AP IMPACT: Cadmium, lead found in drinking glasses

[Roland99]

Source: Louisville Courier-Journal

Drinking glasses depicting comic book and movie characters such as Superman, Wonder Woman and the Tin Man from "The Wizard of Oz" exceed federal limits for lead in children's products by up to 1,000 times, according to laboratory testing commissioned by The Associated Press.

The decorative enamel on the superhero and Oz sets -- made in China and purchased at a Warner Brothers Studios store in Burbank -- contained between 16 percent and 30.2 percent lead. The federal limit on children's products is 0.03 percent.

The same glasses also contained relatively high levels of the even-more-dangerous cadmium, though there are no federal limits on that toxic metal in design surfaces.

In separate testing to recreate regular handling, other glasses shed small but notable amounts of lead or cadmium from their decorations. Federal regulators have worried that toxic metals rubbing onto children's hands can get into their mouths. Among the brands on those glasses: Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, Burger King and McDonald's.

Read more: http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=courier-journal&sParam=35109599.story

[PSPS]

1. "Made in China" of course

The decorative enamel on the superhero and Oz sets -- made in China and purchased at a Warner Brothers Studios store in Burbank -- contained between 16 percent and 30.2 percent lead. The federal limit on children's products is 0.03 percent.

[FreakinDJ]

9. Knew it the moment I saw the headline

and we need Free Trade because ........

[Jamastiene]

2. A brain damaged populace is easier to control.

That is what the ruling class wants.

It is up to us to look out for ourselves, because our government is not.

Thank you for this info.

K&R

[DeSwiss]

5. +1

:thumbsup:

[bluedigger]

3. It's okay.

My Star Trek glasses are for looking at, not drinking out of...

[bluesmail]

4. What a sick society we've become. Who's drinking from those glasses?

Children. Who's going to get sick eventually? The Children. Who's going to pay for the meds? The parents (or the grown up children stealing to buy the prescriptions). Will the parent(s) buy generic or the more scrutinized brand? Probably the generic. Does anybody know what's in the generics? Just asking, because I know I can only take brand medications for a couple of my old age problems. (I choose off the planet please who's ever steering this ship). It is a sick society. Heaven help us.

[DeSwiss]

6. K&R

...

The fact it was so easy to find glasses that appeal to kids and appear to violate the federal lead law suggests that contamination in glassware is wider than one McDonald's promotion.

The irony of the latest findings is that AP's original investigation in January revealed that some Chinese manufacturers were substituting cadmium for banned lead in children's jewelry; that finding eventually led to the McDonald's-Shrek recall; now, because of the new testing primarily for cadmium in other glassware, lead is back in the spotlight as well.

AP's testing, conducted by ToyTestingLab of Rhode Island, found that the enamel used to color the Tin Man had the highest lead levels, at 1,006 times the federal limit for children's products. Every Oz and superhero glass tested exceeded the government limit: The Lion by 827 times and Dorothy by 770 times; Wonder Woman by 533 times, Superman by 617 times, Batman by 750 times and the Green Lantern by 677 times.

Federal regulators will decide whether the superhero and Oz glasses are "children's products" and thus subject to strict lead limits; if U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission staffers conclude the glasses to fall outside that definition, the lead levels would be legal.

I can remember back in the old days when companies liked to keep their customers alive so they could sell them more shit they didn't really need.

- They used to give a damn about kids back then too......

[pinboy3niner]

7. I recently bought a kitchen utensil at a dollar-type store...

When I opened the package at home, I found that it was made in China--and had a warning enclosed from the California EPA to wash my hands after handling the product.

Wash my hands after handling it? IT'S A UTENSIL FOR COOKING AND SERVING FOOD! :wtf:

[Anakin Skywalker]

8. And the Rightwing Wants More Deregulation?

F*ck that!

[Little Star]

10. Ain't free trade and deregulation just great? Damn! n/t

[Tyrone Slothrop]

11. How does this article not have more comments?

Post anything on this site about ADHD/autism/thimersol in vaccines and there will be nearly 100 comments in less than an hour or two.

However, this article that basically shows actual evidence that we've been giving and aggressively marketing to children a POISON that causes all manner of neurological deficits (including loss of short-term memory, concentration and coordination -- in addition to causing "hyperkinetic or aggressive behavior disorders") and there's barely any discussion.

Am I the only one who sees a connection here?

[Shining Jack]

12. You don't even need to post anything with substance to get lots of comments in less than an hour...

Just pick a single controversial word and put it in the subject line with nothing else: PETA, Circumcision etc.

[donheld]

13. Can i have another glass of Deregulation?