Sending your kids off to school to eat their daily lead?

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Fri, 09/01/2006 - 17:26.

It astounds me in this day and age there are still products regularly handled by children that contain lead at all. One product that contains lead that blows my mind is soft PVC children's lunch boxes... a fact brought to the public's attention when the Center for Environmental Health tested a TARGUS lunchbox featuring "Angela Anaconda" that tested positive for 56,400ppm, 90 times the legal limit of 600 ppm of lead (why should any lead be found?). As it turns out, other lunchboxes containing dangerous levels of lead are made by at least the following... Generation Sports, Frozen/Ingear, Roundhouse, Crayola, American Studio, Igloo, Sanford, Fast Forward, Arizona Jean Company, JC Penny, Lisa Frank, Animations/accessory Network, Holiday Fair, Mischief Makers, Extreme Gear/Romar, Subzero/Global Advantage, Chill, Big Dogs, Childress baby bottle carriers, Innovo, East End Accessories/Worldwide Dreams.

The only reason I am aware of this (and can share it on REALNEO) is I'm on the board of Concerned Citizens Organized Against Lead and one of the founders distributed to our membership an article from Arab News exploring this issue, and naming names. If you have kids, check out their lunchboxes...  and know: "any lead on the surface of the lunchbox lining can be expected to contaminate food. They (FDA) emphasized that even if foods are wrapped in a plastic bag or other covering, contamination can still occur due to lead being transferred from the child’s hands to the food being eaten." In general, I suggest boycotting all products by Targus and all these other criminal manufacturers/distributors... including Crayola, Igloo and JC Penny.

I find it astounding that I am reading the details of this health threat in the only English language daily newspaper in Saudi Arabia, rather than the Plain Dealer.  The Plain Dealer had a feature about parents saving money by packing lunch from home, but searching Cleveland.com does not show any coverage of the dangers of lead found in many lunchboxes. Journalists in Saudi Arabia are more sophisiticated and thorough... read more about the issue below, or visit Saudi Arabia... then, check and see what brand of lunchbox your kid carries... I believe my older daughter has had a thermos lunchbox for years and thankfully they are not on this list...

Kids’ Vinyl Lunchboxes Could Contain Poisonous Lead
Sarah Abdullah, Arab News