Lead Hazard in Kids’ Lunchboxes

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Sunday, August 26, 2007

Children's vinyl lunch boxes may contain hazardous levels of lead, according to a consumer watchdog group, the Oakland, CA-based Center for Environmental Health. The group said tests of one lunchbox made by Targus International contained more than 90 times the legal limit for lead paint in children's products.

Other brightly colored vinyl lunch boxes were tested featuring characters such as PowerPuff Girls, Superman and Hamtaro. All contained lead over the 600 ppm legal limit for lead in children's products.

Lead has been shown to cause developmental problems in young children at very low levels. Children may be exposed to lead from lunch boxes when they eat food that has been stored in them. Handling the lunchboxes just before eating could also be an exposure risk.

Other sources of lead young children may be exposed to include jewelry, necklaces and small trinkets sold in gumball machines, which often carry products manufactured in India and China, where lead painting is less strictly regulated than it is in the United States. Paint containing lead was outlawed in the United States in 1978.

The Center for Environmental Health advises parents to avoid vinyl lunchboxes altogether, as it is difficult to determine the level of lead these products contain without costly testing. Reusable cloth bags are a good alterative to lunchboxes that have vinyl on the outside or in the inside lining, as the vinyl may contain leaded paint.

Learn MoreSee the Center for Environmental Health's page on Lead in Children's Lunchboxes to find details about vinyl lunchboxes and photos of brands guilty of using a dangerous level of lead in their products.

Check out Keep Kids Healthy to learn more about keeping your kids away from lead products.

Purchase a lead testing kit from a hardware store or at TestYourLunchbox.com.

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