Lead in Halloween Costumes

[Guest guest]

Lead is a neurotoxin. Please read the labels this season....

http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3967569 & nav=LUESMuat

Hiding Warnings on Costumes?

10TV took a hidden camera into a local retail chain store and found

workers covering up warnings put on children's Halloween costumes.

Our undercover investigation shows local Kmart employees covering

costume warning labels about lead.

The labels are required in California but not in Ohio.

10TV received a Kmart document which reads: " This project should be

completed as soon as possible, as this is affecting the sales of

this merchandise. "

The Better Business Bureau says the practice is questionable.

" The bottom line is that they're concealing information in 49 other

states that they're legally obligated to provide in California. And

that's going to raise ethical questions in a consumer's mind, " Kip

Morse of the BBB said.

Kmart's parent company, Sears Holding Corporation, issued a

statement regarding the practice, calling it simply a mislabeling

issue. A spokesperson for the retail giant says it conducted tests

on the costumes and determined the lead poses no significant risks.

Still, some consumers view the labeling effort suspiciously.

" Now, we've got black labels on things. That's not a good

situation, " Ford of Lancaster said.

" Obviously, they're trying to cover up something and continue

selling their costumes, " said Amy King of . " It is upsetting.

It's a concern as a parent. You want to protect your kids. "

10TV purchased several costumes and took them to an independent lab.

Results of testing a fireman's suit showed the costumed contained

trace amounts of lead.

The Kmart spokesperson says that they covered the warning so as not

to create " customer confusion. "

Kmart adds their corporate version of the internal memo 10TV

received regarding the labels says nothing about concern over sales,

and said the memo should not be viewed as an " official Kmart

document. "

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http://www.childenvironment.org/factsheets/neurotoxins.htm

A neurotoxic substance is any substance that adversely affects the structural or

functional components of the nervous system. Some neurotoxic substances, such as

alcoholic beverages or paint fumes, produce immediate effects. Others produce

long-term effects that appear over weeks or even years and may be irreversible.

Neurotoxic substances play a significant causal role in the development of some

neurological disorders, and may be particularly harmful to the developing brains

of children.1

A surprising number of children in the U.S. suffer from neurological disorders.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly

diagnosed conditions of childhood. There is no national data on the prevalence

of ADHD among children, but a number of studies involving samples of children

have lead most experts to agree that 3-5% of children have the disorder.2

Individuals with the disorder are at higher risk for criminal activity and

substance abuse in later life.3

Recent research suggests that prevalence of ADHD may be even higher. A study of

public school children in two Virginia cities showed that 8-10% of students in

grades 2 through 5 received medication for ADHD in school. Because some children

diagnosed with ADHD do not receive their medication in school, the prevalence

may be greater than 8-10%.4

A national household survey conducted by the CDC found the following: 6.5% of

children under the age of 18 in the U.S. had one or more learning disabilities

(such as dyslexia); 6.5% had emotional or behavioral problems lasting more than

3 months; and 4% suffered from delays in growth and development including mental

retardation.5

About 285,000 children (ages 3 to 21 years) in the U.S. are affected by autism

spectrum disorder, or ASD. ASD is a group of brain disorders that interfere with

a child's social, communication, and play skills. The cause of ASD in most

children is unknown.6

Despite substantial progress in eliminating sources of lead in the U.S. since

the 1970s, nearly 1 million children aged 1-5 years had elevated blood lead

levels during 1991-1994. Lead may deleteriously affect children's behavior and

development.7

Chemicals such as lead, PCBs, mercury, and certain pesticides cause some

fraction of neurodevelopmental disorders.

At low levels once considered safe, lead has been shown to cause reductions in

children's IQ and reading and learning disabilities.8 Lead is also associated

with increased risk for antisocial and delinquent behavior in childhood and is a

predictor of adult criminality.9

Children exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the womb have been shown

to have lower full-scale and verbal IQ scores as well as significant attention

and memory deficits.10

It is not yet known whether other pesticides, solvents, or range of other

chemicals in the environment-at what levels-affect children's neurological

development. Children's exposure to potentially hazardous substances is rarely

even recognized. While genetic factors are thought to account for some portion

of neurological disorders, the causes of the majority are unknown. Whether these

disorders are the result of interaction among genetic traits, environmental

toxicants, and other factors such as health behaviors is also unknown.

