead. The Food and Drug Administration has jurisdiction here and said it could take action if lead in a food-contact product can contaminate food.

"It's more than I want to see," said Bill Radosevich of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

A plastic duck, purchased at Cost Plus World Market, contained 800 parts per million of lead. Another plastic culprit: a saddle -- part of a Kmart set -- contained 1,600 parts per million.

Like the bottle and the duck, the lead was embedded in the plastic rather than in surface paint. But believe it or not, there is no set legal limit for lead in plastic toys.