The environment in which children live today is vastly different from that of

one or two generations ago.

Children today are exposed to thousands of newly developed synthetic chemicals.

The National Academy of Sciences reported in 1984 that 15,000 of the chemicals

registered for commercial use with the Environmental Protection Agency had

moderate to high potential for human exposure. Less than half of these had been

tested for toxicity at all, and fewer than 20% had been tested for toxicity in

developing organisms.11

A recently published study suggests that the tests used to assess the toxicity

of chemicals are insensitive and would fail to detect the injury that these

chemicals are capable of causing.12

A survey of Connecticut schools found that 87% of the state's school districts

responding to a survey (77 of 147 school districts) sprayed pesticides inside

school buildings; 32% sprayed pesticides routinely regardless of whether there

was a pest problem.13 This is but one illustration of how children are routinely

and possibly unknowingly exposed to a mixture of chemicals that are toxic to the

nervous system.

Historically, epidemiological research on children's health and development has

lagged behind other research efforts due to the fact that children's diseases

are relatively rare and the dysfunctions experienced by children can be subtle

and difficult to measure (particularly cognitive and behavioral problems). More

research is needed on the health effects of children's widespread exposure to

neurotoxins, such as pesticides and other commonly used chemicals. A national

effort to study neurological disorders and other childhood diseases

prospectively-from the womb to early adulthood-is a high priority. Such a study

would examine the development of those childhood diseases for which

causation-including toxic environmental exposures as well as other social and

biological factors-and prevention strategies are unknown or limited.

This summary was prepared by the Center for Children's Health and the

Environment of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. CCHE's mission is to promote

the health of children by conducting environmental health and policy research.

CCHE was established in 1998 with the support of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

CCHE's director is Philip J. Landrigan M.D., M.Sc., a pediatrician who chairs

the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai.

References

1.. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Neurotoxicity: Identifying

and Controlling Poisons of the Nervous System. OTA-BA-436. Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, April 1990.

2.. Consensus Development Conference Statement: Diagnosis and Treatment of

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of

Health, November 1998.

3.. Satterfield J. Childhood diagnostic and neuro-physiological predictors of

teenage arrest rates: an eight-year prospective study. In: Sarnoff A, Mednick S,

Moffitt T, Sack SA, eds. Causes of Crime. New York, NY: Cambridge University

Press; 1987.

4.. LeFever GB, Dawson KV, Morrow AL. The extent of drug therapy for attention

deficit-hyperactivity disorder among children in public schools. Am J Pub Health

1999; 89(9):1359-1364.

5.. Boyle CA, et al. Prevalence and health impact of developmental

disabilities in US children. Pediatrics 1994; 93(3):399-403.

6.. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Developmental Disabilities

Branch, Division of Child Development, Disability, and Health. Fact sheet:

Autism among children.

7.. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Update: Blood lead

levels-United States, 1991-1994. MMWR 1997; 46(07):141-146.

8.. Schwartz J. Low-level lead exposure and children's IQ: A meta-analysis and

search for a threshold. Environmental Research 1994; 65:42-55.

9.. Needleman HL, et al. Bone lead levels and delinquent behavior. JAMA 1996;

275(5):363-369.

10.. sen JL and sen SW. Intellectual impairment and children exposed

to polychorinated biphenyls in utero. New Eng J Med 1996; 335:783-789.

11.. Commission on Life Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, Toxicity

Testing: Strategies to Determine Needs and Priorities. National Academy Press,

Washington DC 1984.

12.. Claudio L, Bearer CF, and Walinga D. Assessment of the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Methods for identification of hazards to developing organisms,

part II: the developmental toxicity testing guideline. Am J In Med 1999;

35:554-563.

13.. Addiss SS, Alderman NO, Brown DR, Each CN, and Wargo J. Pest control

practices in Connecticut public schools. Environment and Human Health, Inc.,

North Haven, CT, 1999.